Bengaluru Karaga

Thigalarapete, old pete

One of the city's oldest festivals, kept by the Thigala gardening community. On the Chaitra full-moon night a priest in women's dress carries the karaga — a towering jasmine-covered pyramid representing Draupadi — on his head without touching it through the old pete, stopping at the dargah of the Sufi saint Tawakkal Mastan.

March or April; the main procession leaves the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple at about 2am. Expect dense crowds in the narrow lanes and keep valuables close.

Time to allow

3 hrs

When

March or April, on the Chaitra full moon