Blame it on Bollywood. Some Bangaloreans got so carried away by the re-creation of the Valencian tomato fight in the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara that they wanted their own La Tomatina right here in their city, a move that divided public opinion and triggered campaigns.
On Friday, however, Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda ordered that the festival, scheduled for Sunday at the Palace Grounds here, be squelched.
Mr. Gowda, who has a farming background, also instructed the Mysore police to stop any such plans there. His directive comes in the wake of a plea by a delegation from the dry, tomato-growing region of Kolar to cancel the revelry. The festival would entail a ‘Holi,' in which the participants would throw about nearly five lakh tomatoes weighing 62,000 kg.
Seeking to remind the youth about farmers' hard labour, Mr. Gowda criticised the mindless aping of western festivals that had no context here.
Earlier, a delegation led by Jayanagar MLA B.N. Vijayakumar (BJP) met Mr. Gowda and informed him of the plans behind the festival.
The re-creation of the festival, whose traditions date back to 1945 in Bunol, Spain, had also attracted the wrath of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The party said it was outrageous that huge quantities of the fruit were to be destroyed for entertainment while the country had starving people.
