Karnataka, in all its artistic and musical splendour, will be exclusively showcased as part of the Bengalooru Habba-2007, which will be kick-started on Sunday. Lined up as part of the Suvarna Vaibhava showcase, the programmes will feature around 550 Karnataka artists from across the country at four venues: Ravindra Kalakshetra, Samsa Open Air Theatre, Town Hall and Nayana Auditorium.

I M Vittalamurthy, Secretary, Kannada and Culture told reporters on Saturday that the State was spending around Rs 17 lakh on artists’ remuneration for the package.

He said the Habba, in the coming years, would also be accessible to residents of far-flung areas in Bruhat Bangalore.

Artists’ ensemble
Around 1,700 artists are expected to take part in this year’s habba, that’s being organised by the Artists’ Foundation for the Arts. It will feature traditional Karnataka art and music performances outside of the Suvarna Vaibhava package as well.

The habba will be inaugurated   at 6 pm on Sunday at Ravindra Kalakshetra by Governor Rameshwar Thakur, in the presence of legendary dancer Maya Rao.

The inauguration will be followed by a dance performance by Dr Padma Subramaniam.

V Venkatesh, CEO (Mobile Services) of Bharti Airtel Ltd, Karnataka, said that the festival was in tune with the spirit of tolerance and love for cross-cultural diversity.

For schedules, log on to www.bengalooruhabba.com

Promoting fests
The State will soon set up a standing committee to promote three major festivals, Mysore Dasara, Hampi Utsav and Bengalooru Habba on national and international platforms. Mr Vittalamurthy told reporters that the committee would co-ordinate to ensure good infrastructure and communication facilities during the festivals. The details of the committee, which will comprise of officials from various government departments, will be finalised in the next couple of weeks.