BENGALURU: Japan came one step closer to Bengaluru on Sunday – right to the heart of the city, at the JN Tata Auditorium, CV Raman Road, to be specific.
Currently, in its 16th edition, the Japan Habba had various activities like tea ceremony, kimono trials, origami stalls, ikebana flower arrangements, book sales, food and beverage stalls, cosplaying contests and much more at the annual India-Japanese cultural event.
Each section of the event looked equally crowded as people milled about whatever caught their interest the most.
For some, like Dr Prakruthi Jaladhar, who was at the event with her daughter, it was all about indulging in authentic Japanese cuisine, especially sushi, whereas for others, like Nomita Singh and Bullick Lungtu, the exchange provided the perfect place to learn more about Japanese culture.
Both the youngsters are now learning Japanese, with Singh picking out four new books from the book sale at the event, while Lungtu chose to check out the courses offered by The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, representatives of which were also present.
Like many others, Mahalakshmi Selvam and Harshini R too were here for the first time, and found the event to be interesting.
“We follow a lot of Western media, trends and pop culture but it was nice to see something different. We don’t know much about Japanese, Korean or Chinese cultures,” they said, adding that they were looking forward to the tea ceremony and kimono draping activities.
The thought was echoed by Norie Ohga, a tea ceremony master who has been in Bengaluru for 38 years, and has been attending the habba since its inception. “My favourite part is doing the tea ceremony here, which lets us exhibit the Japanese way of hospitality. The two countries have had a decades-long exchange with each other but how much do we know of the other’s culture?” she asked.
Visitors also got to catch a glimpse of their favourite manga and anime characters, up close and personal. Many city cosplayers were also seen at the event, decked to the nines and stopping for selfies with visitors every few minutes.
“That’s the best part about cosplaying, isn’t it?” said Gaurav Seth with a grin, as he complied with the request of yet another Naruto fan at the event.
The main stage of the event saw a line-up of interesting acts, from a Bollywood dance by Japanese expat wives and group Japanese folk dance, to a kimono ramp walk and a live art demonstration by Shukou Tsuchiya. According to Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru, Takayuki Kitagawa, close to 7,000 people attended the event.
“This habba has grown into becoming one of the biggest Japanese festivals in India,” he said. Kitagawa, who was also dressed as a ninja for judging the cosplay event, said the introduction of a direct flight between Bengaluru and Japan in March, might just mean that visitors from Japan will also be a part of the event next year.