A groundnut vendor with his produce in front of the Kadu Malleshwara temple.
Credit: DH Photo/SK Dinesh
Bengaluru: Kadumalleshwara Geleyara Balaga is set to organise its four-day Kadalekai Parishe in Malleswaram from November 15 to 18.
The annual groundnut fair will be plastic-free and farmer-friendly, organisers said. In response to the growing waste generated during the event, they opted to use paper and cloth bags instead of plastic this year.
BK Shivaram, president of the Balaga, stated that approximately 40,000 paper bags would be distributed to vendors. "The bags, made by student volunteers, will have the capacity to carry two to three kilos of groundnuts," he explained.
In addition, the Balaga has prepared around 6,000 cloth bags using old saris and other materials. "These bags will be distributed to the vendors," he added.
Shivaram also shared the folklore behind Kadalekai Parishe, explaining that groundnut farmers worship Basava to protect their harvest from bull attacks. "To ward off the forces that bring raging bulls to the farms, groundnut farmers traditionally offer their first crop to Lord Basava," he said.
Groundnut farmers from across Karnataka, including Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Kolar, and Chikkaballapur, as well as from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, are expected to participate in the fair.
The Balaga, which used to conduct cultural activities on every full moon day under the programme "Hunnime Hadu", will also commemorate the 200th habba alongside the Parishe.
The groundnut festival precedes the historic Basavanagudi Kadalekai Parishe, which will take place from November 25.