Bengaluru: Annual Ganesh Utsav begins with hype and fervour; check schedule of upcoming events

The Annual Ganesh Utsav art and cultural festival have begun in Bengaluru with various fun events scheduled for this month. The event which is celebrating its 60th anniversary will go on till September 10.
Singer Shaan performs at 54th Bengaluru Ganesh Utsav

Singer Shaan performs at the 54th Bengaluru Ganesh Utsav_Image Courtesy: Shaan (@singer_shaan)

Photo : Twitter
Bengaluru: Ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival on August 31 and, the annual Ganesh Utsav programme has begun in Bengaluru in all its glory. The 60th edition of the fest which will see art and cultural events ranging from, dance, drama, music, theatre, and more commenced on August 13 and will go on till September 10.
Like every year, the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsav is organised by the Shree Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha at the APS College Grounds in Basavanagudi. However, performances will take place in multiple locations, including Jayanagar, Ravindra Kala Kshetra, Sringeri Shankara mutt, Orion mall in Rajajinagar, and National College grounds.
The major cultural festival of South Bengaluru is being held for over 50 years now, and presents a beautiful mix of art forms from across the country, with performances of renowned artists.
Moreover, the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava website claims that the festival has garnered around one million (10 lakh) guests so far.
The event schedule includes:
On August 16- a Sahasra Narikela Gana Yagna in Shankarpuram Sringeri Shankara mutt.
On August 20-a tribute to Dr. Rajkumar and Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar by a drums collective at Orion mall in Rajajinagar.
On August 21-a musical performance by famous playback singer Raghu Dixit and his troupe, also at Orion mall.
On August 21- three drama performances called Rabdi, Beg Borrow Aliya, and Adaddella Olithe at Ravindra Kala Kshetra.
On August 28- the making of clay seed Ganesha ta National College Grounds.
Several other events will be held during this period. There will be a series of Kannada folk music performances led by Praveen D Rao, 'Tha Dhim'- percussion ensemble by 60 percussion artists led by Ghatam Giridhar Udupa and Arun Kumar, a tribute to S P Balasubrahmanyam by Sivamani and troupe, a tribute to legendary composer and singer C Ashwath – 'Kannadave Sathya' led by Praveen D Rao, 'classical and devotional musical night' by Mahesh Kale and Abhishek Raghuram.
The festival in previous editions has seen performances from noted artists like MS Subbalakshmi, Mandolin U Srinivas, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Yesudas, Usha Uthup, Sivamani, S P Balasubramanian, P Unnikrishnan, P B Sreenivas, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, Shankar Mahadevan, Daler Mehendi, Shreya Goshal, Shaan and many others.
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