Deccan Herald | Manotsava: 2nd edition National mental health festival to focus on openness, inclusion

“Having a mental health festival like ‘Manotsava’ helps to start conversations around mental well-being and mental illness”, said Dr Pratima Murthy.

Bengaluru: The second edition of ‘Manotsava’, a national mental health festival, will be held on November 8 and 9 at The Lalit Ashok on Kumara Krupa Road.

The festival is being co-hosted by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation (RNPF), the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans), and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). It will bring together leading voices from mental health, science, policy, art, and lived experience.

Over 50 sessions will explore themes such as teen mental health, caregiving, and workplace burnout.

Keynote speakers include Dr Richard J Davidson (William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds); author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani; and Biocon Chairperson and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

“Having a mental health festival like ‘Manotsava’ helps to start conversations around mental well-being and mental illness. It can help reduce stigma, clarify misconceptions, and help people learn when and where to seek support,” said Dr Pratima Murthy, Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at Nimhans.

Explaining the inspiration behind the festival, Rohini Nilekani said, “Science alone cannot create change unless it connects with people’s lived experiences. We needed a shared space — one where researchers, practitioners and citizens could come together to talk, listen and learn from each other. That is why we created ‘Manotsava’, to bring the science of the mind closer to society, to make conversations on mental health open, inclusive and human.”

She said the aim of the festival is to ensure that participants leave feeling informed, seen, and inspired to build a society where mental health is discussed openly and with dignity.

‘Manotsava’ will also debut ‘Belong-a-luru’, a music-led, multidisciplinary cultural project by folk-rock band Swarathma, exploring what it means to belong in modern cities.

Following the public festival, NCBS will host an invite-only neuroscience research symposium on November 10 and 11 on the theme, ‘Emerging Biology of Neuropsychiatric Disorders’.

For details, visit nationalmentalhealthfestival. com.

This article was published on the Deccan Herald.