Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The Kalaghoda Experience

So finally I discovered what the Kalaghoda Festival was and I grant all the people who go completely gung-ho about it, their complete worth. Right in the centre of this maddening, yet appealing city - Mumbai, on a road that probably hundreds of people cross to and fro sprawls the Kalaghoda Art festival.
A melange of music, dance, paintings, digital videos, portraits, fortune tellers and a hustle bustle of several men, women and teenagers impressed upon me as I walked into the swarm of installations, sculptures, paintings and people. As I screened the exhibits with a footnote of the author’s profile, the only thing that seemed to bind them all was passion.
While at one end people strolled through a maze of paintings and sketches, at the other end several crowded at the food-stalls. In the centre of all this, the sound of ghungroos gave rhythm to the moves of a kathak dancer, who had enthralled a chunk of the crowd with her graceful swirls and their precise explanation in a diction of Hindi, that seemed more pure only because of her style.
I was amazed that this was India. Though the presentation of the festival might have been just about ok, what appealed to me most was the vibrant combination of people. Elite artists mingled with portrait experts who were caught selling their skill at a mere Rs 100 - the end product guaranteed so long as you could sit still for a while. A tarot man sat amidst the crowd, claiming to tell you your future in the uncertain and erratic world of art. There were men who sold sequenced chappals that glistened in the nightlight and young artists who sold cards with paintings on a dry peepal leaf.
Creativity seemed to ooze from every direction and it practically pulled you into the flow. I don’t understand shit about art, though both my parents are architects; I couldn’t even wait a while to observe some paintings, like some others I met over there; in fact I finally realised that it wasn’t the art or the works that overwhelmed me, but a just the oorja of enthusiasm, undying passion, creativity and liveliness that gave me a high that evening.

1 comment:

harshvardhan kadam said...

the kalaghoda now seeing it in words...!