SARJAPUR ROAD: Kere Habba, a sunrise to sunset festival celebrating lake conservation among other things, will take place on January 10 at Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapur Road. The nearly 2-km long walkway of the lake will feature various stations where informative green workshops, story-telling sessions, bird walks, nature-inspired music, innovative experiment-based science activities, terrace gardening techniques, etc will be showcased.
Launched by Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Kere Habba is the first in the series of lake-community outreach events that will take place in the city on every second Saturday of each month. “I have been wanting to do a large community-based event at Kaikondrahalli lake for a while now,” says Priya Ramasubban, co-founder, MAPSAS Trust, which is the community arm that takes care of the lake.
When Priya, who has also been working with Namma Bengaluru Foundation for a few years, found that they were interested in starting a campaign of connecting communities with their lakes, she took the chance to initiate the process at Kaikondrahalli.
The lake, which usually sees around 500 visitors on weekends, will see more than 9,000 people taking part in the festival this Saturday, if Facebook RSVPs are to be believed. There is a whole bunch of activities to look forward to, for children and adults alike. A bird walk, which will start at 6 am, will be conducted by Sumanth Madhav and Conan Dumenil from The Gerry Martin Project, which has been concertedly working towards helping people live with and conserve reptiles in urban and rural settings.
Vikram Sridhar, a performance storyteller who believes in storytelling as a strong medium for conservation, will conduct a fun workshop to connect to the world around us using our basic senses. From the origin of the city to its evolution under the Wodeyars and the British into a beautiful town, Poornima Dasharathi will talk about the story of Bengaluru. Learn also about our own neighbourhood, and its connection to Tipu Sultan, Cornwallis and the mapping of India. Jagannath Reddy, former Panchayat president of Bellandur, will also share his memories of the old neighbourhood.
Other activities include rangoli competitions, book swaps, recycling workshops, a talk by rainwater expert Vishwanath and concerts by local folk singers who will sing Kannada songs about nature, and more.
Wanting to keep the event green and pollution-free, organisers urge participants to use public transport, cycle or walk to the venue. “WIPRO has also agreed to provide two shuttle buses that will take visitors to and from the lake to neighbourhoods around the lake,” says Priya.
All events at the festival will be free of cost, and visitors are also requested to bring their own water bottles, as sale of mineral water at the event will not be permitted.
Launched by Namma Bengaluru Foundation,Kere Habba is the first in the series of lake-community outreach vents to be held on every second Saturday