Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Durga Puja in North Karnataka

Durga Puja in North Karnataka
The Times of India,Bangalore

In north Karnataka, Dasara is all about Durga Puja, but such celebrations are mostly confined to homes. The emphasis is on worship of Shakti. Many fashion a large Durga idol out of clay, offer puja to the idol on three days starting with Durgashtami, before immersing the idols on Vijayadashami. However, of late, the 10-day Dasara festival is slowly becoming popular in the region. In Belgaum, the tradition of organising Dasara procession on Vijayadashami day started in 1901 and has continued ever since.

In Dharwad, for the first time, a colourful Dasara procession was organised on Tuesday. Besides, some community pujas are organised in some localities. Suryavamsha Sahsarjun Kshatriya Samaj holds the most attractive features of Dasara celebration in Hubli called Tagarina Kalaga, where 100 rams fight. The losing rams are sacrificed to Devi.

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