Bantwal: Come summer and the coastal belt comes alive with temple annual fairs and various other religious rituals.
One such annual fairs that has found a distinct place is Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple, Polali.

A religious belief makes the people of Polali area resort to organic farming, specifically while farming watermelons. The melons thus cultivated is sold during the temple fair or are even given as ‘Prasadam’. The connection between the annual temple fair and the melons is such that the watermelons grown in Polali for the fair is called ‘Puralda Prasada’, (Polali is called Pural in Tulu dialect), which means Prasadam from Polali Temple.

The temple is located in Kariyangala village of Batwal taluk.

The locals believe that the sizes, the colour of the skin and the red juicy core of the fruit is unique to the melons grown in Polali alone.

The fruits are grown only in Polali and a nearby village called Malali. Months before the temple fair begins, the farmers are seen toiling in their fields, sowing the watermelon seeds, nurturing them and then proudly looking at the little buds of melon. By the time the melons are fully grown, it is time the temple gets ready for the fair.

Legends have it that when Goddess Shakti severed the head of demon Raktabeejasura, he makes a request to the goddess that he wants to live on.

Responding to this request Goddess grants him the honour that during Polali festival, watermelons would be grown in the region, symbolising his severed head, which would be savoured by devotees as prasadam of the temple during the fair.

The juicy core of the watermelon is blood red in colour and the locals till this day believe that it is the manifestation of Raksthabeejasura’s severed head.

The watermelon fields are looked at with so much sanctity that once the seeds are sown nobody can step into the field wearing their footwear.

Fully organic

Even as governments across the nation are finding it difficult to knock off chemical fertilisers and pesticides off the agri store racks, here in Polali, the watermelon grown for the annual fair are completely organic.

In Malali village (Manel) near Ganjimath has 10 acres of land which is used to grow watermelon alone.

Another highlight is that during the annual fair, no outside melon vendors are allowed.

The procedure

After the paddy harvest is over, the process of preparing the land for melon cultivation begins. In January, ten days after Makar Sankranti, the farmers make a prayers to Goddess Rajarajeshwari to safeguard the melon fruits and then sow the melon seeds available in the market.

Seeds are sown maintain a distance of one foot. Organic fertilisers are put and the seeds are watered once in four days.

Cucumber is also cultivated along with the melon as mixed farming.

The farmers who grow the melons make it a point to offer the first melon from their respective fields to Goddess Rajarajeshwari and then transport the loads of melons to temple premises for sale.

Many years ago, the farmers used to collect the seeds spit out by customers in the temple premises after the annual fair is over.

However, nowadays this practice has stopped.

Costly fruit!

While a small sized watermelon is available in the market for Rs 50, these mammoth melons cost anywhere between Rs 200 to 350.

But, the sellers have no reason to worry because on just the day of car festival alone, more than half of their stock is over.

The demand for this ‘prasadam’ is such that many devotees often return home without getting an opportunity to buy one.

The temple administration too makes necessary arrangements to help the vendors do their brisk business. Specific areas are allocated to melon vendors during the fair, where other vendors are not allowed to do their business. These places are given at discounted price, without any tender process.

Even to this day, people cutting across differences of religion, caste, creed and class come to Polali temple to buy these mammoth melons.

Along with religious belief, the ‘Puralda Bacchangai’ is reflection to the agricultural revolution that has taken place in the name of Goddess Rajarajeshwari.