Bengaluru's cultural events pitch in for sustainability, artists become eco-friendly

BENGALURU: Art, entertainment and environmental consciousness are not mutually exclusive, if you go by upcoming and recently-concluded largeformat cultural festivals. The IT city’s civic activism spirit, which has resulted in successful public campaigns around water scarcity, solid waste management and green cover, is encouraging Bengaluru’s community of artists and events organisers to be eco-friendly and minimise wastage.

“The focus remains on art awareness and celebration, but it is also important to be aware of how the city is changing and what platforms like ours can do to make a difference,” said musician Suma Sudhindra, who is cofounder of the Bengaluru International Arts Festival (BIAF) that concluded last week.

The annual festival, apart from having hosted over 1,500 artists from across the world, ensures that artists are also part of a green drive that involves planting over 200 saplings. “We procure saplings from the State forest department and work with a nonprofit to ensure a healthy survival rate for the plants.” Apart from reducing plastic usage, every guest at the festival is offered a sapling as a momento.


According to Roshan Netalkar, director of the music festival Echoes of Earth that is coming up in December, a sustainable event is often double the cost. “Conventional options are always cheaper, but the point is to not plug and play, and be less destructive.”

In its debut year in 2016, the festival apparently processed 586 kg of dry waste and 165 kg of wet waste, while last year, it was 425 kg of dry waste and 12 kg of wet waste. Visitor camps, stage and stalls were made of bamboo, log wood, tyres and bottles sourced from scrap yards.

“This year, one of the stages, the flea markets, walkways and food stalls will be solar-powered,” said Netalkar For the Electronics City Industrial Township Association (ELCITA), organising sustainable events are a way to lead by example, said CEO NS Rama.


Their E-City Habba is a concept that involves banners made of cloth instead of paper, electric vehicles to take guests toward the stage and the stalls, biodegradable cutlery, food stalls selling organic products and hospitality staff ensured that there is no littering on the venue.

“Workshops on waste management and sustainability practices were conducted for the 3,000-odd visitors at the venue. While ELCITA promotes composting and solid waste management on a daily basis, a cultural habba teaches people through entertainment and makes the message stronger,” Rama explained.

Vani Murthy, founder member, Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT), said that cultural events have the potential to make people ecologically-aware.

“When something is unconventional, it gets noticed. People are gradually realising the importance of going back to basics, which is also leading to trends like green weddings and green marathons.”