Gather, everyone: A lesson on Japan in Bengaluru
A community meetup for Japanese culture enthusiasts has become the newest attraction at Cubbon Park
Be it reading, theatre, stand-up comedy or painting, Cubbon Park has turned into a hotspot for community meetups in the Garden City of India. And now, a new one has popped up for lovers of all things Japan!
“Named Minna Shuugou! which translates to ‘everybody, gather!’ in Japanese, the monthly cultural exchange programme, began as a spin-off of the event Japan Habba, an annual cultural exchange event in Bangalore University,” explains Nivi Pal, one of the organisers, adding, “We meet on the second Sunday of every month.”
The community hosts about 40 to 70 people each month, but their largest turn-out was witnessed in July with over 80 members. “Our participants are also from all walks of life, from toddlers to septuagenarians. We sometimes even have canine and feline attendees. Everyone is welcome,” Pal says.
The meet-ups are planned around traditional festivals (Tanabata, Japanese Children’s Day), important days (New Year, summer vacation, Halloween) and notable events (Japanese Film Festival). The activities and events are planned according to the theme. “For instance, for Japanese Children’s Day, participants learned how to make the kabuto hat using origami and played a variant of rock-paper-scissor. On Tanabata, everyone wrote their wishes on narrow strips of Tanzaku paper, as is customary in Japan. We also collaborate with Bengaluru Foodie Community (BFC) to organise lunch around Brigade Road so attendees get to know each other,” Pal shares. Encouraging the language traditions, attendees are divided into groups of five to 10 people and Indian participants speak Japanese, while Japanese attendees speak English.
Among the regulars are Japanese expats Mayumi and Miyuki Yamato, a mother-daughter duo who doesn’t want to lose touch with their culture and learn more about Indian traditions. “I get overwhelmed by the number of enthusiastic questions I receive about Japanese culture. This has ignited my interest in my own culture and now I have a passion to teach others, too,” says Miyuki.
Praneeth Metukuru, a product marketing manager, shares, “As a Japanese language learner, it has been a great way to surround myself with the language for better learning. I hope to be more involved in the operations of running the event, as I would love to grow the community to greater heights.”