culture

Kong Tailin Lyngdoh, a Khasi lady from Meghalaya, was asked to leave a golf club in Delhi for wearing her traditional dress. She was told that she looked like a Nepali and that her dress made her look like a maid. To highlight this discrimination, the 'My Dress is My Identity' event was organised by the Northeast Solidarity at SCM of India, Bangalore on the 7th of July. The event explored the issue Kong Tailin Lyngdoh faced and discussed solutions on how people from Northeast India can educate fellow Indians about various aspects of their culture, history, and habits including…

On the 15th of October, 2016, as my friends and I were returning from a nature and birding trip to Nandi Hills, we saw these Yakshagana artistes on the road back (which is also the road from the airport into the city.) That was the goddess of power, Shakti, herself, stepping out into a city, state and country that had just finished celebrating Her in the form of Navaratri or Dashera.   I realized that I would never know why these people were dressed up, and where they were going...was it for a performance, or something else? Yakshagana is a…

It was by sheer chance that I happened upon the sight. I'd gone to see "Court" at Max Mueller Bhavan, and the house was not only full, there was no way to enter! So my friends and I went to "Murugan Idly Shop", and then walked back... and along a lane leading from the road on which we were walking, we saw a blaze of light. Though we were initially hesitant to walk in with our footwear, we found others doing so, and then went right up to the temple. We found the ground alight with lamps. Nearby was a…

It's unusual to have a festival only for instruments, and so it was interesting to attend the "Bangalore Harmonica and Reed Instruments Festival" at Ravindra Kalakshetra on the 22nd of November, 2015.   The predominant theme of the music seemed to be old Hindi movie songs, though a few Kannada movie songs were also played.     The festival went on from 10 am to 7pm and seemed to have a good attendance throughout the day.   Some of the children also enjoyed interacting with the audience to the beat of the music!   Here's one of the artistes, Ashok…

On the one hand, we have organisations like the Department of Kannada and culture, promoting the use of Kannada, and trying to avoid its being interspersed with words from other languages. On the other, we have the everyday Kannada language, a vibrant and constantly evolving means of communication. However, one wonders if it is Kannada at all, sometimes... here's a message I saw in Adiga's on Kanakapura Road.  Only  two of the words in this message are Kannada? It made me laugh!

The Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Karnataka along with Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA) is organizing 'Janapada Suggi'  an initiative to promote the rural folk culture of Karnataka. The program will take place at the Allalasandra Lake (Yelahanka) gate entrance on Saturday, 28th February, 6 p.m. onwards.   This is the first time that a program on this scale is being organised in Yelahanka. While urban folks will get to learn about folk art, the event will also provide an opportunity for rural artists and troupes to showcase their art.   Awesome entertainment is assured! Be there with your…

It's called "koley basava" in Karnataka, and in Tamil Nadu, it's called the "boom-boom mAdu"...boom-boom, probably because of the sound produced by the drum the man carries and rubs with a stick. He also usually plays a long wind instrument called the naagaswaram; you can see it covered, slung behind his left shoulder. This duo were "off duty" when I clicked them, so the drum and the nagaswaram were not in use. The man will bring it to the front gate and ask it leading questions like "Is this house resident going to be prosperous and happy?" and the animal…

It is a known fact that areas like Malleswaram and Basavanagudi play a significant role in shaping the city's love for classical music. Other than Indian Heritage Academy in Koramangala and BTM Cultural Academy, there are very few places easily accessible to classical music fans living in South-East Bangalore. Ranjani Fine Arts (RFA), a non-profit charitable trust, has stepped in to bridge this gap. ‘Enable, Educate, Access,' are quite possibly the words that define Ranjani Fine Arts’ raison d'etre. Ranjani Fine Arts (RFA) has for the past two years, been nurturing and developing the cultural landscape in the Sarjapur Road - Outer Ring…

At the Bangalore Literature Festival last week, I adopted a cautious, rodent-like approach to finding the best seat in the capacious front lawn. I took, at first, a modest seat by the aisle, encountered a wall of tall people obstructing my view of literary greats; shifted to another seat, this time on the other side, a little further up. I spent five minutes paying full attention to Ashish Sen speaking about Mahesh Dattani's works as the playwright himself sat beside and sagaciously offered agreement until the aged gentleman in the row before mine began to rise every five minutes; perhaps…

   Around mid August this year, 21 volunteers from 14 countries arrived in southern India to work and learn from marginalized communities about their challenges pertinent to health and sanitation. They were part of "Health on Stage", a six week project where they learnt to use forum theatre to initiate simultaneous dialogues on public health in low income areas of Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai. And on 30th September, the 3 groups of participants, their trainers and faciliators gathered in Bangalore to share their experiences with healthcare professionals, media persons and theatre artists.It is well known that water related illnesses are…