Kadalekai Parishe 2026: Dates, Route, Metro and What to Eat

Kadalekai Parishe, Bengaluru’s groundnut fair, falls on Monday 7 December 2026 by its traditional rule: it is held on the last Monday of the Hindu month of Karthika. The official schedule comes from the state’s Muzrai department and the city corporation in November, and in 2025 the fair was stretched to five days, so expect stalls from the weekend of 5 and 6 December. It takes place on Bull Temple Road in Basavanagudi, it’s free, and the easiest way there is the Green Line to National College. This guide to the fair in Bengaluru (Bangalore) covers the dates, the story, the route, what to eat and how to keep the visit pleasant.

Dates: what’s confirmed and what isn’t

Year	Basavanagudi fair	Notes
2025	17–21 November	Extended to five days; the traditional Monday was 17 November
2026	Monday 7 December (traditional date)	Official programme due in November

The rule is simple, even if the date moves every year. Karthika is the month that begins after Deepavali, and Bengaluru follows the calendar in which months run from new moon to new moon. In 2026 Karthika runs from 10 November to 8 December, its Mondays fall on 16, 23 and 30 November and 7 December, and the last of them is the day of the fair.

Two things could shift your plans. First, the authorities may again announce a longer run, as they did in 2025 when crowds were heavy. Second, the fair has traditionally had two parts: a smaller gathering on the Sunday, the Chikka Parishe, and the main fair on the Monday, the Dodda Parishe. Either way, Monday 7 December is the day to plan around. We’ll update our Kadalekai Parishe page when the notification is out.

A second, smaller fair is held around the Kadu Malleshwara temple in Malleshwaram. In 2025 it ran from 8 to 10 November, about a week before the Basavanagudi fair. Its 2026 dates had not been announced when this guide was written.

The story behind the fair

Basavanagudi takes its name from the Bull Temple, Dodda Basavana Gudi, and the fair takes its story from the bull. The villages that once surrounded this hillock, among them Sunkenahalli, Gavipuram, Mavalli and Dasarahalli, grew groundnuts. According to the legend, a bull raided the fields on full-moon nights. When farmers gave chase, it ran up the hillock and vanished, and in its place they found a stone Nandi that kept growing until an iron peg was fixed to its head. They vowed to offer their first harvest to Basava each year, and the raids stopped.

Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru, built the temple around the monolith in 1537. The Nandi is about 15 feet tall and 20 feet long, among the largest Nandi monoliths anywhere. The farmers’ offering became a market, and the market became the Parishe. Growers still bring their first crop here, though today they come from much further away.

What you’ll find

Groundnuts, by the sackful. Farmers from Magadi, Tumakuru, Ramanagara and Chikkaballapur, and from neighbouring parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, sit behind heaps of freshly harvested groundnuts, sold raw, boiled, roasted and salted. They are measured out in cups rather than weighed, so ask the price per measure before the bag is filled. Variety names you may hear at the stalls include Sana, Samrat, Salem and Dappa Kai.

Fair food. Peanut holige, peanut laddus and chikki sit alongside bajji, bonda, churmuri, cotton candy and coloured sodas. Fairground sweets such as batthaas and kalyana seve are part of the tradition.

Everything else. Bangles, clay dolls, wooden toys, paper pinwheels, imitation jewellery, kitchenware and plaster figures fill the stalls between the groundnut sellers. A merry-go-round and other small rides are usually set up near the temple.

The temples. The queue for darshan at the Bull Temple is long on the main day. Next door, the Dodda Ganesha temple is decorated for the fair. In the evenings the Muzrai department and the corporation stage folk music and dance.

In 2025 the Chief Minister opened the fair on 17 November with a puja and a procession of 21 decorated bulls. That year the Muzrai department waived the daily fee normally collected from groundnut vendors on Bull Temple Road, and organisers pushed vendors and visitors towards cloth and paper bags. Carry your own.

How the fair has changed

The Parishe was a two-day event for most of its history. In 2025 it ran for five days, from 17 to 21 November, with decorative lighting along the route throughout, and reports described visitors arriving from across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The other shift is towards less waste. Vendors are encouraged to use cloth or paper bags, littering can draw a fine, and a plastic ban has been enforced at the Basavanagudi fair; one account credits the drive with cutting plastic use there by more than 60 per cent. For visitors the upshot is simple: bring a bag, and expect a longer and better-lit fair than the two-day event of the past.

