Bagalakote: Holi is the festival of colours. Preparation for the festival begins from the very next day of Shivaratri. Due to pandemic holi was being celebrated in a dull manner in the District. However this year again the charm of the festival has been restored.
In North Karnataka, the holi is incomplete without the rythym of dufli ( a traditional drum). The sound of dufli reverberates during the season in every corner of the roads here. The season is also considered as the best season for the dufli merchants, who earn their bread and make some profit during the time.
On the occasion of holi, the youngsters as well as children purchase dufli every year. To enrich festival of colours the Hindu Dohar community involve themselves in the manufacture and selling dufli. The places like Rabakavi – Banahatti, Jamakhandi, Ramapura, Terdal including City of Bagalkote are the hub of dufli manufacturing. Holi is a great business season for the community. In this very short time span of fifteen days, a merchant can earn Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh. However, this community has faced losses since two years due to covid pandemic, which has seen an improvement this year. It requires 10 to 15 days to manufacture single dufli. The cost of dufli starts from Rs. 250, and goes upto Rs. 3000.
Speaking to NewsKarnataka, Bagalakote dufli manufacturer Renuka Narayankar said that due to covid, we faced lot of losses in last two years. If the citizens come forward to purchase dufli, the business made in these 15 days will fill our plates through out the year.
The holi celebration starts in the district from Friday March 18 to Sunday March 20.
