City gets a facelift, courtesy Habba

City gets a facelift
While the idea is to rejuvenate the cultural ethos of the city, its public spaces – roads and parks – are getting a facelift, says Lata Srinivasan
The TImes of India

The Bangalore Habba is in full swing and the city is in a 'habba' mood. Roads and parks have been decorated to the hilt with artists, musicians, dancers, and painters enticing the crowds.

In contrast to other places where cultural programs take place in auditoriums and enclosed places, the Bangalore Habba celebrates the spirit of the city and most of the city's lush green parks and wide roads have been chosen as venues. If it's the 'Artists Walkway' along M G Road where you can stop for quick sketches, then it's a food festival at Bal Bhavan, cultural shows at Palace Grounds, and a people's carnival at Cubbon Park. Noted danseuse Padmini Ravi, Managing Trustee, Artistes' Foundation for the Arts (AFFA), which is organising the Habba, says, one of the main ideas was not to centralise the venue for all the events.

"With the amount of traffic, it's pretty time-consuming and requires much effort to reach the venue. Instead, we decided to take the Habba to the people. For instance, there are about 3,000 people around Sadashivanagar Park and holding such cultural events there enables people around that area to easily attend them," explains Padmini. Thus, the aim is to promote culture in specific localities where local communities come together to enjoy the evenings. "Programs like light music or comedy require a lighter atmosphere and when one comes with the family and kids you require that extra something in the evenings, thus parks provide the right kind of natural ambience," she says. Whereas those who are more religiously or spiritually inclined would favour events held at temples. "We want to include every section of society in the Bangalore Habba," she stresses. Folk forms are usually performed at large functions where they do not get the kind of audience they deserve. At parks, it is a more natural ambience which is suitable for the folk forms.

The State's tourism and cultural ministry is supporting the Habba and the Chief Minister has pledged all government help and support for it. The Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) has beautified and decorated ten parks for this year's Habba. The organisers believe that the parks will be well-maintained if there are programmes or functions held there, thereby also leading to good community participation. While the idea is to rejuvenate the cultural ethos of the city, its public spaces like roads and parks are also getting a facelift in the bargain.
Says A Narayanaswamy, Chief Horticulture Officer (East), BCC, "the existing parks have been upgraded and of course, we have got sponsors for illumination. As such we have not spent anything extra on the development of these parks". Some of the parks that are a venue for cultural events of the Habba are Bashyam Park (Seshadripuram), Swami Vivekananda Park (Rajajinagar), Sundara Nagar Park (Mathikere), Indiranagar Park, and Coles Park. While the cleanliness of the parks has been raised to the highest level for the Habba, special plants are being used to beautify the entrances and stage areas.

Even though Bangalore has become cosmopolitan, it should not lose its identity as a garden city, which it is better known as the world over. If 10 parks have been spruced up for this year's Habba by the BCC, it's going to be 20 or more next year. The idea is not just to get the government to participate but to also involve the city's residents in the campaign towards a cleaner and greener Bangalore. The crowd that has migrated into the city for whatever the reasons be, also needs to be introduced to the city's cultural face. Concludes Padmini, "in the long run, the Habba will provide a cultural ambience and lineage to Bangalore which we believe the city needs".

Thanks to the Habba...

Parks get attractive plants
Sponsors illuminate parks
Public buildings and walkways lit up
Message of cleanliness highlighted
More parks to be rejuvenated for next Habba