Bangalore Habba may not be held next year

Bangalore Habba may not be held next year

The Hindu

BANGALORE, DEC. 5. Upset with the anti-Kannada tag given to them and the protests at the inaugural function on Sunday, the organisers said "Bangalore Habba" might not be held next year.

Nandini Alva, member of the Artistes' Foundation for the Arts (AFFA), told presspersons here on Sunday that the disturbance outside the venue had upset her. "We called it Bangalore Habba to create a sense of belonging. We could have easily called it a performing arts festival. Ironically, that title has brought us all this trouble."

She said this because the activists earlier told presspersons that they did not protest at the Bangalore International Art Festival (held here a month ago) "because the event was billed as international and not city festival".

Ms. Alva said: "If I have the courage to do it again, we will ensure that there is a dedicated venue for Kannada Sahitya. We did hold discussions with members of the media as well on what issues needed to be addressed at the festival. Maybe we neglected some aspects. Our duty is meant to promote culture. The festival is meant to have something for everyone," she said.

If the organisers had unwittingly hurt anyone's feelings, they were ready to apologise. "In fact, we called them (the pro-Kannada activists) for discussions. No one came forward," she added.