BENGALURU: The traditional Bengaluru Karaga, one of the important religious events of the city promoting religious harmony, was held in a grand manner late on Saturday night.
Though heavy rain interrupted the festival for an hour, thousands of people took part in the ritual at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Thigalarpet in Old Bengaluru. Karaga -- the floral pyramid symbolic of Draupadi -- was carried out of the temple after 1 am.
Last year, because of the model code of conduct for Lok Sabha elections, temple representatives had not invited politicians. This year, however, the invitation was extended to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, and others, who took part in the festival and offered puja.
Jnanendra Vanhikula Gowda carried the Karaga for the 15th time this year. The old areas of Bengaluru, through which the Karaga procession passed, were festooned with colourful lightings and floral decorations. People waited on the streets into early hours to greet the Karaga and offer puja.
During the procession, the Karaga also enters the Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Dargah at Cottonpet and returns to Dharmaraya Swamy Temple early on Sunday morning. Strict security measures were in place and the police were deployed across streets. Temporary CCTV cameras were installed throughout its route. Traffic remained largely under control as the police had diverted vehicles.
