The four-day kala ghoda festival of india, a prelude to the arts festival in february, will have visually-impaired children offering foot massages, constables exhibiting their art works and male dancers dressing up as females to perform a 16th century dance form
The four-day Kala Ghoda festival of India, a prelude to the Arts festival in february, will have visually-impaired children offering foot massages, constables exhibiting their art works and male dancers dressing up as females to perform a 16th century dance form
The Kala Ghoda precinct in South Mumbai may no longer have its namesake, the black stone statue of King Edward VII mounted on a horse (the statue is now at Jijamata Udayan), but it is still the closest the city has to an art and cultural hub.
It is in proximity to several art galleries, such as Jehangir Art Gallery and Hacienda Art Gallery, the David Sassoon Library and the Prince of Wales museum. With a view to celebrate the famed locality, the annual Kala Ghoda festival was started a decade ago.
In the span of a few days, the area transforms into a fair buzzing with stalls selling artefacts, offering diverse kinds of cuisine as well as cultural events at the Amphitheatre.
While the main festival will take place in February, the Festival of India acts as a prelude to the event.
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This year, the performance line-up is impressive and includes dance performances by Salsa India and Dance Sport India troupes, a Bharatnatyam performance by Gracy Singh as well as a street play.
The highlight is a Gotipua dance performance, a 16th century Oriya dance form where the male dancer dresses up in a female garb and performs acrobatic dances.
Apart from that, you can enjoy listening to singers Anushka Manchanda, Gary Lawyer, Jagjit Singh, and Shilpa Rao.
Music aficionados will be treated to a Sufi music soiree by Rakesh Pandit, rock music by PHI Degrees and Zubin Mehta's Banmac Orchestra.
Shopaholics can take heart as there will be 75 stallsu00a0 (many of them run by NGOs) selling traditional handicrafts from all over the country, hand-woven products, Patachitra wall paintings from Orissa, fabrics with Kantha and Lucknowi work on them, Rangoli art, and woven jute handbags from Tamil Nadu.
The Bombay Store will display their range of products exclusively made for the Kala Ghoda festival.
Foodies can enjoy a variety of food from stalls operated by Chetana, Bombay Blue and Baker's Delight.
Chetana is offering a Rajasthani spread, chaat and hygienic golas, while Bombay Blue will be serving Nachos, kebabs and coffee. Also sample cakes and baked bread by Baker's Delight.
If all the walking around makes you tired, students from the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind will give you foot massages. Another not-to-miss event is the exhibition of paintings done by constables from the Mumbai police force.
"This time, we have focused on activities for children to make the festival more appealing for them. There will be free workshops teaching them arts such as origami, drama, toran-making, magic, dance and puppet making," adds Sharma. There will be a kids' zone by Joyride replete with tattoo counters, toys and gift hampers.
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The CRY stall will feature a 25-metre cloth that will be used to collect the handprints of children and the cloth will then be used to make CRY bags as part of their child rights campaign.
At: Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda, Fort.
Till: November 2. Stalls will be open from 11 am to 10 pm and cultural programmes will take place from 5 pm to 10 pm everyday. Entry is free for all.
Schedule - Kala Ghoda festival of India
October 30
5.40 pm - Songs sung by Citizens of Peace
6 pm - Nakhshtraya Gotipuas, an Oriya dance performed by a male dancer in female costume dating back to the 16th century
7 pm - Urban Bohemian Women by Chetna
7.30 pm - Inauguration
7.45 pm - Gracy Singh performing Bharatnatyam, choreographed by Deepak Majumdar
8.25 pm- Performance by Dance Sport participants
8. 50 pm - Performance by Salsa India participants
9.20 pm - Anushka Manchanda Live
October 31
5.30 pm - Street play by Laadli group
6.15 pm -u00a0 Percussion performance by Nikhil Kopade
7 pm - Rock concert by PHI Degrees
8 pm - Songs by Gary Lawyer
8.45 pm - Songs by Niladri Kumaru00a0
November 1
5.15 pm - Songs and Poetry by Citizens of Peace
5.30 pm - Best of Kishore Kumar by RK
6.15 pm - Flute Fantasy by Ronu Majumdar
7 pm -u00a0u00a0 Sufi music by Rakesh Pandit
8 pm - Jagjit Singh Live
November 2
5.30 pm - Banmac Orchestra by Zubin Mehta
7 pm - Classical music performance by Aparna Panshikar
8.45 pm -Groove Matrix featuring Parthiv Goyal and Shadid Mardhana
9.15 pm - Songs by Shipa Raou00a0u00a0
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