Temple festival begins with recital of Quran

BENGALURU: The two-day Rathotsava or chariot festival at Chennakeshava Temple in Belur in Karnataka’s Hassan district began with the traditional recital of the Quran despite opposition from right-wing groups.

The chariot festival could not be held for two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual Rathotsava is held 12 days after Ugadi or the Kannada new year celebrations, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to participate in the fair. As per tradition, a Muslim priest reads out excerpts from the Quran to mark the beginning of the celebrations.

Flanked by members of the Hindu community, Kazi Syed Sajeed Pasha, a cleric, recited the Quranic verses at the commencement of the festival on Wednesday. “I have been doing this for 50 years now. Let god bless everybody. All religions are the same. We read the Quran, they read the Bhagavad Gita,” Pasha said.

Twelfth-century Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana consecrated the temple to mark his victories in 1116 against the Cholas. He called it Vijaya Narayana. The

I have been doing this for 50 years now... All religions are the same.

KAZI SYED SAJEED PASHA, A cleric

temple attracts millions of tourists and devotees from India and abroad annually.

Organisers of Karaga, a festival in which chariots with gods are drawn a distance in a procession by devotees in Bengaluru visited Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan Dargah in Cottonpet, as part of the tradition, despite being advised against it.

“They have been following traditions... I pray that all Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the state and across the country protect their unity. We should not allow disruption of these traditions,” former state minister H D Revanna said.

The development comes amid protests by right wing groups over several issues like wearing of hijabs in educational institutions, sale of halal meat and call for prayers on loudspeakers.