Winter to usher in a cultural season for Bangaloreans

Winter to usher in a cultural season for Bangaloreans

The annual Bengaluru Habba, which has been a roaring success during the past six years, is here again in its seventh edition, and in all new garb. Renowned artistes are scheduled to perform at the festival from December 11 to December 20, Sindhu Murthy reports

Sindhu Murthy



When winter sets in, it's a definite go-ahead signal to celebrate the concluding year with an extravagant spread of arts and cultures from different parts of the country across various centres in the city.
The Bengaluru Habba, which has been a roaring success during the past six years, is here again in its seventh edition in all new garb. Renowned artistes are scheduled to perform in the city from December 11 to December 20. The Habba is partnered by Airtel and Kingfisher.
The Airtel Bengaluru Habba logo was unveiled on Monday by Venkatesh V, CEO Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Karnataka Circle. Elaborating on the association with Bengaluru Habba, Venkatesh said, "Just like Airtel helps connect people, so does art. It brings people together under the common manifestation of the city's own festival."
Nandini Alva and Padmini Ravi, trustees of Artistes' Foundation for the Arts (AFFA), had conceptualised Bengaluru Habba in 2002. Talking about the Habba this year, Padmini Ravi said, "Both of us dancers have always been taught by our gurus to dream big and Bengaluru Habba was the result of such dreams. This year's festival will comprise several new features, as we try to keep improvising every year, attempting to bring the very best to the city."
"The Habba this time, as always, is free and the entry is unlimited. This is to encourage people of all walks of life to enjoy quality art, without money posing as a bother. It is a reflection of our passion towards the diverse and dynamic forms of art, globally. This Habba is also an attempt to put Bangalore on the world map as a cultural hub," Alva said.
This time around, several exclusive features have been included in the Habba. The events of the festival will be spread across different centres of the city during the ten-day festival.
The Indian Art Trail, in association with Apparao Galleries, for instance, is a visual arts festival, divided into two sections. The Great Gallery Trail features premium galleries that have curated their own exhibitions. The second section, Masters of Contemporary Art, will be exhibited in the art space of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, featuring Rabindranath Tagore, MF Hussain, Arpana Caur, etc.
Also, for the very first time, Jazz evenings have been organised, featuring Dana Gillespie and The London Blues Band, Gerard Machado Network, Maarten Visser Trio, Global Unity, Interplay and Moon Arra between December 11 and 13 at UB City.