Bengaluru buzzed with excitement on Friday evening as thousands flocked to Sankey Tank for the city’s inaugural Cauvery Aarati, a vibrant tribute to the Cauvery River, the metropolis’s lifeline. With an estimated 10,000 attendees, as predicted by Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, the event blended Vedic chants, laser lights, and live music, overshadowing the morning’s political drama—18 BJP MLAs forcibly evicted from the Karnataka Assembly.

Not all came for spiritual reasons. Gen Z attendees, like 19-year-olds Suchitra and Aarthi from beyond Banashankari, were drawn by curiosity. “We boat here often, so we had to see this puja,” Aarthi said. Nearby Malleswaram residents Vishnu and Rajesh, both 22, joined after spotting the crowd, while 21-year-old Reshma from Rajaji Nagar tagged along reluctantly with her mother, who likened it to Varanasi’s Ganga Aarati. Priests from Varanasi indeed led the rituals, adding authenticity.

Others had ulterior motives. Nikhil, 20, and friends snagged front-row seats with snacks, awaiting a free Raghu Dixit performance they’d learned about on Instagram. Prajwal, 20, turned it into a “mothers’ day-out” for his mom Padma, 50, and friend’s mom Anita, 44, who chatted in a circle away from the screens broadcasting the puja.

The event, held at the 37-acre restored lake, faced legal hurdles—an Interlocutory Application sought to halt it over environmental concerns but was dismissed after assurances of legal compliance.

Earlier, Shivakumar performed a puja at Bhagamandala’s Triveni Sangama, bringing sacred water for the ceremony. Aiming for a Guinness record, the state launched a water conservation pledge campaign tied to World Water Day on March 22, distributing pamphlets and offering online oaths. For many, the night was less about devotion and more about spectacle and community.