The ten-day cultural extravaganza that the city fondly refers to as the Bengaluru Habba came to an eclectic end on January 22. Having entertained and mesmerised the city of Bangalore with a host of splendid performances from diverse fields of art, dance, music, theatre, visual arts and much more, the finale evening, presented by Black Dog and Kingfisher saw top performances and talents on display on the final day at Palace Grounds.
Through the last ten days, the Habba has given a chance for Bangaloreans to watch several talented artistes perform across venues. Maestros from different fields of art who performed as part of the Sangeetha Sambhrama, Karnataka Kala Sambhrama, Jazz and Rock Festival, Ranga Sambhrama, Sankranti Sambhrama, National Theatre Festival, Nritya Sambhrama and much more captivated the audiences giving them a much needed preview of Karnataka’s
rich cultural heritage.
On the last day of the Habba, the audience was welcomed with a Janapada Jatre — a mix of folk art forms performed by local artistes. The act involved Pooja Kunitha by Savitha Chinkurali, Jogeraata by Shankaraiah, Bees Kamsale by Lingaiaha, Dollu Kunitha by Boodyappa, Veeragase by Jagadish, Yakshagana by Srinivas Sastana, Patada Kunitha by Prakash, Suggi Kunitha by Ganapu Gowda.
Live Banned set the tone for the rest of the evening with their fabulous performance. They had the audience swaying to some very popular compositions, making the atmosphere lively and bringing
in an air of celebration.
LiveBanned’s flamboyant and energy-filled performance included their original tunes in English, Tamil and even Hindi. The band includes Amrit Rao on vocals, Dhruv Kumar on guitar, Siddharth Kamath on keyboards, Dheerendra Doss on drums and Raveesh Tirkey on bass.
With the mood for the evening set, Bangalore got ready to welcome the ever popular Raghu Dixit on stage. Bengaluru’s own boy, Raghu Dixit made a grand entry on stage. Believing that his music is ethnic and rooted, Raghu Dixit matched the flavour and meaning of
the Bengaluru Habba. A former Bharatnatyam dancer whose forte is now folk rock Raghu’s songs are often inspired by the verses of classic Indian poets.
Raghu Dixit is famous for popularising folk music’s rustic feel through a rock interpretation and the crowd gathered on Sunday at Palace Grounds got to witness just that.
He moved from one end of the stage to the other, engaging the crowd leaving them screaming for more. The charm in his music is in the connect one feels on hearing it, and that lies in tune with the Habba’s aim of connecting people with their cultural past,
rich tradition and heritage.
Joining in the finale celebration next was Vijay Prakash. With roots in Mysore and a name created for himself in the music industry both in Karnataka and Mumbai, Vijay Prakash is always
any audience’s delight.
With his charming demeanour and intense voice, he took the celebrations of the Habba finale to another high. Vijay Prakash has earlier sung in several Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam movies. He has been recognised for his contribution to the song Jai Ho that won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Some of Vijay’s blockbuster songs include Pal Pal hai Bhaari from Swades, Kavite from the Kannada movie Gaalipata, Hosanna from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, Beera Beera and Veera Veera in the Tamil and Telugu versions of Raavan, Kadhal Anukkal from Enthiran etc. A host to several music shows, Vijay’s persona as a performer was very visible as he took to centrestage during the Habba finale. Without a doubt, the audience loved
every minute of it!
As the night came to an end so did curtains fall on Bengaluru Habba 2012. The ten daylong celebrations were hosted at various venues in the city like the Chowdiah Memorial Hall, UB City, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Alliance Francaise de, Seva Sadan, Ravindra Kalakshetra,
and The Taj West End etc.
During these ten days, people got to watch some cultural greats like Dr Kadri Gopalnath, Ustad Rais Khan and Hafiz Khan, danseuse Padma Subramanyam and Madhu Natraj, some theatre classics like Arjun Sajnani’s Man for All seasons and Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana and much more. The films screened as part of the tribute paid to the Golden Man of Kannada films — Girish Kasaravalli was a delight for film enthusiasts. Kannada Theatre and display of art was at
its peak during this Habba too.
Commenting on the same, Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President Marketing, United Breweries Limited, said “Bengaluru Habba is one of the pioneering festivals which encompasses art, culture, music and fun, just as Kingfisher Premium which has its roots strongly entrenched in music and fun, hence the association seemed very apt.
Being one of the largest corporates, we took it as our responsibility to encourage participation from the younger generation to embrace culture and at the same time enjoy the good times. We take immense pride in being associated with this esteemed platform,
right from the first edition.”
The Habba this year showcased myriad manifestations of the cultural identity of Bangalore.