Puthari Festival Celebrated With Great Fervour Across Kodagu

The district’s first formal celebration commenced at the historic Paadi Shree Igguthappa Temple, where the traditional ritual of cutting the first stalks of paddy was performed.

Madikeri/Virajpet: Kodagu witnessed vibrant Puthari celebrations on Thursday, 4 December, as households, temples, and paddy fields across the district came alive with rituals marking the annual harvest festival. Despite clouds hovering overhead and fears of rainfall, the festive spirit remained undeterred.

The district’s first formal celebration commenced at the historic Paadi Shree Igguthappa Temple, where the traditional ritual of cutting the first stalks of paddy was performed. Devotees gathered in large numbers as priests offered prayers before harvesting the ceremonial sheaves. Echoes of “Poli Poli Deva” resonated through the air, symbolising prosperity and thanksgiving. Fireworks lit up the night sky, filling it with colourful streaks as families and visitors joined the celebrations.

Following the commencement at Igguthappa Temple, festivities unfolded at the Omkareshwara Temple in Madikeri, various other temples, ainmanes (ancestral homes), and paddy fields throughout the district. Farmers decorated their fields with tender-leaf festoons, and community members offered prayers to the paddy crop before cutting the new harvest, an age-old tradition deeply rooted in Kodava culture. Cultural programmes and fireworks displays further enlivened the celebrations.

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As part of the ongoing festivities, the traditional Puthari kolata (stick dance) will be performed on 5 December at 3 p.m. at the Fort premises in Madikeri, in addition to several performances planned across the district.

CNC marks 32nd public Puthari:

Meanwhile, the Codava National Council (CNC) marked its 32nd Annual Public Puthari celebration at Bilur village in Pathkatt Naad at 10 a.m., under the Rohini Nakshatra. Led by CNC Chairman N.U. Nachappa, the event was held in the paddy fields of Kandera Suresh.

Speaking on the occasion, Nachappa said the celebration symbolised a major milestone in the CNC’s 35-year struggle for Codavaland geo-political autonomy. He reiterated the organisation’s demands, including recognition of Codavas as an indigenous animistic mono-ethnic group, inclusion of Codava Thakk in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and safeguarding of religious “sacrament gun” rights as part of essential customary practices under Articles 25 and 26.

Virajpet MLA and Chief Minister’s Legal Advisor A.S. Ponnanna visited the Igguthappa Temple and offered special prayers on the occasion.

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