Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

By Sanket ‘just another fest pest’ Kambli

Horses and arts, not a great combination I thought.

So with low knowledge of my city, I reached this area, popularly referred as Kala Ghoda, also called as Kala Ghoda Art District.

Kala Ghoda seemed to me, the semi-circular space stretching from the Regal circle to its south and Mumbai University to its north.

And I learnt that it drew its name from a huge statue of King Edward VIII straddling a black horse (Kala Ghoda in Hindi) that once graced the centre of the main street.

And the presence of structures like National Gallery of Modern Art, the Prince of Wales Museum, the Jehangir Art Gallery to name a few, are proof of the cultural importance of this locale.

The year 1999 saw the birth of The Kala Ghoda Art Festival. Initiated by the Kala Ghoda Association, a non profit organisation, the aim of this festival was to draw attention to this art and heritage district through a rich array of cultural programmes including film, drama, musical events and food stalls.

By the time this paper goes to print, the festival would have terminated.

Anyway, this 10 day annual affair that began on 4^th of February saw miniature paintings on rice grains, caricature art, modern art with steel, figure-making with aluminium wires, pencil-sketch portraits to name a few, were some of the art forms on display.

And not only that, the festival also saw numerous workshops for almost every art form, be it dance, art, music. Movie screenings, music shows, theater, literature events made sure that every art lover left fully satisfied.

The highlight of this festival was the confluence of art forms from grassroots to the avant-garde, with visitors from diverse backgrounds, races.

Bollywood had its share too, with satirical takes on major Bollywood/Indian television channels, programmes and personalities.

Colorful, witty, creative, skillful, entertaining are the words that easily describe this festival.

I would recommend anyone even remotely interested in any art, to visit this fiesta at least once in their life time. The experience is sweepingly inspirational. It may not be possible for everyone to attend each event of this ten day long festival, but at least one visit would be an enriching experience.

So mark this date. You may just bump into me at this festival.

Art is not the bread, but the wine of life.
-John Paul Richter