The fascinating fairs and festivals of Karnataka are a celebration of life in all its infinite variety. Most of them are exclusive to the state and reverberate with colour and gaiety. Every hamlet and village, every town and city has its own calendar of events to be celebrated. Dasara Treat yourself to the pomp and pageantry of the Dussehra festival in Mysore. This festival commemorates the victory of the Goddess Chamundi over the demon Mahishasura. Pageants, parades, and music create a kaliedoscope of colour and gaiety. Crowds jostle to catch a glimpse of the glittering palace. On the last day, a colourful procession of soldiers in ceremonial dress, cavalry, infantry, caparisoned elephants, and colourful tableaux wend their way from the palace gates to Bani Mantap, where the torchlight parade and a magnificent display of horsemanship mark the grand finale. Dussehra in Madikeri is held with a procession of beautifully lit temple cars and a prize is given for the best decorated temple car. Month: October   Hampi Festival (Vijaya Utsav) The ruins of Hampi come alive with the strains of music and sounds of dance when the State Government holds the Vijaya Utsav to recreate the grandeur of the erstwhile Vijayanagar Empire and a bygone era. Similar festivals are held at Halebid, Pattadakal, Karavalli, and Lakkundi. Other district festivals are held in consultation with the District Commissioners of different Districts. Month: November Tula Sankramana Come October, the people of Kodagu look forward to this annual festival. It is believed that Goddess Cauvery appears in the form of a sudden upsurge of water in a small tank to give darshan to the innumerable devotees gathered here. This event is known as theerthodbhava, which is celebrated with much festivity in Kodagu. Thousands flock to witness the event and seek the Goddess's blessings, bathe in her waters, and carry back bottles full of holy water from the source of the river. Date: October 17th Vairamudi Festival The sleepy town of Melkote comes alive during the annual Vairamudi festival when the deity of the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu is adorned with the legendary diamond-studded crown brought from the Mysore Palace. This nightlong event, part of the 10-day Brahmotsavam, is witnessed by thousands of devotees. Month: March Kambala (Buffalo Race) When the fields are flush with water, buffaloes race down a slushy track, egged on by a strong-muscled farmer who surfs his way down the track behind the beasts while balancing precariously on a trailing wooden plank.A riot of colour, frenzied cheers, and shining torsos slick with sweat mark this annual sporting event where the prize goes to the swiftest. Get swept away by the excitement of the Kambala buffalo race, a rural sport in southern coastal Karnataka, which originally began as a royal pastime and was later continued by the feudal lords of the Tulu region. Buffalo racing season: From November to March in Baradi Beedu, Bolantur, Kolatta Majalu, Bajagoli, Puttur, Kamalakatte, and Uppinangadi and Kolakebylu. Karaga Discover the 9-day Karaga, a tradition started and sustained by a Tamil-speaking community of gardeners called Thigalars. The Karaga festival is held at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple in Bangalore. Just after dusk on the Karaga day between March and April, a priest dressed in female attire leads a spectacular procession to the accompaniment of dazzling swordplay by a number of dhoti-clad, bare-chested Thigalars. On his head, he carries a flower-bedecked pyramid. A unique feature of the Karaga is the unbroken tradition of visiting the tomb of an 18th century Muslim saint every year - this custom has become a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. Month: April   Kadalekayi Parishe Popularly known as the groundnut festival, the Kadalekayi Parishe welcomes the first yield of the groundnut crop. Karnataka's farmers congregate at the Bull Temple each year to seek blessings for a good harvest. Heaps of different varieties and qualities of groundnuts spring up in the area surrounding the Bull Temple, the Dodda Ganesha Shrine, and the Bugle Rock Park in Basavanagudi, one of Bangalore's oldest suburbs. Month: November   Huthri This harvest festival, literally meaning 'new rice crop,' is celebrated in Kodagu when the paddy is ready to be harvested in the months of November or December. The ceremonious cutting of the new paddy crop by the head of the family falls on a full-moon night and is accompanied by chants of "Poli, Poli, Deva" (increase, increase, O God.) A single shot is fired to summon Lord Iguthappa, the presiding deity of the Kodava people of Kodagu. Month: November   Vasantha Habba Each year, Nrityagram Dance Village, founded by the late Odissi dancer Protima Gauri Bedi, comes alive during the Vasantha Habba (Spring Festival,) a night-long celebration of dance and music featuring the biggest names in Indian performing arts. Month: February Banashankari Fair The annual temple festival at the village temple in Banashankari is more than a religious event. During this time, the streets around the temple are taken over by a huge fair, marked by colour, gaiety, and thousands of attendant devotees. Month: February to March. Maha mastakabhisheka, Shravanabelagola Once in 12 years the well known Jain pilgrim centre, Shravanabelagola in Karnataka gets transformed into a throbbing city, when millions of devotees converge to participate in the spectacular ceremonies for the Maha Mastakabhisheka (sacred head anointing ceremony) of the magnificent 18 metre high statue of Bahubali. This event is commemorative of the first Maha Mastakabhisheka performed in 981 A. D., by Chavundaraya, the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the Ganga kingdom in Karnataka. Since the installation and consecration of the statue in 981 A. D. the ritual has been carried out with a regular periodicity of twelve years. The last one performed in 1993, attracted lakhs of pilgrims from all over the world. The Maha Mastakabhisheka is the most thrilling act of worship seen anywhere in the world. The highlights of the celebration comprise the head-anointing and the ritual bathing of the magnificent colossus adorning the top of the lofty Vindyagiri hillock that dominates the landscape all around. A spectacular procession of devotees carrying 1008 ornamental vessels containing sacramental water climb a huge scaffolding rising behind the statue of Bahubali to perform the ritual bathing amidst scriptural incantations. At the second stage, the statue is bathed with hundreds of litres of milk, sugarcane juice, and pastes of saffron, and sandal wood. Then follows a torrent of powders of coconut, turmeric, saffron, vermilion and sandalwood on the divine figure. The cascade of colours presents a dazzling and fascinating rainbow-effect over the contemplative countenance of the saint. Precious offerings of gems and gold and silver petals and coins are showered as symbols of reverential homage. In the finale to the grand proceedings a helicopter flies over the statue showering the choicest flowers on Lord Bahubali.