Tradition

The south Indian state of Karnataka has over 29,000 villages spread across a 190,000 square kilometres. Anyone who travels a little in the state quickly realises that there are common village names that keep recurring. In Bangalore in particular, lakhs of people from all over India have  settled down and many travel from Bommanahali to Kodihalli or Marathhalli everyday. There is a story here.  Here’s a comprehensive look at the most common village names in Karnataka, prepared using the Census 2011 village directory for the state. Click on image to enlarge It turns out that the most common village name…

Noel and Lindsey are good hospitable souls. When a troupe of 10 of us landed up at their house this Sunday, December 22nd, they welcomed us warmly into their beautifully decorated Christmas home. We gorged on Marzipan, rose cookies and kul kuls, sipped mint flavoured lemonade and admired their Christmas tree decorations. A quiet house tucked into a corner of the heart of the city, it is graced by one of the tallest Christmas trees I had ever seen. The lovely Christmas decoration at the Noels' house. Pic: Rajeev R We were a bunch of people part of a Christmas…

Coinciding with Rajyotsava day this year, The Handmade Collective –III aims to bring back into focus the local crafts, foods and lesser known side of Karnataka. A side where the traditional and the modern stand side by side, the Cantonment and the City-facing sides co-exist in Bangalore, but more importantly aims in bringing back the sense of community that Bangalore was so famous for. Integrating Hase chitra with tribal arts from Mexico From delicate Kasuti Embroidery of North Karnataka on trendy clutch purses to Bright Channapatna Lacquerware on modern household products like kitchen towel holders and bedside lamps to Khadi…

In Kannada, "HABBA" means festival, "ANNA" means food. HABANA is not only for food, but also crafts, games, celebration, cultural activities etc,. This was designed to give residents a platform for showcasing their cookery skills as well as develop some entrepreneurship skills in showcasing their items to fellow residents. There were many game stalls for kids. Theyyam. Pic: KumarPot hitting. Pic: KumarThiruvathira. Pic: KumarTug of war. Pic: KumarSingari Melom. Pic: KumarAthappoo. Pic: Kumar‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});This time Onam celebration was also added along with it. Block wise Athappoo (flower carpet) competition was held. Mahabali (the King) came…

The 84th edition of the Gangamma Jathre (Fair) at Malleswaram drew Bangaloreans in large numbers. The origin of this Jathre can be traced to the rich tradition of worshipping Nada Devathe or local deities in our city. Gangamma is believed to be one of the seven deities of Bengaluru. Gangamma temple. Pic: Sridhar C R Jathre at Gangamma Temple near the famous Kadu Malleshwara Temple was a three day affair that began on 14th May and concluded on 16th May with a grand Karaga procession.During the period of festivity devotees flocked the Gangamma temples in large numbers and offered Ragi…

The Japan Habba is a tradition which began in 2005. Every year, Japanese citizens living in Bangalore and the city's Japan enthusiasts get together and celebrate each other's culture. A colourful display of various arts, the Habba promises to be an experience worth waiting for. This year the Habba will be on February 19th at Jnana Jyothi auditorium, Palace Road. A preview of this festival was organized by Sakura-kai - an association of Japanese women - to give the media and the public a taste of what was to come.The day began with the serene tea ceremony known as Sado -…

The festive atmosphere of the Dushera/Navarathri season was very apparent at the Durga Puja Pandal on Bannerghatta Road.At NGR Kalyana Mantapa, on Bannerghatta Road, the South Bangalore Cultural Association, under its President, S Lahiri, began the Pujo festivities on Shasthi (sixth day after the new moon), which fell on 2nd October. Several cultural programmes were scheduled for the festivities up the 6th of October, when the idol of Durga was  taken in ceremonial procession for "Bisarjan" or immersion, after the worship. Indrashis De Sarkar, a very active volunteer, says smilingly that this Pujo is as old as his marriage!  He…

Mythri Arun, 32, a homemaker from Banashankari, decided to make her doll display of R K Narayan's 'Malgudi days' more authentic this year. She downloaded the route map of Malgudi town and replicated it at her home. Mythri, who has been setting up the gombe display for the past eight years feels she can live the memories of her grandmother through this. “Every family should follow this; children actually enjoy and learn a lot through these dolls,” she says. Mythri Arun with her Malgudi arrangement. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj.Mythri's Malgudi arrangement, with the clocktower in view. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj.Mythri Arun's Malgudi…

As I walked past the market a week before Ganesha chaturthi, a wayside seller was bringing out from his shed large idols that he had not been able to sell the previous year, and was ‘touching up' the paint, to put it on sale again. He had a few more ‘leftovers', large and small, inside the shed, waiting to be ‘recycled'. I chatted him up, and got confirmation that these were indeed ‘leftovers'. File pic: Siri Srinivas When I was a child, each family fashioned its own clay images of Ganesha, with the children of the household enthusiastically fetching some…

The students of MES College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Malleshwaram, led a very spirited march called the ‘ECO-Ganesha awareness campaign' on Sunday August 28th around the Malleshwaram to raise awareness about the pollution problems associated with immersion of painted Ganeshas made from plaster of paris. Marching for a cause. Pic: Suja Sukumaran They set out into the streets with banners, posters, pamphlets and a street play bound to entertain and educate the public regarding the merits of using clay Ganesha idols instead of painted ones. Every year hundreds of Ganeshas are immersed in the lakes all over Bangalore. Along…