Bengaluru hosts ‘Mannotsava,’ India's first national mental health festival this weekend

Bengaluru is set to host “Mannotsava,” India’s first national mental health festival, on October 26 and 27. Organized collaboratively by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation (RNPF), the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), the event aims to expand the mental health conversation from focusing only on disorders to exploring human potential and well-being.

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Mannotsava offers a comprehensive lineup, from discussions on dementia, digital mental health, and suicide prevention, to exhibitions on addiction’s social history and survivor narratives of sex trafficking. There will also be an art installation delving into cultural attitudes toward tobacco, alongside a book stall promoting literature on mental well-being. NIMHANS faculty will anchor key themes such as addiction and chronic illness, while sessions will also cover positive aspects of mental flourishing.

Reportedly, according to Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director of NIMHANS, Mannotsava builds on years of research into cross-diagnostic aspects of mental health, studying shared vulnerabilities across conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia. This research began in 2016, funded by the Department of Biotechnology, and expanded in 2023 with the opening of the Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind at NCBS.

Mannotsava precedes an invite-only neuroscience symposium on October 25 and welcomes attendees at the NIMHANS Convention Centre from October 26 at 10 a.m.