Udupi Culture is full of festivities,dances and different poojas.
Aati kalenja,Bhuta kola and nagaradhane are some cultural traditions of Udupi.
Aati kalenja is a folk tradition which is done during aarti(Pooja) to bring prosperity, aati kalenja is a dance which is done during July – August in the rainy season especially in villages to keep evil spirits away from the village.
Bhuta kola is worshiping goddesses as since indus valley civilization and ancient civilizations goddesses are considered to be a sign of fertility. The bhuta means ‘supernatural spirits or beings’ while kola means ‘worship’ which means seeking blessing of supernatural spirits by worshiping them.
Nagaradhane is the worship of snakes, in Udupi every house should have a snake to offer milk. No people should harm or kill Any snake knowingly and if someone does it unknowingly then they must perform rituals to get purified and free from any karma.
Karangola is a famous dance form which is performed during second harvest season i.e February-March by the ‘Harijans‘ . This dance is done for the prosperity of fields and well-being/good luck of the people. People hold sticks in their hands and go from house to house while dancing on drum beats.
Coming to the most important ritual of Udupi, the paryaya means ‘succession’.
This ritual is usually held around makar sankranti. On Paryaya , charge of Sri Krishna temple is handed over to the next successor by the former one along with the keys and vessels ‘akshaya pathra’.
