Gramadevathe Sri Banashankari annual fair was celebrated in a grand way in Hebbale village on Sunday night.
Hebbale village is a semi-Malnad and plain region situated in the northern part of Kodagu.
The festival is observed on the new moon of the auspicious month 'Karthika Masa' as per the Hindu almanac.
A large number of devotees gathered for the temple festival organised by the Banashankari Ammanavara Temple Committee, Basaveshwara Committee and Ramalingeshwara Samiti. Covid-19 guidelines were followed during the various rituals.
Devotees in and around Hebbale had a glimpse of Sri Banashankari Devi.
Generally, the villagers living in various places come to the village and gather at the temple to take part in the festival.
'Ganapathy puja', 'Punyaha', 'Raksha Bandhana', 'Dhwajarohana', 'Navagraha Sthapane', 'Navagraha puja' and 'Mahamangalarati' were performed under the guidance of temple chief priest Krishnamurthy, on Sunday morning.
The temple was decorated with flowers, buntings and electric lights for the special occasion. The presiding deity Sri Banashankari Devi was decorated with ornaments. Special puja and prayers were offered at 10 pm. Later, the procession idol of the deity was taken in a procession to the 'Pavitra Bana'.
Later, devotees walked on the embers set up on a platform at the Nagabana, in fulfilment of their vows.
Fireworks during the procession mesmerised the people.
Temple committee chairman Yajaman Basavaraju, secretary Rajappa and members were present.
Bullock cart race
As a part of the temple fair, a state-level bullock cart race was held on Monday.
Apart from people from the village, those from KR Pete, Hampapura, Saraguru, Chamarajapete, Mallinathapura villages and also from the villages in Mysuru, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts took part.
More than 20 pairs of bullocks took part in the bullock cart race held at Government Model Primary School grounds.
Thousands of people witnessed the event. Zilla Panchayat former member H R Srinivas launched the race.
The crowd cheered with whistles, hooting and claps. Some bullocks got startled and ran towards the audience, making people go helter-skelter.
The race coincides with the harvest season (Suggi).
Madari Yuvaka Sangha president H T Jagadish, vice president Krishnamurthy, secretary Chandrakumar, treasurer Bharat and others were present.