The route

The fair fills Bull Temple Road from Ramakrishna Ashram Circle, past the Bull Temple and Bugle Rock, with stalls spilling down Bugle Rock Road towards Gandhi Bazaar. The whole stretch is closed to traffic. End to end it is an easy walk on a normal day and a slow shuffle on fair days.

A sensible order is to start at the Ramakrishna Ashram end, walk south to the temple, visit the Nandi and the Dodda Ganesha, rest in Bugle Rock park, and then leave through Gandhi Bazaar, where the flower stalls and old tiffin rooms give you a reason to linger.

Getting there

Metro. National College on the Green Line is the nearest station, about 1.5 km from the Bull Temple. It’s a 20-minute walk, or a short auto ride as far as the barricades.
Bus. BMTC buses along K.R. Road and to Gandhi Bazaar stop within walking distance.
Driving. Don’t, if you can avoid it. Bull Temple Road is closed, traffic is diverted around Basavanagudi, and the side streets fill early. In past years police have designated parking at nearby playgrounds and on the National College grounds; watch for the 2026 traffic advisory.
Cabs. Set your drop at Ramakrishna Ashram Circle or Gandhi Bazaar, not the temple itself.

When to go

Time	What it’s like
Weekday morning	Calm, with the best choice of groundnuts and room to walk
Sunday afternoon	Busy and festive; fine for older children
Monday evening	The peak, with lights, music and a very dense crowd

If you only want the atmosphere, go after dark on the main Monday and accept the crush. If you want to shop and talk to farmers, go before 10 am.

Tips

Carry a cloth bag and small change. Many farmers accept UPI through QR codes, but cash is quicker at the smaller stalls.
Wear closed shoes. The road is covered in shells by evening.
Keep children in front of you, and agree a meeting point. Mobile networks slow down in the crowd.
Watch your pockets in the tightest sections near the temple.
Eat nearby. Vidyarthi Bhavan in Gandhi Bazaar has served dosas since 1943, and the VV Puram food street near Sajjan Rao Circle gets going after 6 pm.
Leave by metro before the last train if you stay late on the main day.

Make a day of it

Basavanagudi rewards a longer visit. Bugle Rock park and the temples are on the fair route. Lalbagh is one metro stop away, with MTR on Lalbagh Road for breakfast on any day but Monday. The Bangalore Gayana Samaja on K.R. Road hosts Carnatic concerts, so check its listings for the evening. For a guided version, several groups run Basavanagudi walks; see our heritage walks page.

The fair also sits in a crowded fortnight. Echoes of Earth is on 5 and 6 December and the Bangalore Literature Festival on 11 to 13 December. Our food festivals page and festival listings cover the rest of the season, and this week’s events show what else is on while you’re in town.

Frequently asked questions

When is Kadalekai Parishe 2026?

The fair is held on the last Monday of Karthika month, which in 2026 is Monday 7 December. The official programme is announced in November; in 2025 the fair ran for five days around the traditional Monday.

Where is Kadalekai Parishe held?

On Bull Temple Road in Basavanagudi, south Bengaluru. Stalls run from Ramakrishna Ashram Circle past the Bull Temple to Bugle Rock and towards Gandhi Bazaar, and the road is closed to traffic.

Which metro station is nearest to Kadalekai Parishe?

National College on the Green Line, about 1.5 kilometres from the Bull Temple. Walk or take an auto from there.

Is there an entry fee?

No. Kadalekai Parishe is a free street fair. You pay only for groundnuts, food and anything else you buy.

What is the story behind Kadalekai Parishe?

Legend says a bull kept raiding the groundnut fields of villages around Basavanagudi. Farmers pledged their first harvest to Basava, the sacred bull, and the raids stopped. The Bull Temple was built in 1537, and the offering grew into an annual fair.

Is there a groundnut fair in Malleshwaram too?

Yes. A smaller Kadalekai Parishe is held around the Kadu Malleshwara temple in Malleshwaram. In 2025 it ran from 8 to 10 November; 2026 dates had not been announced at the time of writing.