Bengaluru, 3 October

The Karnataka government on Saturday announced 'Bengaluru Jatre', a 10-day city-wide celebration bringing culture, music, art, food, heritage and community events to streets, parks, neighbourhoods and public spaces across the city.

The event will be held from 4 to 13 December, officials said.

According to a statement from Greater Bengaluru Authority, the initiative, under the leadership of Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and spearheaded by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, draws inspiration from Karnataka's traditional 'Ooru Habba/Jatre', a celebration in which an entire community comes together.

The idea is to bring that spirit to Bengaluru by creating a common platform where neighbourhoods, communities, cultural institutions, schools and colleges, businesses, artists and government agencies can host their own celebrations across the city, it said.

There will be no single 'Jatre' ground or central stage. Instead, Bengaluru itself will become the stage, with streets, parks, public spaces, educational institutions, museums, cultural centres and other venues hosting programmes, officials said.

The festival will be a decentralised and collaborative platform, with programmes ranging from music, dance, theatre and food to literature, art, science, heritage and innovation.

Gowda said the 'Jatre' will not impose a uniform format on the city. The government will primarily act as a catalyst, facilitator and connector, while participating institutions and communities will create and host programmes, the statement said.

The Greater Bengaluru Authority, Kannada and Culture Department, Tourism Department, KSTDC, BMRCL, BMTC and educational institutions are among those that could participate in the initiative.