Explore Karnataka's heritage sites at Chitra Santhe

Sunday’s Chitra Santhe will have paintings from national artists, sponsored by the Tourism Department who have traveled to heritage sites in Karnataka for five days and went beyond well-known tourist destinations, to capture their beauty on canvas.

At a press conference, Tourism Minister C T Ravi said that 12 artists from the state and 13 artists from outside Karnataka would each produce three artworks. “Karnataka has 319 tourist destinations, a coastline of 320 km, five national parks, 30 wildlife sanctuaries, three world heritage sites and 40 waterfalls. The artists will visit various places and produce artwork inspired by these places with a focus on the state’s landscape, rivers, forests and nature,” he said.

The paintings will revolve around the theme ‘Heritage Karnataka - #ArtJourneyKarnataka’. The paintings will be on display at Chitra Santhe. A special provision has also been made to display 125 pieces of art that shows the heritage of Karnataka. B L Shankar, President, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, said that the paintings will be the property of the tourism department.

Asked if Chitra Santhe will be shifted, Shankar maintained that the venue will remain the CKP campus for now and that the other two venues that were considered for the Santhe were unviable.

“The per day rent at Palace Grounds is very high. I personally checked out Freedom Park and that venue is not viable for Chitra Santhe. We are spending Rs 30 lakh for organising the Santhe and business of Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore is generated on that one day. Currently, the tourism department is giving Rs 5 lakh for the event.’’