Festivals and Fairs of Karnataka Culture Festivals are sites of trans-national identifications and democratic freedom CS Mahostsava

Festivals of Karnataka Mysooru Dassara Dassara is the main Hindu festival of Karnataka. This ten days festival was celebrated with extravagance by the rulers of Vijayanagar Empire. Later, this became a tradition. The festival was celebrated at Mysore where a Durbar was held for 9 days and on the 10th day a huge procession was taken out with decorated elephants, colorful folks and much more. It is still celebrated in Mysore with great pomp and show. 

Festivals of Karnataka Yugaadi Yugadi is considered as the New Year's Day in Kannada tradition. It falls on the late March or early April and is celebrated all over Karnataka. On this day the dinner is specially prepared and it starts with jaggery and neem leaves. This depicts that life is nothing but a bundle of joys and sorrows.

Festivals of Karnataka Karaga This festival is mainly celebrated at the Darmaraya Temple in Bangalore. It is celebrated on the full moon day of Chaitra, the first month of Hindu Calendar. This festival is celebrated in the honor of Draupathi, the spouse of Pandavas, famous religious characters from the great Hindu epic, Mahabharata.

Festivals of Karnataka Makara Sankranti The Sun enters the Makara raasi (the zodiac sign of Capricorn - the goat), on Sankranti day, signifying the onset of Uttarayana Punyakalam.The following has been translated from an article in Sadachara Vybhavam of the great Vaishnava devotee Sripad Madhwacharya.

Other festivals of Karnataka Karnataka has a multi-religious population. Thus, festivals of all religions are celebrated here. Some of the Muslims festivals celebrated here are Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Milad-un-Nabi and Moharrum. Christians residing in the state celebrate festivals like Christmas, Easter, Good Friday etc along with the rest of the nation. Buddhist and Jain festivals like Buddha Poornima and Mahaveera Jayanthi are also celebrated in certain regions of the State.

Other Hindu festivals of Karnataka Some of the other Hindu festivals that are celebrated in Karanataka along with the rest of the country are Makara Samkramana, Sri Ramanavami, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali.

Fairs of Karnataka Sri Vithappa Fair This fair is held in the honour of Vithappa, the deity of the village, Vithappa. It is a three days festival and about 7 to 8 thousand people gather during the fair. This fair has a religious and folk importance. 

State Festival Kannada Rajyotsava The Rajyotsava Day is celebrated on the 1st of November every year. This day marks the formation of the Karnataka State. Apart from this, other state festivals celebrated here are the Coorg festival, Hampi/Vijayanagar festival and the Hoysala festival. These festivals celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka.

Fairs of Karnataka The Godachi Fair The Godachi fair is held at Godachi village in Ramdurg Taluk of Karnataka. It is held in the month of Kartik This fair is held in the honour of Shri Veerabhadra and it is organized by the government of Karnataka. 

Fairs of Karnataka Shri Yellamma Devi Fair The Yellamma Devi fair is one of the important fairs of Karnataka.  The popular fair is held on various occasions from October to February months but the credit of the largest fair owes to Margasira, which is held on the full moon day. The Yellamma fair is organized in the honor of Yellamma Devi or Renuka, at the Yellamma temple located at Saundatti in Belgaum district.

Fairs of Karnataka Banashankari Devi Fair The Banashankari Devi fair is held near Badami. It is an annual fair held in the month of January on the full moon day. This fair lasts for 10 to 12 days. At the fair, villagers buy agricultural items, utensils and other articles of domestic needs.

Festivals And Fairs of Public Culture Festivals are sites to analyse trans-national identities and gain a better understanding of the meaning of kannada culture How do festivals frame the discourse of identity in relation to arts, with particular attention to the kannadiga and global interfaces as well as the issue of cultural diversity? Questions which arise: Which festivals? What is “identity”, related to identification processes? How to distinguish between trans-national, cosmopolitan and European identities? (MAY BE WE CAN JUST SAY THAT, AND NOT WRITE IT)‏ How can we interpret trans-national /cosmopolitan identifications as seen through festivals?

THANK YOU Festivals are an important expression of aesthetic public culture Questions which arise: Which festivals? What is “identity”, related to identification processes? How to distinguish between trans-national, cosmopolitan and European identities? (MAY BE WE CAN JUST SAY THAT, AND NOT WRITE IT)‏