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Yet for many pilgrims, the first stop is not the chariot route but the food lines, where volunteers serve food continuously from early morning until late at night.
As night falls, the crowd thins but the kitchen continues. Plates are washed, fires are lit again and latecomers are still welcomed with food. Image:AI generated
In Koppala, Karnataka, the kitchens are awake long before the first mantra is played. Huge ships steam overnight. Hands move in a practiced rhythm, rolling out thousands of jowar rotis, turning holiges on hot pans, stirring maadli into pots big enough to feed entire villages. By morning, food for lakhs of people is ready.
This is how the Gavisiddheshwar Jatre or fair actually begins. Not by the chariot, not by the crowd, not by the dasoha (free food service). Every year, the Gavisiddheshwar Math prepares food on such a large scale that it turns nutrition into an act of devotion. No tokens, no questions, no conditions. Whoever comes will eat.
A city built by faith, nurtured by service
As soon as the news spreads that the Jatra has started, the Koppala starts filling up. Devotees come from all over northern Karnataka and neighboring Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Some people walk for miles, some come in packed buses, some on tractors and two-wheelers, bringing families, offerings and quiet anticipation.
Often referred to as the Kumbh Mela of South India, Jaatre turns the city into a moving crowd. Officials estimate that more than 5 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the Maharathotsav, the chariot festival of that day.
Yet for many pilgrims, the first stop is not the chariot route but the food lines, where volunteers serve food continuously from early morning until late at night.
Maharathotsav is on the streets
As the sun rises, attention turns to the tall wooden chariot. In the Maharathotsavam, a huge chariot is pulled through the main streets of Koppala, the wheels of which rotate slowly like ropes in the sea of ​​people.
As the chariot moves forward, devotees offer bananas and uttatti, dried dates, on it. It is believed that this ritual brings prosperity, health and fulfillment of desires. For some, touching the rope is the culmination of months of prayer. For others, it’s a tradition passed down for generations.
When the chariot starts moving, the city immediately begins to stop and grow. The streets disappear beneath the crowds, the balconies fill with spectators and chants echo through the narrow streets.
Dasoha as Jaatre’s heart
The kitchen does not stop even when the chariot moves. Gavisiddheshwar Monastery is known throughout the state for its commitment to Dasoha, and Jatre is its most visible expression.
Thousands of volunteers work in shifts, many traveling just to serve. The food is simple, nutritious and plentiful. Everyone eats the same food, pilgrims, police personnel, volunteers, sanitation workers and unplanned travelers.
This shared food is not a donation for the devotees. This is equality, a reminder that here faith is inseparable from service.
Faith with a message beyond ritual
Each year, Jaatre also conveys a social message. This time the focus is on environmental protection and water conservation. Through proclamations and sermons, devotees are urged to plant trees, conserve water and protect natural resources.
Under the guidance of Sri Gavisiddheshwar Swamiji, the message links faith with responsibility, reminding pilgrims that devotion does not end at ritual but extends to daily life.
keep the crowd together
Managing a gathering of this scale requires careful coordination. Over 2,000 police personnel have been deployed across Koppal, supported by CCTV surveillance, crowd-control barricades and temporary medical camps.
Ambulances and first aid stations are deployed on major routes, while volunteers guide elderly devotees through the thickest part of the crowd. Traffic changes are in place, but within the city, movement follows an unspoken rhythm shaped by decades of repetition.
When the city becomes a festival
As night falls, the crowd thins but the kitchen continues. Plates are washed, fires are lit again and latecomers are still welcomed with food.
Gavisiddheshwar Jatre is not just a religious event. It is a place where faith nourishes bodies, where service sustains faith and where the entire city becomes a shared place of devotion.
When the last wheel of the chariot stops and the crowd finally moves away, Koppal will return to its peaceful days. But for those who ate the food, pulled the rope or simply stood in the crowd, their memory will remain of the place where faith first came in the form of food.
January 05, 2026, 17:00 IST
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