Hundreds of devotees thronged the Lakamma Devi temple in Gola (B) village of Aland Taluk on Tuesday to celebrate the annual two-day footwear festival.
Devotees from across Kalaburagi and neighbouring districts converged at the village, which is 30 km from Kalaburagi, to take part in the festival known for its unique customs and rituals. The Lakamma Devi annual festival falls on the sixth day after Deepavali. Believers, cutting across caste and creed, come to the temple on this day to get their wishes fulfilled.
Once their wishes are answered, the devotees tie a garland of footwear to a tree outside the temple.
They also offer vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes to the Goddess. Besides footwear, the devotees also offer saris which are tied to the capstone of the temple.
Girija from Yadgir said that she believed that the Goddess wears the footwear and protect people from evil and also relieves devotees from health issues.
