Bengaluru: Two-day arts festival along Namma Metro

This weekend, the Namma Metro will serve as the primary mode of transport for the audience of an arts festival which has a focus on public transport.

The Bangalore Linear festival, in its debut year, comprises performances held only at venues accessible via the green metro line, such as the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Konanakunte and Bangalore Creative Circus, Yeshwanthpur. 

The two-day festival aims to blur the line between urban transit and cultural experience, making movement through the city an integral part of engaging with art. 

Some of the performances include the play ‘Bye bye bypass’, directed by Roshan Mathew; ‘The Chinky express comes to town’, a contemporary dance performance by Aseng Borangan, and ‘Virata Parva’, an all-night thogalu gombeyata show, by ninth generation leather puppeteer Gunduraju. 

The events are timed to make it possible for festival goers to catch every performance.

Co-director of the festival, Vishruti Bindal, says the carefully chosen acts are diverse and edgy. “They’re not big budget acts,” she shares, adding, “but we hope the audience trusts our curation skills and risk-taking ability”.

Additionally, the majority of the festival’s performers are from non-urban areas, Vishruti says. “We want to show that fresh work can exist outside the cities,” she explains.

On a practical note, co-director Bharavi says that Bengaluru’s traffic is one of the key reasons the city does not have more multi-venue festivals.

He explains that travelling by metro will enable patrons to get to all the events on time and not “be at the mercy of Bengaluru traffic”.

September 13-14. At multiple venues. Tickets online.