Bengaluru Ganesha Utsava in its 62nd year with focus on women

Bengaluru Ganesha Utsava: 62nd year celebration with music, dance, and cultural activities honoring women.

The Bengaluru Ganesha Utsava (BGU), a vibrant and cherished cultural celebration, is now in its 62nd year. This year, the event will take place from September 7 to 18 at Shri Sringeri Shankar Math in Shankarapura. As one of Bengaluru’s most anticipated festivals, the Utsava has grown over the years from a modest community gathering at a local cycle shop to a grand spectacle that attracts thousands of devotees and art enthusiasts.

This year, the event promises an even richer tapestry of music, dance, and cultural activities, reflecting the diverse spirit of Bengaluru on the theme of “Celebrating Women.”

Started by Mariyappa A., G.K. Obaiah, Parama Shivanna, G.K. Gopal, T.D. Naganna, Hirannaiah, Mukund Rao and Girish S.A. in 1962 at Shivanna Cycle Shop, BGU was initially called Shree Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha. According to Hema, a core committee member of BGU, all the eight founders of BGU worked even post-retirement for many years, after which one of the founders’ sons, Nandish Mariyappa, took charge in 2003 and is the current managing trustee.

Hema says that this year, BGU decided to honour its women by dedicating all 12 days to its female members and inviting female artistes to perform at all main events. “Each day of the Utsava is dedicated to a goddess and each female member. We even have photos of women members printed on our brochures for each day to honour them,” she says.

“On all 12 days, we would have 81 concerts featuring 700 eminent female artistes from across India in this year’s celebrations. We are excited to have M.D. Pallavi, Sangeetha Katti, and Archana Udupa curating our Bhakti Sangeetha sessions, alongside performances from the legendary B. Jayashree, Anuradha Paudwal, Manjamma Jogati, Bindu Malini, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Srilakshmi Belmannu, Ananya Bhat and other talented women artistes,” Hema adds.