Published Oct 04, 2026 | 6:51 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 04, 2026 | 6:51 PM
Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the Government was organising it to give the city’s cultural life a larger public platform.
Synopsis: Bengaluru will host a 10-day city-wide celebration of art, culture, literature and communities from 4 December to 13 December. Called Bengaluru Jatre, the festival will be a decentralised, collaborative platform spanning the city. The festival is modelled on Karnataka’s traditional Oora Habba, or Jatre. Government agencies will organise more than 100 programmes, all of which will be free to attend.
Bengaluru will host a 10-day city-wide ‘celebration of art, culture, literature and communities’ from 4 December to 13 December, the Greater Bengaluru Authority said.
Called Bengaluru Jatre, the festival will not have a central venue or main stage. Instead, it will be a decentralised and collaborative city-wide platform.
The GBA said it seeks to “create a common platform through which neighbourhoods, communities, cultural institutions, schools and colleges, businesses, artists and government agencies can host their own celebrations across Bengaluru.”
Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the Government was organising it to give the city’s cultural life a larger public platform alongside its work on civic infrastructure.
“A government that works every day to improve the city’s basic infrastructure and address the everyday problems faced by citizens also has a responsibility to enrich the lives of people living in an increasingly mechanical and fast-paced urban environment, while preserving and promoting the state’s rich art and cultural traditions. In this spirit, the State Government has decided to organise Bengaluru Jatre,” he said.
The Jatre follows the Freedom Habba held around Vidhana Soudha on 15 August. The state government said it wants the Jatre to become an annual cultural event.
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The festival is modelled on Karnataka’s traditional Oora Habba or Jatre, where an entire community comes together. Its theme is “Many People. Multiple Cultures. One City.”
The Government plans to create a central website carrying the festival calendar and information on participating institutions and their programmes. A common communications and social media platform will also be created.
Government agencies will organise more than 100 programmes, all of them free to attend, according to the GBA. They will also help participating institutions with permissions, access to public infrastructure and use of suitable public spaces.
The five Corporations under the GBA could organise citizen-led activities in streets, parks and grounds. The Kannada and Culture Department will organise programmes showcasing Karnataka’s culture. Tourism and KSTDC could use heritage sites for events.
“BMRCL could explore busking and programmes at Metro concourses, while BMTC could carry the Jatre identity across its bus network. The collegiate, primary and higher education departments could facilitate the participation of institutions under them. Schools and colleges, museums, galleries, science centres, cultural institutions and corporate campuses could all become part of the festival,” the GBA said.
“The ambition is simple: thousands of individual programmes taking place across Bengaluru, coming together to become one Bengaluru Jatre.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
