HYDERABAD

JANUARY

Hyderabad Shopping Festival January 1-31

The event conceptualised on the lines of the world famous Dubai Shopping Festival, is the brainchild of 7VMEDIA. It will be held at different shopping malls and be among the top shopping fests in India.

Kite Flying festival

Venue: Shilparamam

Kites fill the skies of Hyderabad with bright colours during the Kite Festival. The festival attracts people of all ages who take part with their kites of all shapes, sizes and colours. A kite-flying competition is also held.

FEBRUARY

Hitex Beauty Wellness and Health Expo 2010 January 1-31

Venue: Hyderabad International Trade Expositions Limited,

The three attributes of beauty, health and wellness play a vital role in life. HITEX acknowledges this in the show, HITEX Beauty Wellness and Health Expo 2010.

Deccan Festival: Deccan Festival is celebrated every year on 25th February. This five-day long festival reflects the culture of the Deccan and highlights Hyderabad?s arts, crafts, culture and the popular Nawabi cuisine.

MARCH

Arts and Craft Festival at Shilparamam

An annual all India festival of arts and crafts is organised in the first two weeks of March at the craft village, Shilparamam. During this festival, craftsmen from all parts of the country exhibit their exclusive creations.

JUNE

Pearls and Gems Fair - 18th June-20th June

Venue: HICC, Novotel,

Hyderabad

The third Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl and Gem Fair will be held at HICC. The fair is a perfect trading platform for launching and sourcing the newest jewellery collections from the worldwide jewellery industry.

JULY

Mrigasira Festival

One of the famous festivals celebrated in Hyderabad is the Mrigasira festival also known as Mrugam. This festival has to do with a feast of local fish. It is said that the partaking of this fish cures asthma. The remedy was revealed by a great sage to the ancestors of the physicians who carry out the treatment today.

JULY ? AUGUST

Barkha Ritu Monsoons are welcomed with a cultural extravaganza as musicians and dancers from across the country come to perform in this week-long festival to enthral the audience.

DECEMBER

Lumbini Festival This festival is organised to celebrate the Buddhist Heritage of Andra Pradesh. It is mainly celebrated in Hyderabad and Nagarjunasagar for three days from the second Friday of December every year.

Hazaaron Khwaishein

Venue: Diara Centre for Culture and Arts, 100 A, Banjara Petals, Road No.5, Banjara Hills . Hazaaron Khwaishein is a conceptual painting show by various artists. December 16th 2009-January 7th

INPUTS BY LAKSHMI VISHWANATHAN

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BANGALORE

JANUARY

Mark the last Sunday of the first month on your calendar. Chitrasanthe or Art For All is the popular annual road show organised by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (CKP). The one day art show (25th January this time) sees the footpath of the high-profile Kumara Krupa Road dotted with artworks from Pan India. The unique event displays affordable visual art from upcoming artists like paintings, graphic prints and sculpture.

APRIL

Bhoomi Jatre is the all night celebration of Bangalore?s artistic people. The unique event for youngsters brings rock music lovers, Bangalore bands and the culturally inclined to witness a night full of music, dance and films.

MAY

Get fit for the 10 kilometre Bangalore marathon. The world?s richest marathon, it attracts the young and

old from across India.

JULY

One of the eagerly awaited events on the Indian racing calendar is the Kingfisher Derby. Held on the grounds of Bangalore Turf Club, the event is an extravaganza for the city?s elite as they spin some money on thoroughbreds.

SEPTEMBER

Bangalore International Arts Festival brings to you the masters of Indian music, art and dance at the Bangalore Palace. Started three years ago, this event aims to be a platform for artists. Psst?Indian conductor of western classical music, Zubin Mehta, is being invited for the event this year.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

The Dusshera Mysore or the Mysore Dusshera brings back the golden era of royalty and festivity to Karnataka. The last day of the 10-day festival is celebrated on a grandiose scale. The festival has elephants dressed in robes and jewellery, chariots, and scores of cultural performances in the Durbar Hall of the Maharaja?s Palace, attracting people from across the globe.

OCTOBER

Vastrabharana, organised by Crafts Council of Karanataka, is a sari festival and will be held in the first week of October. With Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath as the venue, the event witnesses an exhibition of saris from across the country. Artisans and traders participate year after year in this unique festival.

And all those theatre lovers, look out for the annual theatre festival at the Ranga Shankara. Usually based on a theme and curated by an invited festival director, each festival witnesses an amalgamation of various theatre styles, languages and personalities.

DECEMBER

Bangalore Habba, the week-long cultural festival is an annual much awaited event in the city. Habba celebrates art expression and brings it closer to the common man. Arts, craft, literature, theatre, music and dance ? this is the time when Bangaloreans get a glimpse of the greats. The last month of the year also witnesses the grand cake exhibition. Organised every year by the Nilgiris chain of bakers and departmental stores, the exhibition has a surprise monument in cake form.

INPUTS BY SMITA BALRAM KUMAR

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CHENNAI EVENTS 2010

Kathakali Performance- by Kalamandalam Gopi Sadanam Balakrishnan at the Kalakshetra 57th Annual Arts Festival on January 5, 2010

Aircel?s Chennai Open 2010 - India?s only ATP tour event on January 4-10, 2010

Bonjour India!- With more than 100 events from December 2009 to February 2010 across India and featuring close to 250 artists, designers, researchers and entrepreneurs, the Bonjour India Festival is France?s most significant rendezvous with India. Exhibitions, concerts, literary and cinematographic events, artistic meets, debates and conferences, economic and scientific exchanges, will be organised over a period of three months by Cultures France and the Embassy of France in India.

June Rock Out ?a rock concert organised by Unwind Centre

November- Hindu-Metroplus Annual Theatre Fest

December -The New Festival in

Park hotelThe Chennai International Film FestivalMargazhi Festival

INPUTS BY KAVITHA SHANMUGAM

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KOCHIEVENTS 2010

Cochin Carnival

1st January 2010, Fort Kochi

Hoteltech and Bake Show

6th January to 8th January 2010, Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium

b>Kerala Kite Festival, 22nd January to 24th January 2010, Munambam Beach, Cherai, Kochi, Kerala Village Fair1st January to 31st January 2010

Marine Drive, Kochi

The Kerala Fashion Week

10th February to 14th February 2010

Bolghatty Palace, Bolghatty Island, Kochi, Nishagandhi Dance Festival

21st February to 27th February

Thiruvathapuram

International Aqua Show

February 12th -16th

The Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi, Paripally Gajamela

7th March 2010, Paripally, Kerala

Thrissur Pooram

24th April 2010, Thrissur, Kerala

Champakulam Boat Race, 26th June 2010, Champakulam, Kerala

Nehru Trophy Boat Race

14th August 2010

Allapuzha Backwaters, Kerala

Onam Festival

7th September 2010

Throughout Kerala

Kerala Travel Mart

23rd to 26th September 2010

Gulfar International Convention Centre, Le Meridien

INPUTS BY TANYA ABRAHAM