My weekend at the Kala Ghoda Festival

The annual Kala Ghoda festival has been around for quite a number of years now. I used to visit it during my college times and always came away happy and impressed by the number of handicrafts on display, the number of entertaining performances by various individuals and by all the small stalls full of artifacts and little knick-knacks! Over the last few years I haven’t had a chance to visit this festival, so this year I vowed not to miss it and miss it I didn’t!!

This year’s festival started on Saturday and I reached there in the evening. As I approached the first thing that caught my eye was the number of people who had had the same idea as me on a Saturday evening! I saw mothers with their children showing them the artifacts around, there were families who were out for an enjoyable evening, young couples who had come to see the festival for the first time and quite a few foreign tourists clicking away on their cameras! I too joined them and took pictures of abstract and non-abstract art that was made of metal and other materials. The trees had some beautiful stars and a cute huge bulb!!

I was in time for the Dance Festival, and managed to wriggle my way near the barricade in front of the stage. The first act was a Bharatnatyam performance by renowned dancer Malavika Sarukkai. She enthralled me with her graceful movements and beautiful facial expressions! I think I connected more with the dance as I too have learnt this for 4 years during school!! After watching her performance I wanted to start learning Bharatnatyam once again!!

Next there was a puppet show and not being too fond of the same, I gave up my place to a couple of children and their mother to watch the show. While the puppets enthralled the children, I walked around the stalls set up by different NGOs and looked at their displays. Some of them tempted me to loosen my purse strings and I came away with a couple of necklaces, one of which was a nice brass one and the other a medley of small black beads!

The next act in the Dance Festival was a few dance performances by the team of Salsa India, one of the upcoming top Salsa teaching classes in India. It was started in Delhi and has now grown to Mumbai, Pune and Kolkatta. The dances were a medley of salsa, hip-hop, solos and a medley of other Latin dances. An awesome treat for the eyes!!



On Sunday, the air was filled with fun and excitement, as the news about the festival had spread and in response to it there were a lot more people around this Sunday evening! As I approached the entrance I saw a huge pyramid made of buckets, mugs and plastic taps - this was to send a message - Save Water! It looked awesome! Next to the bucket pyramid there was this huge umbrella which could definately shelter a family of 5 during the monsoons! ;-)


I made a beeline to the stage as I heard drums being played and I was in for a lovely surprise.. There were these 4 young guys playing an assortment of drums - even one playing a dhol! Their jugalbandi was awesome to hear and their charged up energy was felt all through the crowd near me. These guys called themselves F.A.D. the Percussion Group and they were most definately fabulous!!



After this perfomance there was a break wherein I wandered around the various stalls. I bought a lovely black t-shirt with a lion on it from the BNHS stall where the proceeds go to the well being of animals. There were great many bargains happening and it was fun to watch people shop like there was no tomorrow!! As my tummy growled I made my way towards the food stalls and had some pani-puri, some jaipur chaat and topped it up with a whiskey cream gelato! After eating my ears caught strains of music and I made my way once more to the stage to hear and watch Suneeta Rao belt out hindi movie songs. She got the crowd invloved and soon everyone was singing along with her.

After this performance, I looked at my watch and finally headed home - a lovely weekend indeed!!

Lip smacking Maharashtrian Food!!

I have lived all my life since I was born in amchi Mumbai but have never eaten a real Maharashtrian meal! Don’t get me wrong, I have eaten the usual snacks that we call Maharashtrian food – sabudana ka khichdi, puran poli, kothimbir wadis to name a few and have loved every bit of it! So a friend and I decided to try out real authentic Maharashtrian khana!

We made our way to Diva Maharashtra (at Mahim). As we approached the entrance we were greeted by a doorman dressed as a doorman in a King’s darbar, as he opened the door for us, we were further greeted by a traditional war-cry played out on a long curved trumpet like musical-instrument. The interior of the restaurant is tastefully done up with sarees hung on the two of the walls and the ceiling! Our dinner mats had the map of Maharastra and the menu card was also covered with parts of a saree (see pics)!

We settled down to a meal of Prawn Karanji which I might add was yummy! That was followed by a vegetarian dish made of Vaal – a white seed and was accompanied by a chicken gravy that was made from a particular Maharashtrian recipe!! We ordered a portion of rotis made of rice, and puris made of a mix of grains. One spice caught my eye – it was a small bowl of fried chilies – this my friend explained to me were actually green chilies that were slit and kept out in the sun to dry and are then covered with spices and when the need to eat them arises they are fried and served! Amazing!

As my eyes wandered around, they fell on a stick that had a saree and a garland and a metal vessel on it. I had seen it before as it is displayed on all Maharashtrian houses during their new year. The story behind this display was given by my friend. Apparently when Ram returned after defeating Ravana, the people waved flags from their windows, some women who did not have any flags tied their saree to a stick and waved those instead. There is a metal vessel on top of the stick so as to keep the saree from following off and there was a garland of sweets and flowers wrapped around the same.

As we finished our dinner, I was glad that we had come here to experience the true Maharashtrian cuisine!!

Jaago Re, Bell Bajao… Appreciation Guaranteed!

In today’s day and age when the media is almost 100% responsible for how we maintain our lifestyles through the media of advertising it is refreshing to see some advertisements stand out and leave an impact on the mind. Over the last few days I have encountered a number of advertisements mainly the kind showcased on TV. Out of the numerous Tata Sky plus, the Maggie noodles, the Dove and L’Oreal advertisements, three recent ones have remained engraved in my mind.

Jaago Re – this punch line has now become part of a lot of youth’s vocabulary. Though the advertisement is for Tea, all its advertisements come with a social message; the latest being aware of the voting procedures in our country. Jaago Re also enables one to register as a voter and get their voter’s identity card too! So what are you waiting for – if you are not registered or do not have a voter’s ID card then WAKE UP (Jaago Re) and register yourself today!

Bell Bajao – don’t know how many have actually seen this advertisement as those that I have spoken to have not even heard about it. This deals with bringing domestic violence to a halt! The two ads that have been aired so far have put across their concept very well, which is – it urges men to take a stand against domestic violence. Ring the bell and intervene in situations of abuse. One of the ads shows a man looking at TV and in the background he can hear a couple shouting wherein the husband is shouting at / hitting the wife. He gets up, goes to the neighbouring house, rings he bell and when the door opens asks the husband for some milk. When the husband returns with the milk the man has left… A brilliant ad campaign and a brilliant concept! Hats off to all involved!

Appreciation Guaranteed – on a lighter note this Fiat Linea advertisement is fun to watch especially the little boy’s expressions!! Right from the longing look when he looks at toys to the disappointed look when his father drags him away from the shop windows to the exasperated look when his father can’t tear his eyes away from the Fiat Linea! This ad is a real treat for the eyes and the car is not too bad too!! ;-)

Media today is becoming creative and fun to watch!