Chitra Santhe: A Bangalore Mom’s Review Of The City’s Annual Art Fair And Why Her Kids Love It!

Arthi Anand is a sales professional with a leading fragrance MNC. She is the voice of Art’s Tales, a weekend story telling initiative. A mother of two girls, she is a culture and travel lover, a two time Tulika author and a foodie. She belongs in equal part to Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

A new year in Bangalore is a sensory and visual treat, and a well kept secret only Bangaloreans will be able to share. Imagine a lovely tree-lined street filled with art, devoid of traffic, there is a slight nip in the air, the air is clean even fragrant from the flowers. Add to this scene paintings and sketches of flowers, animals, people, common objects, gods and demons providing a welcome break from the urban sprawl. A truly colourful milieu that is a sight for sore eyes. 

This is precisely what the Bengaluru Chitra Santhe, the Annual Street Art Fair, offers us. For my family and me, this annual art fair is a must visit.  It has always been an enriching and enchanting experience for all of us- from the 65 year old “been there and seen allâ€_x009d_ grand-mother to the curious and bubbly six year old.

Art Santhe By CKP
The brain child of the Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat (CKP), a well known art school, the fair has enthralled city dwellers for over thirteen years now. On the first Sunday of the year, Kumara Krupa Road, a normally busy tree-lined street, wears a very colourful look. All traffic is diverted  during Santhe days and people throng to see art  displayed on tables, footpaths,  tree trunks and even on the adjacent Golf Course fence! The lack of traffic noise makes it a perfect atmosphere to drown oneself in beautiful art.

Introduce your children to art

With over a 1000 artists participating in the event there is never any dearth of inspiring conversations taking place. My daughters stop often to interact with the enthusiastic artists who are eager to share and show off their work. This year my nine year old was absolutely enchanted by a Patta Chitra artist who sang as she explained her folk art.

The artists come from all over the country to be a part of the Santhe every year. You can catch children and adults talking to artists sometime in their mother tongue reminiscing about back home, or haggling to lower the price!
My younger daughter who is intimidated by the thought of colouring within the lines saw that it may not always be necessary to do so to turn out a beautiful work of art. My older daughter, in her teens, has her own take on things artistic. And that has led to us having plenty of  stimulating discussions on copies of the masters, reprints versus inspirations versus fakes! You can see her trying to understand the many perspectives and styles which experienced artists employ, to communicate. This year there was a  walk-on art installation done on the spot by CKP students which encouraged visitors to add their footprints to the project. My  kids loved it!

Planning your visit

As in every exhibition, the mediocre and pedestrian rub shoulders with exquisite work, but tastes vary. Apart from the artists and sculptors, my little one makes it a point to visit the  on-the- spot caricature artists. She will willingly pose and stay unusually quiet for a fairly long time to get a drawing made.

While purists may be appalled, tattoos and nail art stalls have been included to engage children who need a break from the art attack. Be warned, it does get crowded. So plan your visit after an early breakfast. We also carry ample drinking water and take along caps to beat the sun. A light jacket helps in case the winter winds pay a visit. There are food carts and bhel and corn vendors but you could carry a light snack or fruit if you prefer.

Every time we visit we bring back a little bit of the Santhe in the form of art that we have all fallen in love with.

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