Chitra Santhe - Bangalore's Annual Art Festival

Prasad and I went to Bangalore's one of kind art festival on Sunday. It happens once a year on the last Sunday of January. Last year I was simply awed, this year, a little less so but it's still a wonderful experience, the streets are bustling with people, street dancers, food stalls and of course many many artists. I ran into someone from Montreal, an aquaintance  that I had not seen in 15+ years. I usually don't forget a face. I asked her if she was from Montreal and at first, she said, no, but I insisted and the 2nd time she said  yes. . She couldn't place me, I told her my name and she squealed in delight and said, "You're Shanta's daughter!"  Anyway, who would have thought, it was sort of bizarre running into her like that.

 I would say there were about 5-6 very talented artists. Subhashish Mandel is one such painter, who is popular and his paintings are priced well . Last year, only his smaller paintings were available, the rest were sold. This year, we went earlier but still not early enough , by the time we arrived, there was a huge mob at his stall. We were able to get one  painting but I wish we had reached his stall 1 hour earlier. His paintings will be displayed at Chitrakala Parishat in the summer time which is quite an honor.

We took a few pictures, not sure if we were able to capture the essence of the festival but this should give you an idea.

He was one of the talented painters (forgot his name). His paintings were priced a bit high  but we really liked the one in the center with the 4  boys, he captured their smiles so beautifully. He has an interesting style of leaving most of the canvas blank except for the people in it. By the time we roamed around and came back, our favourite painting was gone :-(

Street dancers and musicians resting

dancers on the street