Bengaluru Jatre plans 10 days of free cultural events from December 4

Bengaluru Jatre is planned from December 4 to 13, with Metro concourses, parks, museums and college campuses among the proposed festival venues.

The Karnataka government has announced the 10-day cultural festival, which is expected to include more than 100 free programmes in music, theatre, literature, food, art and heritage. Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the event draws on Karnataka’s Ooru Habba, or Jatre, tradition. Neighbourhoods, institutions, artists, businesses and communities have been invited to organise events.

There will be no central festival ground or single stage. The five corporations may use parks and grounds for citizen-led activities, while the Tourism Department and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation could programme heritage sites. BMRCL is expected to explore performances and busking at Metro concourses, and BMTC may carry festival branding on its buses.

Schools, colleges, galleries, science centres, cultural institutions and corporate campuses have also been invited to participate. A central website is planned to publish the festival calendar and direct visitors to individual programmes.