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Bengaluru can be considered to be a sort of new-age cultural capital, what with numerous events taking place throughout the year, on weekends and weekdays and special festivals organised for music, drama, poetry and literature. There are numerous events in Bengaluru taking place at any given time throughout the year. Places like Cubbon Park and Lalbagh are great centres for people to meet for impromptu plays and open mic events which are now being held more consistently.
Even traditional Bengaluru festivals are celebrated with a great deal of enthusiasm. Since Bengaluru has people of all religions living together peacefully, religious festivals are great occasions for people to enjoy the holiday, meet friends and enjoy delicious food. Festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, Christmas and Eid are celebrated with a lot of excitement. Even festivals such as Holi which used to be a North Indian festival are now enjoyed in Bengaluru as more people from the north are now settled here. If you’re planning to visit the city, make sure you visit the SOTC website to check out the excellent offers and deals on Bengaluru holiday packages and Karnataka tour packages. Also, don’t miss out on checking a calendar which outlines all the different events in Bengaluru, so you’ll know what to expect when you’re visiting.
The Kannada New Year is one of the grandest events in Bengaluru. Ugadi is considered to be an auspicious day and a great time to start new ventures. Typically celebrated throughout Bangalore in March or April. The city is decorated gaily for the occasion. Ugadi is a great time for families to get together and share the festive food.
The flower show is held twice a year, every year and it draws huge crowds who come to see the magnificent displays in the Glasshouse of the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Held every year, once during Republic Day and once during Independence Day, the flower show comes up with different themes every time to enthral visitors.
The groundnut festival is held every year in November, which celebrates the first groundnut crop of the year. There are various stalls and it’s quite like a fun fair with food stalls everywhere. People come here to buy groundnuts in large quantities. Kadlekai Parishe is usually held in the premises of the Big Bull temple in Basavanagudi.
This festival is celebrated in August every year after 9 days of the Novena, when the main feast is celebrated on 8th September. Devotees from all over come to take part in this special event and St. Mary’s Basilica is overrun with lakhs of people.
Founded in 2012, Bangalore Literature Festival is one of the best literature festivals in the country featuring a huge line up of authors from all over the country and abroad. There is also a special effort to ensure that local languages are not ignored at such festivals. BLF is a huge draw for bibliophiles in the city who converge to hear their favourite authors speak.
This festival for emerging artists is a premier event in Bangalore that brings together designers, visual artists, musicians and all sorts of artists. Artefacts are created using recyclable materials while there all sorts of things to pick up in the bazaar. If you’re not interested in shopping, there are a number of workshops here which you could join if it interests you. Food is another great aspect of this festival.
This is a happening event in Bangalore that takes place on Sundays of a specific month. There are stalls of all sorts selling food, clothes, art, handmade products and much more. Soul Sante is a great experience because there are also band performances and overall, it’s a fantastic day spent outdoors. There’s food, drink and a very unique sort of shopping too. The sort of products that you get here are not available elsewhere as they are often sold only in flea markets such as Soul Sante.
Bengaluru’s theatre scene is vibrant and full of young people who are keen to make a difference in whatever way possible. There are numerous theatre festivals that are held at various months of the year and people wait for these festivals eagerly. The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival is hosted by Ranga Shankara in October every year. There are also festivals held at Jagriti Theatre while the Bengaluru Improv Festival is also quite popular.
This is said to be one of the oldest festivals to be celebrated in Bengaluru. It is celebrated for nine days and the beautifully decorated earthen pots called Karagas are carried on the head without any sort of support. The festival is celebrated for Goddess Shakti.
Although the month of Ramzan is for fasting, it’s also a time for feasting for a large part of the population who flock to the many impromptu ‘eat streets’ that are set up in various parts of Bengaluru. Delicious food like Haleem, samosas, sewain, kababs, kathi rolls, desserts are some of the few things that you can expect to eat here. Most of these festivals take place in areas where there is a large Muslim population, near a mosque typically. Religion makes no difference as foodies converge to eat to their heart’s content. The eat streets are held throughout the month of Ramzan and food is sold after dusk until late at night.
