BENGALURU: In a bid to showcase Bengaluru’s culture and its evolution into a truly cosmopolitan city, the state government will host the Namma Bengaluru Habba, on March 25 and 26. The event will be held for two days at Cubbon Park and around Vidhana Soudha, where dance, drama, art, and traditional and cultural events will be organised, said Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Monday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the Bengaluru Habba logo, Ashoka said this year, the Habba will be held on a small scale due to paucity of time, but from the following year, it is expected to be held on a grand scale like the Mysuru Dasara. “On March 25, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will inaugurate the cultural celebrations at Vidhana Soudha.
The statues of Kempegowda and Basaveshwara will be unveiled there on March 26. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be present for the celebrations on March 26. The aim of the festival is to showcase the culture and transformation of Bengaluru. All those coming to the city should become Bengalureans and take pride in its culture,” he said.
Officials of the Kannada and Culture Department, who are organising the Bengaluru Habba, said from the next year, it will be held in January, on the first Saturday and Sunday of the Sankranti week.
“This Bengaluru Habba was being planned for a long, but because of permissions and fund issues, it was delayed. Now the guidelines have been formed, according to which, a committee will be constituted six months before the next Habba, which will have to ensure that all arrangements are in place. Since Bengaluru is a cosmopolitan city, other states will also be a part of the festival. So far, the culture of Odisha, Gujarat, Punjab, Assam and Kerala have been included,” an official said.