Bengaluru’s historic Kadalekai Parishe, the centuries-old groundnut fair, returned to Basavanagudi this week, drawing hundreds of visitors to the iconic Bull Temple and Dodda Ganesh Temple. The annual event, which begins on the last Monday of the Kartik month, marks the arrival of the season’s first groundnut harvest, with heaps of fresh produce brought in from across Karnataka and neighbouring South Indian states.

Believed to be nearly 450–500 years old, the tradition began when farmers offered their first crop to Nandi after a bull was said to be damaging their fields at night. Today, the festival continues to blend faith, history and community spirit, attracting crowds from across the city.

“This festival has a history of around 400-450 years. Despite the fact that Bengaluru has grown into a modern metropolis today, people still come in huge numbers to keep this traditional alive. I request the young parents of Bengaluru to bring their kids and show (them) this fair because it is very rare to see a very rural and culturally rooted fair in a city as big and as cosmopolitan as Bengaluru,” said Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.

Originally a three-day celebration, the Parishe has now expanded into a five-day event and continues to draw an estimated 4 to 5 lakh visitors each year. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy noted its enduring cultural event, saying, “Since Kadalekai Parishe has a history of 500 years, at the time of Kempegowda's rule this was started. Now, up to last year it was only two days, now we have increased it to five days. In last four years, four to five to five lakhs people have attended this parishe. I request all the people of Bengaluru, there are a lot of people from outside the state that have come and settled here, they have not seen this. Let them come and let them enjoy and visit temples.”

This year, the festival also featured an eco-friendly initiative promoting the use of cloth bags and discouraging plastic.

Dhruv, a volunteer from the Zero Waste Collective, explained, “These are all cloth bags, these cloths bags are made from old textile waste and these are stitched by Self Help Groups and Rotary Bangalore Midtown is sponsoring this for us. We are not going to be distributing this free of cost, we are distributing cloth bag at Rs 2 to vendors and at Rs 5 to 10 to other public. This is specifically because there is no responsibility when it comes (to using them for free), but we have also mobilised 2 lakhs newspaper bags that is done from different schools and colleges – close to 60 plus schools and colleges and apartments and all of that.”

The fair also drew international tourists experiencing the Parishe and the city’s cultural energy for the first time.

Tania, a visitor from Mexico, shared, “It's an amazing experience. It's our first time in India and we are really enjoying it. We feel very blessed to be here and it's definitely a very spiritual city. Everyone is very gentle and very friendly, so we are having a really good time.

Fellow tourist Alikandra echoed the sentiment, describing the festival as “amazing and very unique. I am really happy to be here and happy to experience this”. Experiencing the Parishe for the first time, she added, “Yes, it was a little too much, but it was unique, so we enjoyed it.”

As trade, tradition and devotion converge, Kadalekai Parishe continues to transform Basavanagudi into a vibrant cultural hub, a living reminder of Bengaluru’s deep-rooted heritage.