It was announced that this year the Karaga will be carried by 24-year-old N. Manu, which was to be a first for him. But as a massive number of devotees waited patiently, the Karaga pujari (priest) emerged only in the wee hours of Sunday. And, to everyone’s surprise, it was not Manu. A. Jnanendra was carrying the Karaga even though Manu had led all the rituals for the previous nine days. It later emerged that Manu was unwell because of which Jnanendra had to take over.

“We are happy that the Karaga was not stopped. But we have instituted an inquiry into what actually happened that night,” said Rajgopal, chairman of the Karaga Committee.

Incidentally, Jnanendra had earlier challenged Manu’s appointment as the Karaga pujari and the case, which is before a Muzrai tribunal, is expected to come up for hearing on April 27.

Not new to controversies

The Karaga, the oldest festival of Bengaluru, is not new to controversies. It has been marred by controversy for over five years now over who should be the pujari and carry the Karaga.

In 2013, Jnanendra had taken over mid-procession from C.M. Lokesh, amidst allegations by Lokesh that the Karaga was forcefully taken away from him.

In 2016, Lakshmeesha got a High Court order to carry the Karaga, putting a brake to 15 years of Jnanendra and Lokesha being the pujaris. However, he was forced to resign after being allegedly caught practising carrying the Karaga in a private area before the actual festival.

The job is a coveted one owing to the prestige associated with it in the Vahnikula Kshatriya community. The Karaga pujari is also the head priest of the historical Dharmarayaswamy temple. He gets ‘dakshine’ during and immediately after the Karaga procession, which often runs into several lakhs.

Karaga Committee

The annual Karaga festival was being organised by a large ad-hoc committee of community members. “This year, the State government, for the first time, gave a grant of ₹1 crore for the festivities. Hence, the Muzarai Department has formed a Karaga Committee with seven members, who will have a tenure of three years. This committee will streamline the festivities and root out such confusion and chaos,” said Subbanna, a senior community member.

The Karaga Committee, led by Rajgopal, was formed 15 days before the festival this year. “In the short time we got, we tried our best to manage the festival properly. From next year, we will ensure that there is no confusion or controversy over the Karaga festival,” Rajgopal said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj / April 02nd, 2018