I had a preconceived notion regarding Yellamma fair after going through so many stories, article, documentaries about the Savadatti yellamma fair before saw it myself . This fair is always in news for the Devadasi system , one of the highly controversial religious practice of Indian society. I also read how highly respected Devadasi tradition thrown to grounds during colonial times and the tradition lost its respect in society .From 1900s till freedom of India, Devdasi women were stripped of their wealth , thrown in to poverty and misery and sometime prostitution. Then came the era of modernization where many reformists tried to improve their life and eliminate the tradition which resulted in Devadasi tradition being outlawed in 1988. Now the whole tradition is disappearing and once glorified , the tradition of Devadasi is dying. It is highly debated whether Devadasi women engaged in prostitution or not but for media, intellectuals and politicians it is a hot topic and big business.
My intention was not to explore this evil tradition where the ‘ girls were forced to prostitution’ but to take a look at Yellamma fair as just another Karnataka fair and explore the unique traditions that are in danger. I know first visit will not reveal much but I wanted to give a start .
Bharath Hunnime ( February full moon day ) at Yellamma fair attracts huge crowd 60% of them being from Maharashtra . Many families come in buses, cars, jeeps and locals come in their bullock carts , tractors and tent for three to seven days . One can call this as a Kumbhmela of Karnataka ! I visited on this full moon day on February 22nd which saw nearly 1.5 million people visiting in single day
Here are few glimpses of the fair and I will show small little little traditions and interesting facts found in this fair in the coming posts .
