After 35 years, Bagalkot prepares to hold jathre for presiding deity

BAGALKOT: In the mid 1980s, the dreadful prospect of the city's submergence in the backwaters of the Almatti Dam compelled the residents of Bagalkot to halt the jathre to Dyamavva Devi, the city's presiding deity. Now, over 35 years later, with the second wave of the pandemic striking the state, the residents of the Killa neighbourhood in Bagalkot city are contemplating reviving the forgotten tradition.
General secretary of Sri Gramadevi Seva Samiti Shrikant Pattar said that the Killa neighbourhood was now left with just 827 households. "It was not among the localities identified for relocation. When it floods, the area turns into an island, with only one road connecting it with the rest of the city. Life has been hard recently. We lost 200 people to Covid-19. This apart, we have also had to deal with reptiles such as snakes, scorpions etc after the district was flooded. People have been under considerable duress here," Pattar told TOI.
He said that, while engaged in the cleaning of the Dyamavva Devi temple, several residents called for the need to revive the annual jathre tradition. "At a meeting recently, it was decided to hold the jathre on May 24 and 25," Pattar added.
Suresh Majjige, a resident of Halepet, an area adjoining Killa area, recalled his elders painting the wooden statue of Dyamavva Devi every time the jathre was held. "When the jathre was held, farmers offered prayers to the Goddess five Tuesdays in a row before the onset of the rain in the Rohini month of the Hindu calendar. The statue would be decorated with a sari, ornaments and weapons on the fifth Tuesday. Although many of the rituals like offering have endured, the jathre itself has not been held for many years. We believe that if the Goddess is pleased, she will bless us with a happy life. We have decided to start offering prayers from April 27, a Tuesday, and all the other rituals will be held on May 25," Suresh said.
Fellow Halepet resident Tippanna Badiger, a septuagenarian, said that Dyamavva Devi was regarded as a deity for the whole of Bagalkot city.
Sri Gramadeva Seva Samiti working president Basavaprabu Sarnadagouda said that the jathre was being organised at the behest of the residents.
However, with Covid-19 rearing its head again, the organisers said that all the prescribed safety norms would be followed during the fete.