Author Archives: Rohan Arthur

I love Sundays in Bangalore. They are reminders of a far away time, when this city was not on steroids and people really were “laid back”. The Bengaluru International Arts Festival (BIAF) was on, and I could choose between a hip-hop group from the USA, a Max Turner “program” or an evening of folk dance performances from Sri Lanka, Karnataka, Philippines and Orissa. The latter seemed the most interesting to me, and I jumped at the opportunity to cover it. This would also give me the chance to see Freedom Park that has been in the news lately and to witness different art forms from a variety of cultures. Freedom Park is situated in the…

      Bangalore is arguably the music capital of India and Malleshwaram has been the center of fine arts for generations now. In Malleshwaram is the iconic violin-shaped auditorium, Chowdaiah Memorial Hall – the holiest of holies for Indian Music. It is no surprise that the organizers of Bengaluru International Arts Festival (BIAF) chose this venue to kick off proceedings for the third edition of this annual arts festival which is said to be among the top ten in the country. I arrived way ahead of time despite the excruciatingly slow traffic. There was the customary lamp-lighting ceremony, which was followed by welcome addresses by co-founders Dr. Suma Sudhindra and Kuchipudi exponent Veena Murthy…