BENGALURU : Mysuru’s Dasara celebration is known for its grandeur with the city getting dolled up to show a glimpse of its deep cultural heritage. Every year, thousands of people visit the state to be part of the cultural extravaganza. As the festival season kicks in, Bengaluru is geared up to welcome visitors to offer an artsy treat. With the Covid-19 fear in the air, the Bengaluru International Arts Festival – which started on Friday – is back with a bang with its 13th edition, this time donning a virtual look.
The organisers say the festival’s primary objective is to offer an amalgamation of global art forms while people visit Karnataka to experience the Mysore Dasara extravaganza. “This festival has been a way to bridge gaps between different countries. There is always a huge crowd thronging Dasara celebrations, and many people make their first pit stop in Bengaluru, because of the easy air connectivity,” says Kuchipudi dancer Veena Murthy Vijay, who is also one of the festival organisers.
Keeping the ongoing chaos and trauma in mind, the theme for this year is ‘Celebrating Harmony Through Arts’. The festival, which has been a promoter of performing arts, music, dance and theatre, will see artistes from Russia, Japan, China, The Netherlands, USA among other countries.
“Apart from these performances, Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr Sonal Mansingh is collaborating with the festival to showcase parts of Ramayana and Mahabharata,” says Vijay, adding that it was a huge challenge for her to put together everything during the time of pandemic. If situations were normal, the show would have been staged in nine venues in the city, she says. The festival is streaming live on BIAF’s Facebook page till October 12 and will resume between October 16 and 18. Details are available on the Facebook page.