Kala Ghoda festival this year for me was totally focussed on my kids.I visited the festival on 13th february with my elder son, Eeshan,who is nine years old now. I chose this date as it had the most interesting and relevant workshops for the kids of his age. Also Friday being a workday, I knew I could avoid all the traffic and crowd if I managed my time well. Eeshan, now a regular at this festival (this was his 4th year),was excited not only to attend it, also because he got to miss school that day.
Eeshan checking an installation
As we proceeded towards the festival ,I couldn’t help but notice how Eeshan,knew and remembered every single detail of the event from previous years.He went looking for the bus he had painted last year and I had to remind him that they don’t have the same display every year.Then he found this painted taxi which looked exactly like the last year’s installation and I had to eat my words.
He was disappointed,like me,to not find our favourite Mario Miranda Stall from where we buy cups,prints and Tshirts every year.
This is me last year-2014
The same taxi this year-2015
Like every other year there was a huge crowd even on a weekday afternoon,but somehow I felt that more people attending the event were interested in clicking their selfies with the installations than actually understanding and reading about them.This is a little sad,as these events are more about promoting culture which clearly they had not enough interest in.There was this camel installation with lots of taps on it.Eeshan,actually went and tried opening a tap to figure out if it will pour out water.
Eeshan wanted to check the water supply of this camel lol ;)!
Eeshan,attended a drawing and animation workshop ,which was to teach children how an animated movie can be created,using a pencil and a notebook.This workshop ,conducted by Motion Media Arts Pvt Ltd,was mainly for the NGO Akansha kids but then they accommodated a few more kids.Natalie ,explained to the kids what a motion movie is and what the concept is behind producing it .Then the kids were given flip notebooks and stationary to make their own flip books.This was a difficult concept for the kids to understand in hour and a half,but by the end of it they were hooked.Eeshan managed to create a story of an egg hatching through his drawings.
The kids at the animation workshop
Natalie conducting the workshop and helping the kids
From here we went exploring the various installations and our favourite was ‘Seven Islands in The Sea Of Hope’-by Mumbai Airport.Not only it’s colourful presence attracts you but the message that it was created by using actual wishes collected over a period of time at the Mumbai Airport ,signifying Mumbai as the city of hope,just is so beautiful.
‘Seven Islands in The Sea Of Hope’
Some Other Installations that we found noteworthy:
Ustaad Jaqir Hussain and this musical installation go synonymous
love the pop of colour with these cans
Picasso
Rabindranath Tagore and literature
Recycled Bottles look so pretty and can adorn your living room
Kaleidoscope
So happy to find an installation from my Institute-Pearl Academy
Another great recycling idea
We loved this stall for all it’s lovely colours and prints
Web and the time clock
It started getting late and after viewing some more installations in the museum garden and some in KalaGhoda square we headed back home.KalaGhoda has always fascinated me and what did Eeshan have to say?”I would love to come back next year too,as,I find it exciting.I like art and drawing and here I get inspired”.What do I think,well,mission accomplished :).
