Chilume Ravikumar Breathes New Life Into 516th Bengalurina Janakana Janmotsava: A Citywide Celebration Rooted in Action, Heritage, and People

India.com

16 hours ago

Bengaluru, 27 June 2025 — The 516th birth anniversary of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the legendary founder of Bengaluru, this year was not marked by the usual stage programs and speeches, but through a powerful public-driven movement under the leadership of Chilume Ravikumar, a rising Vokkaliga youth leader and a visionary change-maker. In their belief that cultural remembrance should not just be about rites and rituals, Chilume Ravikumar Foundation and the young visionary carried a string of deeply immersive, participatory events commemorating Kempegowda's contributions that spiritually and purposefully united the city.
In an environment where everywhere one looked public celebrations were reduced to garlanding with ceremonial talks and handshakes behind closed doors, Ravikumar stood clear in his intention: to bring back the people to the root of exaltation that Bengaluru's foundation was an exaltation of vision, discipline, inclusiveness, and foresight. Three days worth of meaningful experiences crafted by his team tied together historical reflection, civic responsibility, and emotional community participation—sans a stage.
Tuesday, 24 June, at the crack of dawn, engaged the participants in the honor of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda. Cleaning and beautification operations were held at the site of Kempegowda Samadhi. At 5:30 AM, voluneteers from all corners of the city started to gather at the Samadhi site, equipped with gloves, brooms, and reusable bags. After the welcome briefing and a short session about Kempegowda's civic vision, Chilume Ravikumar flagged off the event personally, thus setting a high standard for the day. From then on, the participants began working on several fronts, supported by local NGOs, NSS and NCC units, and BBMP officials, to systematically clean up the area around the Samadhi, revive neglecting spots, and prepare the ground for public homage. What on paper might have become a half-hour photo-op turned out to be a full-scale service activity, ending with all the volunteers taking a public pledge to uphold cleanliness, discipline, and respect of civic pride for which Kempegowda had once gone Champions for.
The next day, Wednesday, 25 June, provided for the emotional and symbolic Pushpārchane Namana—a citywide floral homage to Kempegowda through his statues in six iconic locations: Kempegowda International Airport, Lalbagh Gopura, Hudson Circle, Vidhan Soudha, KIMS Hospital, and Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple. Instead of focusing on one centralized event, the Foundation decentralized the celebrations to the landscapes where citizens live, move, and work—reminding the residents that the city founder belongs to them all. Folk artists chanted traditional Kannada songs, students indulged in impromptu poetry, and citizens laid flowers at each statue with heartfelt pride. People belonging to various communities began to come forward with tributes, narrate their affiliations to the city, and share folk tales passed down from generation to generation. The entire day as a citizen-driven tribute remained unsullied by a single political speech or an official address.
On 27th June, Friday, the evening festivities were the spiritual and emotional zenith with Nadaprabhuge Deepa Namana, held at Kempegowda Samadhi. As daylight faded into dusk, 516 oil lamps were lit traditionally, marking every year of the birth of the founder. The site was decorated with lamp mandalas and rangoli patterns, as well as floral decorations, and the ambience was set with soft Bhakti songs along with Kannada Nadageethe. The central Deepa Stambha was lit by Chilume Ravikumar alongside Swamijis, dignitaries, and citizens, a circle of light filled the space with emotions of unity and reverence. Following this, the guests were invited to pen down on 'This Lamp Is For...' pledge cards, thereby each lamp signified a personal dedication from cleanliness in Bengaluru, a hopeful future, or just in remembrance of heritage. It was the most defining act since it surpassed all barriers of religion or politics and gave each participant a personal moment as they held their lamps while looking on in pride.
But later that night, on Avenue Road, the geographic and spiritual birthplace of Bengaluru, the punchiest rendition took place: Ravikumar viscerally narrated with the support of his team how the city came into existence. After a short explanation of the vision for Kempegowda given by the narrator, 64 placard-holders stood to form a giant circle symbolizing the Pete layout—the old urban scheme of Bengaluru. A symbolic bullock cart procession walked back to the footsteps of ancient land surveys; interspersed were four young volunteers erecting flags to mark the directions in which the Gopuras (towers) will be built. As Chilume Ravikumar chanted the Bhoomi Pooja to the tune of folk music, hundreds of citizens gathered in silent reverence. The enactment ended with the collective shout of 'Namma Kempegowda, Namma Hemme,' echoing along the old streets of the city and captured both by drones overhead and voices from the ground.
Kempegowda Jayanthi of this year being a community experience and not a formal event firmly established Chilume Ravikumar as a person of true substance, clarity, and conviction. Unlike political celebrations which are usually all about optics, this was all about impact. It was about reverence being transformed into responsibility, and history becoming living memory.
The emergence of Chilume Ravikumar as a youth icon is an approach of action rather than mere ambition. Through his Foundation's activities, he continues to push for issues that link tradition with transformation—youth empowerment, preservation of civic spaces, and a renaissance for citizens in their cultural identity. This year with four landmark events, he has added a layer of deeper importance to Kempegowda Jayanthi—and in doing so, reminding the people of Bengaluru that the best way to honour a visionary is to walk in his footsteps.