Saturday evening and a free concert at a hillock; what a combo it was for connoisseurs of folk music and dance! This was the atmosphere I was treated to when I arrived at Lal Bagh.

This year’s Janapada Jathre, the festival of folk music and dance was held at the base of the Lal Bagh rock on February 10th. The theme for this year revolved around the contribution of women to Performing folk arts. Hence this year’s event was called as "Mahila Janapada Jathre" and it was no surprise that most of the participants were women.

It was delightful to see such a big turn out of city dwelling audience to a folk festival. A large number of foreign tourists too were present and were seen swaying to the sounds of this land.

The festival kicked off by a performance by artists from Coorg. They performed a dance which they traditionally do as a ritual in worshipping river Cauvery. This was followed by numerous performances ranging from Kolaata to acrobatic performances by a group of Eunuch artists from North Karnataka. The ever popular "Moodal Kunigal kere" was performed by group of school children. It was nice to see the involvement of the audience. Their constant cheering, singing in chorus, and synchronous clapping to the beats of the music gave encouragement to these artists who usually do not get this exposure.

Below are some moments from the evening which have been captured in images by me. Click on each image to view it in larger size.