Chikkaballapura: With the arrival of Vaishakha month, the traditional ritual of Bandidyavaru will be celebrated in many places in the District. This excitement is so visible.
This is a ritual among the Vokkaligas, especially the Marasu Vokkaliga community. The community celebrates the Hosa Dyavar in the month of Karthik, during which all the members of the family gather at the house where the ancestors lived and celebrate it there.
Bandidyavaru is being celebrated on this occasion of Vaishakha month and there is a festive atmosphere in the villages. The couple offer flowers to their children as a part of the ritual.
Shubhakruta Samvatsara, Vaishakha month, Krishna Paksha, etc., are printed as an invitation on the lines of the ascendant with the names of the children and they are requested to come and bless them with their families for the Karaga Mahotsava.
On that day, the couple carry the karaga and walk on a cloth spread on the floor and go out of the village. There, pujas are performed to karaga.
Lakhs of rupees are spent on this Bandidyavara Habba which is celebrated by the whole family together.
This is a unique ritual. In ancient times, a bullock cart race was organised. An invitation card too were arranged to invite family, friends and relatives. The house is whitewashed, painted and prepared. This preparation goes on for about a month.
The couple will be seen carrying a karaga with the cart, piercing the ears of the children, offering flowers and other related special rituals. It should be done at least once in a lifetime. There is also a rule that if any person in the family dies, the festival cannot be celebrated in that year.
At a time when joint families are disappearing, everyone in the family comes together during the Bandidyavara celebrations. At that moment, the joint family of the ancestors will come to the fore. Meals are arranged for thousands of people. Though it will be celebrated as a house festival, there will be a festive atmosphere in the entire village.
It is a part of the tradition to celebrate Bandidyavara Habba at an early age. If the girls hit puberty, they are not allowed to celebrate Bandidyavara Habba and offer flowers. It is believed that if the ritual is performed, it will be bad. So they celebrate at an early age and offer flowers to them.
At the time of marriage, the rituals of Hosa Dyavaru and Bandidyavaru are considered.
Only those families who have the rituals of Hosadyavaru and Bandidyavari are eligibke for alliance. Marriage arranged based on this tradition is still seem. Meat is the main food.
It is celebrated mostly in Chikkaballapura, Shidlaghatta, Chintamani, Srinivasapura in Kolar District, Devanahalli, Hosakote and other places in Bengaluru Rural District.