Mumbai, many would agree, is India’s most lively city. And it’s not just resident-pride speaking, it’s the verdict of many visitors who are taken by its vibe and energy.
While it’s not conventionally beautiful - no promenades or cobble-stoned pathways, no magnificent skyscrapers or skytrains - and somehow all efforts to make it so fail, the city’s got heaps of charm. And some of the most adored parts of the metropolis are nestled in South Mumbai. Lane after lane is immersed in history and centuries-old architectural relics, where the new and the old live in strangely beautiful harmony.
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Kala Ghoda is an archetypical South Mumbai area. Historically an art-hub, this is where Mumbai’s premiere museums, galleries, and art and literature movements have thrived for over a hundred years. It’s also where the legacy of the British Empire lives on. In landmarks like the Prince of Wales Museum, St. Andrew's Church and the David Sassoon Library. In fact, the name “Kala Ghoda” meaning “Black Horse” is derived from the equestrian statue of Prince Edward VII – the statue has moved to another postcode, but the name has been hard to shake off. Despite its famed history, the lack of active conservation and restoration had left most of the area dilapidated and ailing. Kala Ghoda’s fortunes however, changed a few years ago.
In the last decade, funds have been raised to restore the area, in an unusual but befitting manner, through The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. For about a week every year, the festival brings together local artists, performers, writers and residents for a hearty celebration.
Artists display their work on pavements, parking lots are converted to Visual Art Zones and make-shift auditoriums are raised for performances that range from traditional Indian dance to Rock, to Spoken Word. As an arts festival, while it’s certainly not big and famous, it’s the city’s most intimate and loved one. It makes up with charm and heart what it lacks in scale. It’s typically Mumbai, where the big and the small, the rich and the poor and the experienced and the aspiring come together.
This year, for instance, the festival’s Visual Arts area hosted renowned artists Brinda Miller and Krsna Mehta’s 40-feet installation on water scarcity and environmental degradation. While not too far away 19-year-old student Mithila Mehta’s art work Chai-na – made a statement about globalization with a few (quintessentially mumbai) chai (tea) cups. Literature was another aspect of the festival. Much-loved local columnists, writers and authors... (Have comments or want to read more? Write me a mail)
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