Kala Ghoda Festival 2024

Had been to the Kala Ghoda Festival and took some general pictures of Mumbai, like this night shot of the Mumbai University

Sauntered into the Westside store (opposite Kala Ghoda) and saw these young boys from Live 101 keeping the customers entertained. They were playing my favourite song by Bob Marley.

Marley's classic song No Woman No Cry was inspired by his experience living in the trench town area of Kingston, Jamaica. The song reflects the hardships and struggles faced by the residents of the ghetto with its lyrics portraying empathy and hope for better times. The song was recorded in 1974 and the live recording was released as a single in 1975.

The song is meant as an encouragement that life is worth living for - a beacon of hope shining in the darkness. The title and the main refrain "No Woman no cry" means, Woman, don't cry.
Another non festival picture was this pretty woman trying to sell some trinkets at the Regal crossing.

Mumbai was looking all colourful with the new double decker electric bus

Took me back about six decades when I travelled by tram on the same road and the fare was 10 Ps from Byculla to Regal.

We patronized an old Parsee joint Jimmy Boy in the area for dinner. The "sunny side up on kheema" not only looked great but was really yummy.
Their concept is to serve Lagan nu Bhonu (Parsee wedding food) at their restaurant. Jamva Chaloji.

It was heartwarming to see this study centre in the heart of the city where students coming from underprivileged backgrounds can come and study and fans and lights and charging points are provided for them. These two pictures below explain it all. (behind that board you can see youngsters sitting and studying)

Now for some festival shots. This catapult reminded me of the ones we made by cutting the Y from a guava tree and tying rubber strips from discarded cycle tubes. Now it is a part of the Channapatna toys in one of the stalls.

I was impressed by the pencil sketch done by Ashish Mahajan at the Cooperage Bandstand Garden. Had a chat with him and he said that he usually takes about 6 to 8 hrs to finish a pencil sketch of a portrait. (you can see him in action in the video) The charges too were cost effective.

We saw this pottery workshop where one gets a feel of the potter's wheel.

There was an exhibit by the Indian Navy opposite Lion Gate with the title Lest we forget. It was crafted from the recovered memorabilia of INS Vikrant as an offering of everlasting tribute. This too took me down memory lane when I was posted on duty on the Vikrant from the NCC during the Navy week, way back in early 70s.

There was a stall by The Good Doll where each product is handcrafted by women from underserved communities using natural and upcycled materials that are ethically sourced from within the region.

Kala Ghoda is an yearly event and it is a good platform for people to showcase their product/talent. This was started on a small scale 25 years ago.
Hope to click more pictures next year.

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. 

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.