If you think that Mumbai has nothing much to offer, then think again. There is much more to Mumbai then pollution, cramped up streets and poverty. A great example was this year’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival which showcased the true essence of Mumbai in an artistic and stimulating manner.

I have been going for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival for the past two years, and every time I have found something new and different. Due to work pressure I couldn’t go all the days, Clyde and myself went for it on the last day of the festival and had quite a blast.

It was an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We were seated on the steps of Kala Ghoda’s amphitheatre and listening to Gareth DMello play some beautiful songs. The lyrics were quite meaningful.After which we took a walk around the place, which was buzzing with activity and positive energy. Here is an installation of colourful steel boxes, which were suspended on a rod, and had some nice messages painted on them. This installation is a call to say a united prayer in appreciation to all that the city has given us and for the hope it stands for.
What are you running after? The chase will never end!One of the installations that caught everyone’s attention was called “Taxi – The Honey Bee.” The electrical appliances represent the eyes, antennae, sting, and wings.The big boot which had different sizes of shoes on it, signifies the coming together of people from all walks of life from all over the world, showing an object of daily use that may not occupy an important space in our lives but speaks volumes about us.There were a few shoes next to the big boot as well.A massive tree besides the taxi-colored bee had these big apples hanging that reminded me of the Christmas tree decoration.The giant monster, was called “Mosquito.”
Metamorphosis: As Urbanization takes off, it thrives on exploited blood. The makeover projects may claim to ‘humanize’ the mosquitoes that live in shanties, but there is no guarantee that exploitation will stop. That’s what Jayaram Tanaji Gopale, the artist, tried to pass on with his work.Mumbai’s skyline depicted by play of light. The artists have used drain cover to show that.The parking area of Kala Ghoda was converted into an environment-friendly zone with some amazing displays. Being its 10th year, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was promoting an eco-friendly environment. A good way to get environment-friendly was to switch to an electric car. On display were the Reva electric cars, painted by eminent artists in different styles.
Hetal Shukla, claims that this specimen was kept in special temperature conditions for 3 months in the artlab and to the artist’s surprise it grew fur on itself to survive.

With this breakthrough phenomenon called animalization, the polar bear happens to be the first of its kind in the species. That’s his new pet.

To me its a pimp ride, it was good fun to touch!The picture below is a well done swift I took a picture of it to show a friend of mine who has one.A very interesting piece, made of recycled material. They called it the interactive horse, I’ve not yet figured out why it was called that probably due to the computer monitor on its backside.
That’s the “Mumbai Eye” or Ferris Wheel made of cycles and dabbas, a playful take on the city which never sleeps. I think when you have such creative installations, there are different ways of interpreting it. Airbrush work done on parts of vehicle. As you can see, a fiery Royal Enfield, a skull on a metal panel, space invasion on the hood of Mercedes Benz.The Kala Ghoda Horse, that was extremely if I may say Psychedelic with the use of so many colors and the essence of the city, with paintings of the Gateway of India, Jesus, Om all put onto one prancing horse.People could also learn how to make pots on the turning wheel. Steady hands are essential in shaping the pot, just like how a steady mind is required in shaping your future. Several people gathered around the potter as he assisted people in the art of pottery-making. That site made me want to visit the rural areas, and learn the simple things in life, which are artistic at the same time. The potter had a bag of clay, every pot cost Rs 40 to make, I estimate his gunny sack could contain enough clay for 60 to 70 pots. That’s Rs.2,400 – Rs. 2,800 a day which is a good amount of money.
No smoking signature campaign, cut the Smoke and you get King Khan. All for a good cause the anti-smoking messages that people wrote on the wall, seems like they were quite influenced by the festival.The wonderful paintings on display on the footpath. These paintings in particular, had a very soothing feeling to it, very pleasant.A tattoo artist making a design on a girl’s hand.We didn’t bother to find out how much it costs but what was more interesting was the girl who didn’t even react a bit when the needle was spewing ink into her skin.We love these paintings, here’s a well known fact for all the people who need to hear it again!This one is quite a common one but still brings a smile to my face, or head?This is what is prevalent in most office environments, the ass lickers and the givers get more pay then the honest hard workers.This was one of our favorite ones. Its based on human emotions, in this piece, countless emotions are woven into each piece of fabric. The message is: ‘Dedicate an emotion that has dominated you for the last week. Welcome it or discard it. Tell no one, it is your secret.’Rearrange the tiles to have Buddha look at you with compassion.The belief of ancient sciences like astrology, palmistry, tarot etc. and utilises the faith of people in these sciences for a social cause.There were random post cards put up on a couple of pin-up boards, with some interesting content, yes, Bush bashing no matter how common its getting its always fun!Well this should feature in a newspaper, I’m sure it would spread panic among the sheep.This is an overall view of the postcards, click on it to enlarge.
The global hazard, spreading hatred and war. Killer of thousands of innocent woman and children, the one and only retard, George Bush!I am not quite sure if this is funny but none the less, that baby looks ugly.Here’s something that you should ponder on, is it any use voting?Khaki bags with handles made of jasmine flower (gajra) – used by many to adorn the hair.Have you ever thought how important a newspaper man is in our daily lives. He is an important part of the morning routine in many of our homes, but yet we hold no value for his place in our lives. The image below is a wonderful depiction of that, and of course the undeniable popularity of Page 3 news in our society.The artists had left a feedback book, we gave them some feedback as well as our blog link!The next one is extremely fascinating, its a shop selling rags and broken pencils and pens. It also has a board on the wall warning shoppers that they are on Camera. It was in protest of all the second hand book stalls broken down at Churchgate. It also symbolizes the unecessary wastage of money on material things.The train compartment that can be seen below, describes what the artist goes through by traveling in the handicapped compartment. He also talks about how the space conflict brings about divisions amongst people in the city.Shailesh Dudhlkar’s Blue Planet talks about how we humans created culture and are now destroying it by our destructive activites. He has used terracotta as a symbol of rise in world temperature. He also tries to say that we collectively have one earth and if we do not keep it healthy and safe, every other gift we give our children will be meaningless.There was a shop selling wood and wrath iron works that were quite unique and beautiful.After spending a good amount of time at the Kala Ghoda Festival, we had lunch at Leopold’s in Colaba, that has some fine beef steak.After a sumptuous meal and a nice buzzy feeling, we proceeded to watch the sunset at Carter road in Bandra.After that it was time to go home, unfortunately this article is a little late, have been quite busy there’s a lot of good stuff coming up for you technology freaks, Clyde had done some tech shopping and will be discussing the pros and cons of quitting his job to blogging.

Resources:

The Art at Kala Ghoda Festival 2007

Music, Dance & More at Kala Ghoda Festival

The Kala Ghoda Gazette

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Tags: Creative Installations, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Reva electric car