One of Bengaluru’s oldest Ganesha Utsava’s journey across multiple locations in six decades 

For those who have lived in Bengaluru for a long time, especially in the southern parts of the city, the Ganesha Utsava, organised by the Sri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha, is almost synonymous with Ganesha Chaturthi itself

For those who have lived in Bengaluru for a long time, especially in the southern parts of the city, the Ganesha Utsava, organised by the Sri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha, is almost synonymous with Ganesha Chaturthi itself.

One of the city’s oldest public Ganesha events, the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava (BGU), as it is known today, has been held in multiple locations – from a humble cycle shop on D.V.G. Road to some of the biggest venues in the city like the National College grounds.  

This year, the utsava has been organised in three different locations – Orion Mall in Rajajinagar, Shankaraa Foundation in Doddakallasandra, and Shankar Mutt in Shankarapuram. It began on September 3 and will continue till September 29. 

According to the history provided by the organisers, the first Ganesha Utsava was inaugurated on September 2, 1962, at Mallikarjuna Temple Lane on D.V.G. Road. With singers like P. Kalinga Rao, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, and P.B. Srinivas performing at the festival, the popularity of the festival grew, leading to a change in the venue to the Mallikarjuna Temple premises in 1976, to avoid traffic jams on D.V.G. Road. 

Further, as new leadership emerged within the sangha, the popularity of the events organised continued to grow, bringing in more audience members and the venue was shifted to A.P.S. College grounds in N.R. Colony.

In 2008, the festival was rebranded as the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava. In 2012, as the BGU completed 50 years, popular names and stalwarts from across the country, including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Govinda, Ilaiyaraaja, and K.J. Yesudas among others, performed at the festival. To accommodate bigger crowds, the utsava also started organising some performances at the National College grounds. 

Following a petition by the Shankarapuram Residents’ Welfare Association, the High Court in 2019 ordered that the BBMP should give permission for the event to be held in National College Grounds only for five days instead of 11 (the usual duration of the utsava), as the norms dictate that the grounds should be used for non-sporting activities for only five days in a month.