City's cultural extravaganza, the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava goes virtual, here's all you need to know about it

Bengaluru's Ganesh Utsav, the 10-day musical and cultural festival is set to go virtual this year. Instead of people thronging to the various venues across South Bengaluru, audience can watch musical, dance, and cultural performances from the comfort of their homes.

The performances can be watched live on your social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, from August 22 when the festival begins. 

This is the 58^th edition of the cultural festival and it features renowned artistes such as Vijay Prakash, MD Pallavi, and Praveen D Rao. The festival marks the celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi which falls on August 22 this year. Managing Trustee of BGU, Nandish SM says, "Over the last 58 years, we have worked towards improving the spirit of the festival, culturally and spiritually. We always adhere to the rules and regulations for the general well-being of Bangaloreans. Given the present COVID-19 situation we decided to take the festival online to keep the festival spirit alive and also to provide a platform to all the musicians and artists to perform and usher in positivity amidst such challenging times."

However, all the traditional rituals will be conducted for 11 days at the Ganesha Mantapa and visitors will be allowed with strict adherence to social distancing. Wearing masks will be mandatory.

Highlights of the online festival:

• Watch the 12-hours Sugama Sangeetha on Day 2. Singers from across Karnataka, led by Praveen D. Rao will participate in this marathon concert
• On Day 8, don't miss the Manju Drums Collective (MDC) Reloaded performance. Multifaceted drummer and percussionist Manjunath NS will enthrall the audience with his energetic performance
• Catch the 12-hours concert, Parampara... the Era- Evolution of Music in India, on Day 9. The long-drawn-out but the engaging show will introduce you to the various genres of music such as Classical, Devotional, Bhaava Sangeetha, Sufi, Loksangeet, Cinema and Deshbhakti.
• Vijay Prakash will be performing live on Day 10