Festivals of Mangalore You Should Experience

During Navaratri and Krishna Janmashtami, the streets of Mangalore reverberate with the rapid, hypnotic beats of the 'Tashe' drum. Troupes of young dancers, body-painted meticulously from head to toe in black and yellow stripes, perform Pili Vesha. Their performances include backflips, picking up coins with their teeth, and simulating tiger hunts.

Kambala is the historic buffalo race held in twin muddy tracks across rural Dakshina Kannada. Farmers guide pairs of muscular, conditioned water buffaloes at breathtaking speed, kicking up mud sprays illuminated by night floodlights.

Yakshagana is coastal Karnataka's ancient folk-theatre tradition, combining operatic music, dialogic prose, improvised wit, and acrobatic dance. Artistes spend up to 4 hours getting transformed with elaborate face paint, large wooden headgear (kireeta), and heavy silver ornaments.

Traditional 'Mela' troupes tour from village to village performing stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana throughout the dry winter months, often running from dusk until the crack of dawn.