Food, movie new additions to this Kadalekai Parishe

A child munches groundnuts at the Kadalekai Parishe in Malleswaram on Saturday. DH PHOTO/KRISHNAKUMAR P S

It was a carnival-like atmosphere at the groundnut fair. DH PHOTO/KRISHNAKUMAR P S

The annual Kadalekai Parishe is back on the streets of the Kadu Malleshwara Temple in Malleswaram, hosting over 750 stalls and expecting to lure nearly a lakh people a day.

Sellers from Chikkaballapur, Pavagada and Ballari in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have displayed several groundnut varieties such as algai, badami, naati, three-seeded groundnuts and a hybrid variety from Dindigul (Tamil Nadu).

Besides the groundnut stalls, the three-day fair would display fancy items like terracotta artifacts from Kolkata, besides field and indoor games for children.

"This third edition of the fair is very special to us," said Rakshit Shivram, general secretary, Kadu Malleshwara Geleyara Balaga, which has organised the fair. "We have included 'aahara' and 'chitra parishe' (food and movie fair) this time around. We are giving away tulsi saplings to those who attended the inaugural function and Ulavi bangles to all the women present here."

Organisers said they took inspiration from Basavanagudi's iconic groundnut fair. While the Basavanagudi fair would take place on the fourth Monday of November in the streets around the Bull Temple, the Malleswaram fair is taking place a week earlier, on the third Monday near the Nandi Teertha Temple.

While the Basavanagudi fair is celebrated across south Bengaluru, the city’s northern part had no equivalent rural fair. Shivram said that was the main reason behind starting the Kadu Malleshwara Temple groundnut fair in 2017.

Muniswamy, a groundnut seller from Tamil Nadu, has displayed a wide variety of groundnuts from Chikkaballapur and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. Some of them were roasted and some raw.

Malleswaram resident Malamathi had diligently attended the festival in the first two editions. This time, she inspected the groundnut stalls looking for the best naati variety from Ballari.

But for college girl Ankita, this is the first-ever visit to a groundnut fair of any kind. Having tried different kinds of groundnut, food and jaggery, she is all set to pack home two kilos of three-seeded groundnuts.