Mumbai Mania

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was introduced to me by Bhavika perhaps two years ago, I still remember the performance by the lyrics last year as we sat on the steps on the road (amphitheatre at Kala Ghoda), the art lives, yes most of it is alive and fresh, the messages profound and the audience perhaps trickling and flowing at times.

But this year we got to see Kala Ghoda in a different and new perspective, we reached in the afternoon after an unsuccessful visit to see Flamingos in Sewri, if you go there remember to reach before 8 in the morning, will get back to that in another post but for now lets get back to the Kala Ghoda Festival 2009.

We reached there by mid noon, from the Naval dockyard road and the stalls were the same as last year, the NGOs, pottery, handicrafts and clothes, nothing unusual until you reach the stage where I saw some kids dancing to "I like to move it, move it" and a crowd that's filled up the area leaving only a little gap for people to walk by consciously makes me wonder, "wow is this an Art Festival?"

But just past the stage and its the usual time for some mind expansion, where we are greeted by creativity, green thoughts and recycled junk converted into thoughts to ponder.

Lets take a look at some of these fantastic pieces of art, during a pleasant afternoon, there weren't lot of people near the installations but some random people who were posing with the sculptures, while their friends took ages to get the perfect shot with multiple poses.
But that was alright as there was room for everyone and we had enough of our space to pause and ponder at everything that met our eyes. This one is called windows, it talks about how children or people like to look out of windows to see beyond, so by creating a wall from glass we allow transparency.
But if you were regular at Kala Ghoda you may have noticed so many repetitions as well, and sometimes you may also find similarities in the art and structure at the festival!

The object from the tree hanging down happens every year although I prefer last year's apples as compared to this one! A message for smokers at the Kala Ghoda festival, we inhale whatever we exhale.
This was one of my favorite installations at Kala Ghoda 2009, its called unprotected peace, a picture of what happens when moral force fails and brutal force takes its place.What happens to the future generation when we are playing with the entire worlds' resources. There were three installations in the top series with the sculptures spinning tops and toys that comprised earth, a way that transcends mans nature. The lotus pond made of plastic on the green grass reflects the pollution in the city, lotuses are beacons of clarity and peace, but at the moment the city is spinning out of balance. The artist urges people to become more environmentally conscious.
The one below has a very profound description, the sculpture is a mirror image of identity of individual and I am trying to reflect my own reflection. The artist is heavily influenced by the natural world surrounding him and considers the whole world same as his own created forms. Yet again a super installation that I enjoyed, every action has a reaction, likewise the events of corruption, terrorism, woman exploitation etc leaves a mark. Imagine if these reactions could prove their existence individually, they would just scream out! This sculpture had sounds of daily life emitting from around it. Fill your bladder, how long can you stand it? Was an experiment to show the daily lives of 50% of the slum dwellers in Bombay who have no toilets to use to relieve themselves, and nearly 65% of Mumbai's population lives in slums.

This creates 1000 to 1400 tonnes of excreta per day giving Mumbai a famous stench.
Collection of Objects from around the city. How the slums add color to the city.

The 8th Wonder of the World was a 40-feet high pyramid with 3 different kinds of water-related objects, its theme being water conservation. This is an interpretation to suggest that water is going to be scarce in future and this installation will be present every year at KGAF with different environmental themes. A reason to smile, a reason to think and a reason to be alive again. The artist is trying to provide an eye-opener to the viewer by commenting on growing commercialisation and globalisation and is trying to get the viewer out of the rat race and remember moments of his life that they have lost in this never-ending chase. You would not imagine that an umbrella with windows would mean something so profound. Here the artist is saying that these windows enable transaction between the personal sky and external sky, the same way the artist is asking to let your outer self communicate with your inner self.
Every year in Kala Ghoda there's something organized for children, last year it was painting this year clay sculptures and pottery as well.
Painted masks by children were exhibited on a board, quite nice and colorful aren't they!
A lot of people seem to be interested in pottery.
A vendor selling wind wheels, the background of this picture is very contrasting with the vendor dividing trees and concrete on either side!
Somebody has to ....

There was an installation of a massive garbage bag surrounded by smaller garbage bags, it had a small poem next to it that goes as,

Somebody has to polish the stars, they are looking a little dull
Somebody has to polish the stars, for the eagles, starlings and gulls
Have all been complaining they are tarnished and worn
They say they want new ones, we cannot afford
So please get your rags and polishing jars
Somebody has to go polish the stars

Basically we all need to do our bit to keep the city clean. A mother scorpion oozes a liquid that baby scorpions feed off her back, the same way our city Mumbai provides shelter to all of us and helps us survive. But right now we are not looking after her and destroying her beauty with pollution, chopping of trees, littering garbage etc. Its time to wake up and realise that we are killing our own mother.

I'm on a diet

Modern urban culture insists on being looks conscious and ultra thin, which affects a person's natural patterns of eating and enjoying taste. Urban men and women are more conscious of their physical appearances rather than insisting on natural looks, beauty and simplicity.

This installation is a cycle with a table attached to form a dining cycle, its asking people to stop worrying and start living life to the fullest.

The artquest section that features every here some new stuff and some old stuff here. I really liked the Ganesh Sitar, beautiful!

Wooden painted trucks Horn OK Please!

The Godrej cupboard a sign of India with a new cover.

Thats Bhavika and me :)


The carrom board below was first seen in Kalaghoda Art Festival 2007, so were the painted trunks and bars that were repeated this year as well.

Talented with wires, this man too seems very familiar and his work I think has been showcased before as well! After covering most of the art, we decided to get out for a while, we returned in an hour to find a transformation, there was no place to walk, people around us moved in slow motion all together like perfect bricks in a wall.

Voices fading in and out as they passed by us, Kala Ghoda had turned into an ant farm. People passing with equidistant footsteps, moving to and fro, on either side.

The roofless BEST bus that takes you on a tour around the city, a Kala Ghoda special here!
The art beckoned but many didn’t heed the call, has the artists thoughts and words failed to break the wall? But whose fault is it, when there is no space to walk or crawl, description placards on the floor as they don’t fit their holders.