‘Agni Kheli’ festival: Devotees throw fire at each other at Kateel Durga temple

Agencies
April 22, 2019

Mangaluru, Apr 22: As a part of a centuries-old tradition, hundreds of devotees here performed a spectacular fire ritual, to pay reverence to the Goddess Durga at a temple situated in the Kateel town, around 30 kilometers from here.

Bare-chested, dhoti-clad men threw fire torches at each other in the compound of the Kateel Durga Parameshwari temple here in the unique age-old fire fighting ritual aimed at appeasing the Goddess.

The ritual 'Agni Kheli' 'Thoothedhara' takes place during the festival of the Kateel Durga Parameshwari temple that is held in the month of April each year for about eight consecutive days.

Two villages near the temple-- Athoor and Kodathoor participated in the ritual.

Speaking to ANI, priest of the Kateel Durga Parameshwari Temple, Hari Narayana Dasa Asranna said: “The two groups face one another from a distance of about 15metres to 20 meters and throw burning palm fronds at each other.”

According to the rules of the festival, the men are divided into two groups and are permitted five throws to hit as many people in the other group.

“The people who suffer burns are sprayed with water of Kumkum (red powder made from saffron and turmeric),” devotee KV Shetty said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 27,2020

In a shocking incident, a woman allegedly sold her five-day-old baby boy to two siblings in Karnataka’s Davanagere for Rs 5,000 on Tuesday (May 26) in connivance with a hospital employee, according to police.

Acting on a complaint by Honnali child development project officer Mahantesh Poojar, police booked a case against six persons in connection with the incident and arrested four of them by Tuesday night.

Police said the woman allegedly sold the baby, born on May 20 at Honnali taluk hospital, to Annesh Naik, 36, and his sister Lavanya, 39, in the early hours of Tuesday in front of the Honnali KSRTC bus stand.

The six accused have been identified as Kumar, 44, a staff nurse at Honnali hospital; Mahesh, a group ‘D’ employee at the hospital who facilitated the deal; Basavaraj, 36, a lab technician at Hirekerur hospital; Annesh; Lavanya; and the mother of the infant.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Mysuru, Mar 7: Karnataka Minister for Medical Education K Sudhakar on Saturday said that State Government may consider suspending the touch-based Biometric time and Attendance system for its employees in view of the COVID-19 threat.

Speaking to media persons while inspecting the medical infrastructure at KR Hospital here on Saturday, he said that many IT companies have already suspended the Biometric Attendance system in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus. Given the threat perception, the government was also contemplating the same and would consider it. However, he did not specify the date.

With regard to the preparedness to handle the threat, the Minister said the government was extremely cautious since last 20 days and had taken all precautionary measures. “All international passengers at the airport are being screened and so far nearly 1 lakh passengers have been screened and anyone with symptoms will be quarantined for 28 days.’’

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 5: New Tulu movie Pingara has bagged the NETPAC International Jury Award at the 12th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festial (BIFFes) on Wednesday.

Written and directed by Preetham R Shetty, the movie revolves around people who worship daivas (spirits) of Tulu Nadu.

The narrative goes back and forth in time, to tell the story of a family to Sinchana (Chaitanya Chandramohan), a journalist from Bengaluru who visits a village in Tulu Nadu to ‘write on Tulu culture.’

The film speaks about the caste system in Tulu Nadu and the struggle for land in the post-independence period.

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