Bengaluru is a shapeshifter. Over its 400-odd years of modern history, it has been able to thread many stories. Under its founder Kempe Gowda I, it wore the moniker of ‘Gandu Bhoomi’ or ‘Land of Heroes’. Since then, it has been christened as Pensioners’ Paradise, Garden City, Pub City, Science City, India’s Silicon Valley, Beantown, Craft Beer Capital, StartUp City, Makers’ City — the list could go on.
Within all of this branding machinery, it has had elbow room for art and culture to make its presence felt. The city is home to Nrityagram, a modern gurukul focussed on Odissi, to spaces such as Ranga Shankara with a play performed every day, second-hand book stores that are more happening than most of the city’s clubs. It has also been an incubator for alternative, autonomous, contemporary art movements and moments. However a lot more is happening in its bylanes and inside studios that aren’t making it to mainstream notice.
While there have been a few forays into streamlining the many silos of artistic practitioners, makers and organisations under a single banner — such as Bangalore Habba, which ran between 2002-2014, organised by politician Nandini Alva and classical dancer Padmini Ravi — most have been single-organisation driven events, heavily dependent on state sponsorship and patronage, and focussed on programming big names alone. But recently the city is witnessing a strong movement geared towards democratising the access to art and culture. It is aimed at making niche art and cultural experiences previously available to only those in the know, accessible to all.
