One of the uniqueness of the Gutte Venugopalaswami temple fair is the a pleasant flower smell filled around and the flock of gorgeous Aarti women! during the month of Shravana fourteen surrounding villages decide the date of the fair which normally is the third or fourth Saturday of the hindu month. With Challahalli being the host village the Aarti team welcomes the other aarti team from the surrounding villages before they all climb several steps to reach the temple to offer their final pooja. With heavy golden jewelries and colorful sarees the gorgeous women of the villages carry an aarti made of variety of flowers woven bamboo cage inside which the oil lamp and jaggery is kept. While the men load freshly made sweet drinks in milk cans and the first crop of their farm to the carts to carry them to the temple at the same time when the women reach. Everyone circle the temple three times and then throw the flowers to top of the temple while the sweet drinks are distributed among the people who gathered to watch the fair. Thousands gather to watch this fair while for men it is always special to watch their wives , sisters, daughters and girlfriends glowing with heavy jeweleries and colorful sarees .
It was also very cleanest fair I have seen as shops are not allowed on the top of hill and most of the villagers are supposed to stay on fasting till the fair finishes. This might be the best one to see a RAW concept of fair very close to Bangalore which soon might be exploited and modernized to make the fair more commercial.
Lovely!