With some 400 events packed into nine days, one thought the Kala Ghoda Festival Association, now hosting the 14th edition of the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai, would have covered everything from the world of art. But Pallavi Sahney Sharma, KGFA’s chief executive, can still spring a surprise. Food art will be on display at the festival this year as well-known chefs Milind Sovani, Moshe Shek, Rahul Akerkar, Pooja Dhingra, to name a few, create and showcase Indian and international cuisine.
“Food,” Sharma says, “is so integral to Mumbai. We thought it would be a nice thing to do at the festival.” Man does not live by art alone as evident from the brisk business at the food stalls at the festival.
Of art there is no dearth at the KGFA. Be it music, dance, theatre, literature, painting, installation art, sculpture film, theatre. This year, Reena Kallat, Brinda Miller, Krsna Mehta, Tobias Megerie, Mumbai Espalande Project, Arzaan Khambatta and EE Studio will be showing their works among others. Tracy Lee Stum, 3D artist from America, will display images of the street festival as it happens.
From modest beginnings to celebrate this art district in south Mumbai, the festival has grown each year bringing Indian art and culture out in the open and making it a ‘must-do’ event on India’s cultural calendar. Maneck Davar, honorary chairman of KGFA, has reasons to smile. “What started as a movement to preserve the art precinct of Mumbai has taken a life and shape of its own as the largest multi-cultural festival in the country. It was not the design but a very satisfying and pleasant result,” he says.
The festival is also expanding in geography now. The newly-renovated garden at Cross Maidan a short distance from Kala Ghoda, will be the venue for music shows. From classical to contemporary to folk to international will be showcased by well known artists and troupes like Margi Vijay Kumar, Alarmel Valli, Sannidhi, Parvathy Baul and Sashi Vyas. Astad Deboo’s rendition of ‘Remembering Tagore’ will be one such.
Over 25 plays from the best of Mumbai theatre will be staged at Horniman Circle Garden and National Gallery of Modern Art precinct. Street and folk artists from across the country will perform at the Amphitheatre at Rampart Row.
Sitarist Niladri Kumar and music directors Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani will perform over the weekend against the magnificent backdrop of the Asiatic Library.
From tributes to Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Jagjit Singh, Bhupen Hazarika, Satyadev Dubey, Tagore and Dickens to films by contemporary masters, national and international, will be featured. This year, a competition – The 48 HR Music Video Project – including Mumbai and the festival will be held. The literary fix will come from readings and discussions featuring Kiran Nagarkar, Deepti Naval, Bachi Karkaria, Naresh Fernandes, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Loveleen Misra and Pritish Nandy to name some.
And a host of workshops ranging from art appreciation, puppetry, paper sculptures, to textiles, appreciation of teas, food and more are planned for children and adults in addition to heritage walks.
With similar festivals at Bandra and Juhu, how does Kala Ghoda hold its own? Sharma avers, “I do not see that as a competition but an awakening of people to give back to the city what they can. The city needs these celebrations.”
Kala Ghoda Festivalat Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, February 4 to 12, 2012.
Published - January 28, 2012 04:09 pm IST
