BENGALURU: As we prepare ourselves for the last month of 2024, Bengaluru is set to witness one of the biggest cultural festivals, bringing together celebrations like the Bangalore Literature Festival along with new avenues of celebrating the city’s diverse arts, culture, and heritage.
Organised by UnboxingBLR Foundation, Bengaluru’s much-loved cultural festival, BLR Hubba, is back for its second edition, promising an even grander celebration with over 500 events from November 30 to December 15.
Unlike conventional festivals, BLR Hubba is adopting a decentralised format, with events happening in various neighbourhoods, from Whitefield to Malleswaram and beyond.
“It’s not just focussed on central Bengaluru landmarks,” says Prashanth Prakash, co-founder of UnboxingBLR.
He further adds, “Bengaluru is no longer just one city – it’s a collection of micro-cities. Whitefield, The Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur areas, Malleswaram and Old Bengaluru are their own clusters, and North Bengaluru is developing into yet another. We didn’t want to create more traffic congestion by forcing everyone to come to central Bengaluru. Instead, we’re experimenting with a distributed, localised festival format, hosting events in these micro-clusters to engage people where they are.”
The festival boasts an array of highlights, including Kantha, a fusion music extravaganza; Offbeat, an experimental festival blending dance, music, and theatre against the backdrop of illuminated heritage sites; Speaklore, a spoken-word festival blending poetry and puppetry; and Gala-Gala-Gaddala, an initiative celebrating Karnataka’s rich folk traditions. Public art projects like GodeBLR will leave a lasting mark by turning Bengaluru’s walls into vibrant murals.
“The idea is to create tangible artefacts and memories, encouraging year-round community engagement,” adds Prakash.
The festival, Prakash says, is an attempt to bring together the new and old Bengalureans and bridge the gap to create a city-wide festival.
“If you look at global cities, they’ve done a better job in this area. Urbanism has existed for a longer time in many of these places, so they’ve developed festivals or city-wide celebrations that unite people. Edinburgh is a great example,” shares Prakash.
Ravichander V, facilitator of BLR Hubba, further highlights that while Bengaluru is well-known for its tech-startup ecosystem, the festival goes beyond the tech image.
“Bengaluru is often known for the wrong reasons – traffic, potholes, water issues. We want to showcase another dimension of Bengaluru: its arts, culture, design, literature, and heritage,” he says.
Another key focus this year is sustainability and accessibility. Collaborations with Namma Metro and BMTC aim to promote public transport, while many events are free to ensure inclusivity.
“A festival like this must demonstrate sustainable practices, and leveraging public transport is a smart way to do that. If the logistics aren’t smooth, it could discourage participation, and we want this festival to be accessible and enjoyable for everyone,” says Prakash.
(Check the full schedule on blrhubba.in)