As I write this, I am completely soaked in a great creative high! The Kala Ghoda Art Festival in Mumbai started last week and I visited it couple of times. An eagerly awaited event which is oasis of art, culture, creativity, innovation and entertainment; KGAF is a great refuge from a typical urban existence, a space that serves as pot-pourri of intellectualism, cultural trends and mind blowing artistic creations that nurture beautiful, vibrant energy and ignite magical marvel leaving one transformed, energized and profoundly inspired. The greatest reward of visiting KGAF is, one finds it compelling to visit new territories of mind's landscape that introduce new perspective about art and life in general.
Here are some of the interesting installations that I came across at Kala Ghoda Art Festival, 2013.
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| "Dhanda" , an installation by "Baaya Design" |
"Dhanda" in Hindi means business and the word defines quintessential metropolis of Mumbai, a financial capital of India, with its throbbing and pulsating energy of glamour and glitter of wealth. This installation is a brilliant juxtaposition between over ambitious skyscrapers and vicious cauldron of urban destitution.
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| The mascot of the KGAF, made with card board |
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| "Cycle chalao, city bachao" an installation by Rajesh Nakar |
In the times of ever increasing petrol and diesel prices and suffocating pollution that creates serious health issues, the installation, "Cycle chalao, city bachao" ( ride bicycle and save the city) depicts artist's concern about the choices we make in urban living and how it affects our health, environment and quality of life in general.
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| An installation titled,"Samyam (defensive war), by artist, Sachin Chaudhry |
The artist's message is very poignant and he conveys that like tortoise that pulls back its limbs into shell, it helps an individual to have control over his senses and intellect to restrain when needed and have stable mind that is derived from self-control.
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| "Tarevarchi Kasrat", installation by Sonal Jadhav and Nikhil Borhade |
"Tarevarchi kasrat" when literally translated, means walking on the tight rope and striking balance. In this beautiful work, the artists suggest that the city of Mumbai is city of dreams, people from across the nation that migrate here, come with big dreams, hopes, aspirations, ambitions and expectations to "make it big" and in the process often end up trading them in exchange of something for the sake of survival. The subtle process ties them up forever and sometimes getting out of that invisible entice is impossible. Here, different colours of threads represent different emotions, aspirations and ambitions of Mumbaikars.
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| !00 years of Bollywood cinema |
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| "Queen's necklace" by Swapnil Pednekar |
The Tetra-pods, representing coast of Mumbai, not only protect the coast but are silent witness to many love struck couples who lack space and privacy. A few moments of seclusion and privacy around these Tetra-pods are absolute necessity in this city where every single inch of the land is priced insanely, much beyond a common man's reach. Many a worlds are built on the basis of a few intimate, private moments near sea beach. Hence the tagline of this installation aptly says, "When you come here, all you see is love."
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| "Sapno ka Number" By Shailesh Rathod |
The city of big opportunities, where any insane dream has possibility of materializing, the city of Mumbai is the muse for many insatiable quests for fulfillment of dreams no matter how unrealistic, crazy, selfish, greedy or audacious the dream, the city provides space to fulfill it.
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| "The Dabbawala" ( the tiffin carriers) |
Life in Mumbai is impossible to imagine without these "dabbawalas", an absolute "must" for middle class working people, they are interesting case for study in management schools.
