The good thing about Bengaluru is that its people keep re-inventing the city with new ideas that elevate it to yet another level of distinction. Bangalore Ideas Forum (BIF) is the most recent enterprise thought out by a group of like-minded people to turn the city into one that also celebrates arts, humanities, philosophy and culture apart from science and information technology, for which it is known worldwide.
The BIF, which as founder-member Ranjon Ghoshal – a well-known theatre personality – says, is currently an “amorpohous” body, has already made a beginning by organising a lecture by writer-musician Amit Chaudhuri at the National Gallery for Modern Arts on ‘Origins of Dislike: A Genealogy of Writerly Discontent’ in which he dwelt upon his discomfort with “historicism, naturalism, Renaissance painting, and the historical novel.”
The next in the series is a musical performance by Prof. Chaudhuri on June 23. To give it the initial push, Mr Biren Das, proprietor, K.C. Das – the house of traditional Bengali sweets, sponsored the Amit Chaudhuri lecture to celebrate their 40th anniversary. “Bengaluru is known as an IT capital, but it does not produce philosophers, experts in aesthetics, architecture and philosophy. BIF is a product of intense discussions among the core members. We need to take this forward and include more Bengalureans in making it a success,” said Mr Ghoshal.