Bengaluru: City-based theatre repertory Benaka, founded by theatre doyen BV Karanth, will organise Karantha Maasa–a month-long festival in September celebrating his contribution to Indian theatre. Held annually to commemorate Karanth’s birth anniversary on September 19, the festival will feature theatre performances, workshops, music and other cultural programmes across Karnataka celebrating his artistic legacy and his vision of taking theatre to a wider audience. The 2026 edition marks Karanth’s 98th birth anniversary.As part of this year’s celebrations, Benaka (Bengaluru Nagara Kalavidaru) has partnered with US-based automotive technology company Tekion under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. Tekion, which has more than 3,000 employees across the US, India, Canada and the UK, undertakes CSR programmes under four key areas — health, education, equality and sustainability. Its partnership with Benaka, founded in 1974, is aimed at supporting the preservation and promotion of Karnataka’s rich theatre heritage.Karanth, regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Indian theatre, was known for blending indigenous music, folk traditions and innovative stagecraft in his productions. He also served as director of the National School of Drama. Benaka president TS Nagabharana, a nine-time National Award-winning filmmaker and theatre director, said the partnership would help sustain the relevance of performing arts among future generations.“Theatre is the soul of our cultural identity, and nurturing performing arts through CSR is vital to keeping our living traditions vibrant for future generations. We are thrilled to welcome Tekion as the first-ever tech company to partner with Benaka. Tekion’s commitment to backing grassroots cultural institutions sets a benchmark for how modern enterprises can meaningfully preserve artistic legacies like that of Karanth,” he said.Aravind Gowda, senior director of communications at Tekion, said supporting Benaka would help strengthen Karnataka’s artistic ecosystem and encourage greater community engagement with the performing arts. “Theatre and the performative arts form the very heartbeat of vibrant societies. Supporting Benaka and celebrating the timeless legacy of a legend like BV Karanth allows us to nurture Karnataka’s artistic ecosystem, spark creative expression, and create meaningful cultural engagement for our people and the community,” he said.The partnership will extend beyond ‘Karantha Maasa’, with Benaka and Tekion planning to stage plays centred on social impact, besides conducting interactive theatre programmes and employee-engagement workshops. The celebrations will begin on September 5 with Benaka’s Dharwad tour and conclude in Bengaluru on September 22 with a staging of Gokula Nirgamana at Ravindra Kalakshetra.
