Footwear hanging from trees marks a unique annual festival at Lakamma Devi temple

Footwear hanging from trees is an unusual sight one encounters outside the Lakamma Devi temple at Gola (B) village, about 15 km from Kalaburagi, during its annual fair. For devotees, however, the sight is a symbol of faith, gratitude and fulfilled prayers.

Hundreds of devotees from Kalaburagi and neighbouring districts converged on the village on Saturday to take part in the two-day annual festival of Lakamma Devi, celebrated for its distinctive customs and rituals. Observed on the sixth day after Deepavali, the annual jatra festival draws people cutting across caste and community barriers.

Devotees visit the temple with prayers and seek the blessings of the deity. Those whose wishes are fulfilled return to offer footwear, which is tied into garlands and hung from trees outside the temple as an expression of gratitude.

The ritual lends the temple surroundings an unusual appearance, with footwear of different sizes and designs dangling from the branches, bearing testimony to the faith of devotees and their prayers. The temple itself has a distinctive tradition.

Devotees worship the posterior of the goddess, while saris are also offered and tied to the capstone of the shrine. Offerings to the deity include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, reflecting the unique customs associated with the annual fair.

For many devotees, the festival is not merely a religious gathering but an enduring tradition rooted in generations of faith. Heerabai Naganalli and Kishore Benekal, devotees from Kalaburagi who have been attending the annual jatra for decades, said they firmly believed that Lakamma Devi protected her devotees from evil and helped relieve them of health-related problems.

They said the offering of footwear and sarees was an expression of gratitude for the fulfilment of prayers and the protection they believed the goddess bestowed upon them.