Art & Culture
The city celebrates its most important and oldest festival, "Karaga Shaktyotsava" or Bangalore Karaga Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights". Other traditional Indian festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Sankranthi, Eid ul-Fitr, and Christmas are also celebrated.
Kadalekai Parishe, the annual ground nut fair is held on the last Monday of Karthika Masa (month in Hindu calendar) near Dodda Ganesha Temple, close to the Bull Temple at Basavanagudi. The fair starts from the previous day with people thronging to the stalls selling & buying variety of groundnuts.
A legend behind the Kadlekai Parishe is that in olden days farmers were aghast to learn that their crop was being devoured in the night by somebody. One of the farmers wanted to investigate and on Kaarthika Maasa night which was pitch dark, he found out that the culprit was none other than Lord Shiva’s abode Nandi or Basava. Since then farmers collectively pledged their first crop to the Lord Basava.
Bengaluru is home to the Kannada film industry which churns out about 80 movies each year and is the fifth largest movie industry in India, in terms of revenue. The Kannada Movie Industry has spawned a different colloquial type variety altogether, commonly referred to as Bengaluru Kannada.
Bengaluru is also a major center of Indian classical music and dance. Classical music and dance recitals are widely held throughout the year and particularly during the Ramanavami and Ganesha Chaturthi festivals. The Bengaluru Gayana Samaja has been at the forefront of promoting classical music and dance in the city.
The city has a vibrant English and regional language theater scene with organizations such as Ranga Shankara and Chowdaiah Memorial Hall leading the way. Bangalore is also sometimes called as the "Pub Capital of India" and is one of the premier places to hold international rock concerts.
Art Galleries in Bangaluru
The art lovers visiting the Garden City of India need not despair. There are numerous art galleries in Bengaluru that showcase beautiful pieces of art. To name a few: Abstract Art Gallery (Cunningham Road), Alliance Francaise (Vasanthnagar), Bangalore Art Gallery (CMH Road, Indiranagar), Bhavan's Art Gallery (Race Course Road), Crimson (Infantry Road)
Auditorium
The cultural side of Bengaluru is reflected in the numerous auditoriums that have been set up in the city. Right from dance performances to musical programs to plays, the auditoriums in Bengaluru have everything to satisfy the creative side of the people. ADA Rangamandira (J.C Road), Bangalore Gyana Samaja (K.R Road, V.V Puram), Chowdiah Memorial Hall (Malleswaram), Dr. Narasimaiah Kalakshetra (Jayanagar)