PattanKodoli is a Village in Hatkanangale Taluka in the Kolhapur District of Maharashtra. Every year during the VittalBirdev Yatra, the village of PattanKodoli, in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, turns yellow with clouds of turmeric for four days. This makes PattanKodoli village the spot for the world's biggest Haldi festival. VittalBirdev Yatra commemorates the birth anniversary of the community’s deity, VittalBirdev Maharaj. The highlight of the VittalBirdev Yatra celebration is the sacred ‘baba’ predicting the future farming and weather conditions of the village. On the first day of this yatra, the sacred baba is welcomed with huge umbrellas and a musical procession. The Baba sits under a banyan tree, and people perform the religious ceremony where they put turmeric and dry coconut powder on him. On the second day, he enters the Shri VittalBirdev Temple, on the beats of the drums, dancing on the beat, he makes his predictions in Kannada, which is then rephrased into Marathi by the temple priest. On the fourth day, of the celebrations, the baba starts his journey back to his village, and this brings an end to the annual VittalBirdev Yatra. Such festivals with intense traditions and unbelievable rituals are the dream of travel photographers to capture vibrant cultures that are relatively less popular around the world.
