A slice of culture and tradition

After being organised by Shree Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha for the past 49 years, Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava has announced its upcoming golden jubilee celebrations from September 19 to 29.

The festival will see ten days of revelry and expressions in the fields of music, dance, food and art.“The Utsava today is a forum for cultural expression. Our vision is to familiarise the present and future generations with the cultural history of the state.

For 49 years, we have showcased Karnataka to the rest of India. Our goal is to make it bigger and better with each passing year and provide a memorable experience to all age groups,” says S M Nandish, managing trustee, Shree Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha.

Myriad performers from across the country will be seen paying homage to Lord Ganesh, including Illaiyaraaja, Sonu Nigam, the Rajan Brothers, Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani, Praveen D Rao, K J Yesudas and Kasturi Shankar among others.

The 50-member percussion circles and a rare communion of 500 dancers performing different Indian classical dances at the same time are also performances to look out for.

“I am proud to be a part of this cultural extravaganza. This feels like the right forum to connect with the people of Karnataka through my music,” shares the music maestro Illaiyaraaja, who promises to give a memorable show.

He will be performing mostly Kannada film songs and a few devotional numbers on the occasion.

S M Nandish further notes that the organisers are also trying to promote the idea that cultural music is best enjoyed with cultural food.

 One can try the idiappams from Karavali or the gokak karandatu from Uttara Karnataka at the Aromas of Karnataka food stalls at affordable prices.

The festival will also see a Guinness world record created, with a mammoth ladoo weighing 6000 kilograms being made, which will then be offered as prasad to the  visitors.

A 30-foot-tall sand sculpture of Lord Ganesh, made by craftsmen from Orissa, is also on the cards. This year, it will also be an environment-friendly Utsava with the use of plastic being banned during the celebrations. The Utsava will be held at APS and National College Grounds, Basavanagudi.