Come this weekend and there are a bunch of interesting events waiting for you! Bangalore film festival, Bangalore book fest and Abhinaya 2013 – Kannada theatre festival are a few of the events to look out for!
The 5th edition of Bangalore Film Festival is one such event that nobody wishes to miss. The festival is being organised by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy for Government of Karnataka supported by Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. The festival started on Dec 20th and will go on till Dec 27th. You can register for the event here. Venue: Theatres across Bangalore.
From movies to books… It’s hard to miss the Bangalore Book fest, the city’s annual event for book lovers at Palace grounds, on till Sunday 23rd! So many stalls, selling everything from the classics, to Kannada and regional language books, from the latest graphic novels to used books from Blossoms, on topics from technology to spiritualism, romance to politics. Don’t miss the Citizen Matters’ book stall, where our book Living in Bengaluru is available at just Rs 99.
Saturday, 22nd December will see a discussion on Bengaluru’s Future: Horror to Hope? Here is your chance to meet renowned Bangaloreans – Mohandas Pai, an educationist and philanthropist, Vijay Thiruvady, environmentalist, Prakash Belawadi, a famous theatre personality and Kannada film director Pawan Kumar (of Life u ishtene fame). Not every day do you get a chance like this.. don’t miss this event for anything!
Sat, Dec 22nd, at 12 noon at Bangalore Book Fest, Palace Ground.
When it comes to discussions and talks, how can we forget Ramachandra Guha? The popular historian and author joins his journalist friend Suresh Menon in a lively conversation. Says Guha, "It will cover a range of themes, both in the jugalbandhi and when we open it up to the Q and A. As you know, Suresh is sharp and witty (as well as fabulously well read)".
Sat 22nd Dec, 6:30 pm. At Jagriti Theatre, Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Road, Whitefield. For more details call 41242879.
Let’s now talk about Kannada Theatre Festival, Abhinaya 2013. The preliminary rounds will be conducted on December 21st and December 22nd; the main performance dates are January 4th and January 5th. There is no entry fee!
Venue: Preliminary rounds – JU-CMS, Atria towers, Palace Road, Performance – JSS Auditorium (Shivarathreeswara Centre), 8th Block, Jayanagar.
Another lovely event is in store with Bangalore Little Theatre staging a play on Tipu – "Tiger, Tiger!" at the Bangalore Fort, Kalasipalya. The performance marks the first time, a heritage site in the city will open itself out to a unique experiment that will enable an audience to experience a historical event at its very location.
22-23 Dec, 7pm onwards (2 hours) Age: 15 years and above.
On both days, there are also open events at the fort from 10 am to 3 pm, including heritage walks and shadow puppet plays. Tiger comes to Town II is a collaborative project between the Archaeological Survey of India and the Centre for Public History, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, to commemorate the 150th year of the ASI.
It’s Christmas time again! Do you want to get a deeper insight into the evolution of the city’s Christmas traditions? The "Jolly Holly Trails" event is on Sunday, Dec 23, and includes a heritage tour of Bangalore City, on the theme of Christmas. This event will give you a chance to visit different locales, sites and customs that are integral to Christmas in Bangalore. Event time: 3pm-9pm. For more details, mail jatin_prabhu@yahoo.co.in.
On a more serious note, civic and political activists are campaigning for various causes well supported by lay citizens too..
After all the garbage mess, if you want to say Dumping Saaku, you can walk in support of villagers of Manduru or Mavallipura who do not want landfills in their villages! Saturday 22nd December, 8am, Manduru village bus stop.
But first, it is time for "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Women and Men in Black". A demonstration will be held "Against violence against women in Public Places" on 21st Dec At Town Hall, 5 pm to 7 pm.
After the case in Delhi, closer home in Bangalore too, there are reports of young children and women assaulted, raped or harassed. There were 97 registered cases of rape in 2011 in Bangalore city which implies there are 7 women victims each month.
As the organisers say, if the hundreds of cases of molestation, abductions of women, child sexual abuse, harassment and abuse on the streets/ auto rickshaws / buses or other public spaces in the city are counted then by any standard, living and working in the city is truly a daily hazard for women and children. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics for 2011 said Bangalore ranks fourth among cities of the country in recorded rape cases.
The protest is organised by Vimochana. You too can support the campaign, and continue to resist our streets becoming inaccessible to women.⊕