Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2009

And continuing with my series on Kala Ghoda Arts Festivals that I haven't documented on my one and only blog, here's KGAF '09.

We (intrepid explorers/lonely bachelors that my friends and I are) had paid a visit to the zoo that morning, followed by lunch at Mondegars. And then KGAF. Being a Sunday afternoon, there weren't that many people around, even on the last day of the festival.

One of the first things we saw was an exhibit representing the balance that is constantly living in Mumbai.

I'm calling this one "Don't play with your planet".

A phoenix made out of junk - something about life thriving in garbage.

Some kind of war and peace message.

I thought at first that this was another 'life in Mumbai' piece but it turned out to be an anti-smoking installation.

Not sure about this one. A tribute to travel and chai?

Creative clocks and home decor.

Another junk sculpture. I saw similar ones at Mathuradas Mills.

A tribute to our cycle usage.

The pavements had their usual painting exhibitions/sales.

This art furniture was cool.

And so were these religious artworks.

An exhibit on water conservation.

On sound pollution in the city.

I couldn't tell what this one was. The card below explained it.

A reminder of the amount of garbage we produce.

This was an interesting one - a message on sustainable living. Unlike the baby scorpions feeding off and killing their mother, we're shouldn't be destroying the city we live in by over exploiting it.

I don't remember what this one was.

Our world - don't throw it away.

A few ones on reducing waste.

A portrayal of how we try to survive in the city, struggling constantly.

I left towards evening as the crowds swelled. It got a bit windy, and a gust blew over this festival map. No one cared. That said a lot about Mumbai, turning this into an unintentional social exhibit of it's own.

KGAF 2010 will be coming up shortly. Click here to see a summary of my visit to KGAF 2008.

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2009

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2008

O.K, so the KGAF is just over, and it was quite enjoyable as usual, albeit somewhat different this time around. But before we get into this year's fest, I realise I haven't blogged about previous year's ones, which really is inexcusable. So let me begin with KGAF 2008. 2009 & 2010 will follow shortly.

2008 was my first KGAF. Inspite of being a long time resident of Mumbai, I had never bothered to visit the festival before. In addition to my first-time-at-the-festival-excitement, this were a couple of other aspects that made this a great experience. One, I had bought a digital camera in December '07, less than a month ago, which I was eager to use. And two, the week of my visit to the fest was one of the Mumbai's coldest weeks in years, which meant a very pleasant and not at all hot day. Great for walking around.

And so I left for the festival on a Sunday afternoon, sometime after lunch, reaching Churchgate by train at around 4.00. I walked it out out to Kala Ghoda street, & it was a lovely sight that greeted me. I decided to take a walk round the footpath beside the Jehangir art gallery and PoW museum and check out the art installations there first. They had a whole bunch of social messages on addiction.

There were a lot of paintings for sale. This is a great place for picking up cheap stuff.

This guy was making art out of wire.

Here's an interesting charcoal work.

Photos taken by the blind.

Eco-friendly bags.

I then made my way over to the stalls, being greeted by this character. Something about being a bloodsucker in the city.

A little ahead was this tribute to the amount of walking we Mumbaikars do.

An artist's perspective of our busy lives - a bee made out of industrial materials. It even produced a buzzing sound.

This guy was just showing off. 

As you can see, it was getting dark. The Copper Chimney restaurant (in background above) on Kala Ghoda street must get additional business this time of year.

The stalls were selling mostly artsy stuff - rural handicrafts, paintings, sculptures, knickknacks. This one stall sold a lot of bronze stuff.

Cool lamps and household decorations.

I took another picture of mosquito man on my way out of the stall area.

Heading over to the triangular space, I saw a few more works of art.

Promoting eco-friendly travel - Reva electric cars with new paint jobs.

I'm not sure what these were supposed to be.

A multi-coloured horse with Mumbai motifs replaced the black horse.

And a second horse made out of junk.

The balloons looked cool.

So did this modified bike.

This was the largest artwork at the fest - a ferris wheel that carried cycles with dabbas - a tribute to Mumbai's dabbawallas.

Some of the old buildings in town look pretty neat when they're lit up.

Caught some pottery action.

And the last one - Flora Fountain on my way back to the station.

I also attended the Kala Ghoda Festival of India, a smaller version of the KGAF, in October that year. Not as good as the February version.

KGAFs 2009 and 2010 coming up shortly.

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2008