Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Saturday announced 'Bengaluru Jatre', a 10-day city-wide celebration bringing culture, music, art, food, heritage and community events to streets, parks, neighbourhoods and public spaces across the city.
The event will be held from December 4 to 13, officials said.
Announcing the festival, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the government has a responsibility not only to improve the city's basic infrastructure but also to enrich the lives of people living in an increasingly mechanical and fast-paced urban environment while preserving and promoting Karnataka's rich art and cultural traditions.
"In this spirit, the State Government has decided to organise Bengaluru Jatre," he said.
According to a statement from Greater Bengaluru Authority, the initiative, under the leadership of Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and spearheaded by Gowda, draws inspiration from Karnataka's traditional 'Ooru Habba/Jatre', a celebration in which an entire community comes together.
The idea is to bring that spirit to Bengaluru by creating a common platform where neighbourhoods, communities, cultural institutions, schools and colleges, businesses, artists and government agencies can host their own celebrations across the city, it said.
There will be no single 'Jatre' ground or central stage. Instead, Bengaluru itself will become the stage, with streets, parks, public spaces, educational institutions, museums, cultural centres and other venues hosting programmes, officials said.
The festival will be a decentralised and collaborative platform, with programmes ranging from music, dance, theatre and food to literature, art, science, heritage and innovation.
Gowda said the 'Jatre' will not impose a uniform format on the city.
"Unity does not mean uniformity. Bengaluru has many colours and expressions. We want every neighbourhood, institution and community to celebrate in its own way and still feel that it is part of one Jatre," he said.
The government will primarily act as a catalyst, facilitator and connector, while participating institutions and communities will create and host programmes, the statement said.
Government agencies will also facilitate permissions and access to public infrastructure, provide a common identity and communications platform and ensure that the programmes are free to attend, it said.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority, Kannada and Culture Department, Tourism Department, KSTDC, BMRCL, BMTC and educational institutions are among those that could participate in the initiative.
"This is not a festival that the Government is organising for Bengaluru. It is a festival that Bengaluru can create for itself. Every institution, every neighbourhood, every artist, every community and every citizen can become a co-creator," Gowda said.
"The Government's job is to enable, facilitate and connect. The celebration belongs to the people of Bengaluru," he added.