encounter with a super star: February 2017

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Kala Ghoda Festival Part 3

A few of the other things that I clicked at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. Wall paintings I found at one of the by lanes near by.

The present Kala Ghoda against the noon sun, erected just three months ago. The plaque gives the name of the Architect as Alfaz Miller and the sculptor as Shreehari Bhosale.

Those old Chai kettle is making a colourful comeback

Some enthusiastic school kids were having a gala time in the drawing competition.

And others were trying their hand at decorating a pie.

The creation of some kid, her interpretation of Rapunzel

Some kids had a feel of the potter’s clay. The pots they created were looking funny, but at least they got a good idea of how the potter’s wheel works.

At a stall I saw this cookery book being sold, signed by the author Pooja Dhingra.

At cross maidan there were some fancy food trucks dishing out some Indian food.

While walking away from Kala Ghoda I noticed this building on the right which I feel is a part of Lion Gate. If you ignore the building in the background then the structure on the left and the one on the right can make a good street scene for a period film, maybe one of Bombay during the early forties.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Kala Ghoda Festival Part 2

As mentioned in the previous blog, the David Sassoon Library is right opposite Kala Ghoda. The building was erected for the Bombay Mechanics Institution in 1870 (originally founded way back in 1847)

The Venetian Gothic styled structure using yellow malad stone was completed in 1870

the old and the new

As you enter you see the statue of Sassoon

The library is on the first floor. Inside I found this wooden spiral staircase which is a testimony to the proper maintenance of the place.

Once you are inside the courtyard you realize what a quaint little peaceful place it is with tall trees and greenery all around. I spied the Elphinstone college on one side

It was in this courtyard that the children of Little Angels School put up their skit and the Lezim as a part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

Neish Singh started off by playing the tabla, followed by Deeptanshu Thakkar who gave a good performance on the keyboard.

This was followed by the Lezim. Taking the space constraint into consideration, the boys did very well and managed to keep up the pace with the beat.

They say that if you want to keep your city clean, then start educating the children, and it becomes more effective when there is support from the parents.

The skit “Swach Bharat” was entertaining as well as educative.

Highlighting the different possibilities in which a place could get dirty was a good idea as the children will always remember it.

The parents and the audience were very appreciative of the program.

In the first picture I purposely kept the BEST bus in the frame as I was/am always fascinated by their efficiency and service. From the first electric tram car in 1907, it has come a long way.

Did you know that BEST buses are only equipped with those rubber bulb air pressure horns (and not the high decibel fancy electronic ones)

So next time when you are on the road (driving in Mumbai) and you hear that Pom Pom behind you, then you can be assured that it is a BEST bus.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Kala Ghoda Festival and Dance

Voltaire said “Let us read and let us dance. These two amusements will never do any harm to the world” These words came back to me as I witnessed a dance performance put up by the Nrityanjali group at the Cross Maidan during the Kala Ghoda festival in Mumbai.

The Kala Ghoda Festival is held every year and this is the first time I could attend, mainly because I happened to be in Mumbai at that time.

The original Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) was a black stone statue of King Edward VII mounted on a horse that was built by Jewish businessman and philanthropist Albert David Sassoon. This statue was moved to Rani Baug (originally Victoria Garden) at Byculla Mumbai in 1965.

The David Sasoon Library is bang opposite Jehangir Art Gallery and more on it in Part II of the Kala Ghoda Festival blog.

Coming back to the dance performed by Nrityanjali, it was one hour of pure entertainment for all.

There was never a dull moment and I think it was so because of the meticulous planning and execution of the flow of the event. The two anchors gave a running commentary to connect the concept themed "Jindagi ke funde, Bollywood style"

I happened to be at Cross Maidan during the day time too and saw the troupe practicing. I captured some parts of the practice.

Later while editing the video, I spliced in the practice part with the final performance. You can see the vast difference it makes with the colourful costumes, lighting and with the proper sound control of the music. If the artists had attempted lip synchronization with the songs, it would have been totally perfect.

I have put together the first part of the video. You may observe a bit of shake at times, but then that is the best I could do with a hand held camera and trying to zoom in to capture the action which was happening about 50 meters away.

One word about the performers, it is very evident that they really enjoyed what they did and that was enough reason for the audience to keep on clapping.

Behind the stage you can see the magnificent stone building (build in 1899) which is the headquarters of the Western Railway.

More on the other parts of the Kala Ghoda festival in part-II of the blog.
PS: The second part of the video has been uploaded on YouTube.

PS:PS: The third and final part of the video too has been uploaded.

While editing the third part I realised how truly blessed we are in having the vast diversity in our country.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Fun day for kids

Capturing pictures when the subject is in motion is a challenge. I managed to get a few during the relay of the annual sports day of Little Angels School.

Sports day is fun especially for the kids. This is the third sports day of this school that I am attending (two in Pune and one in Mumbai) Every time I get to learn something new and last week was no exception.

The house captains along with their Sir, making a final inspection of the ground before the start of the event.

The march past was perfect with children marching to the tune of Col Bogey’s march .

The Blue House won the trophy for the best team in the march past. You can see it in the video.

The Lezim dance performed by the senior boys was worth watching. I can imagine the amount of practice that has gone into it.

There was this boy Nishant Pai from yellow house who helped the guest (Ms Purvi Shah) to put the medal over his head, then he helped her to put the medal over the boy who stood second, and then again he went on to help her do the same with the guy who stood third. It was such a spontaneous gesture that it won the hearts of all who were present there.