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.

Vittalamurthy said renovation of the Ravindra Kalakshetra was almost complete and the building would be open to public from December 15. Rs 1.84 crore has been spent on the renovation, that covered new lighting and sound equipment, apart from a new drainage system.

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, that partners AFFA in the habba, said that the festival was in tune with the spirit of the Bangalore city.