The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
This is the second
part of my series on the Kala Ghoda Art Festival. Please read Part 1 before
reading further.
Mumbai is the city of dreams, the city which never sleeps.
This post is about the visual art displays representing the city. And let me
start with one of my favourites –
Dhanda, or business, is what keeps this city going. The city
is called the commercial capital of our country, and this is a word that
applies to all – from the lowliest labourer to the corporate honcho. This word looms
over the city skyline, in letters represented by skyscrapers, towering over
tiny hutments that cover every inch of space far below, on the ground. What a
perfect representation of our city!!!
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| This is one of my fav pics.. the huge letters representing skyscrapers with shanties all around them, captured with the heritage building of the David Sasoon Library.. so typical of Mumbai, isnt it ? |
Space being the biggest commodity here, another oft repeated
word is FSI – Floor Space Index. Instead, here is an artist’s rendition of another
FSI – Floral Space Index!!! How much better and more colourful it is!!!
In this city obsessed with space, birds are taking a hit,
especially sparrows, which have all but disappeared from the concrete jungle
that is the city.
However, there is another side – the side of a city slowly
waking up to the issue, for example, by building bird houses.
I loved this representation of a well, showing us the
reflection of all the buildings which are supposedly around it... scarcely the
water which it is meant to hold!
This installation showed us our city, as was evident from
the Wankhede Stadium and the Nehru Science centre models. Unfortunately, the
information board wasn’t put up, so we had to make our own interpretations –
does this represent, for instance, the island city being flooded once again?
The best among all was undoubtedly the one representing
Mumbai’s famed Dabbawalas. This huge dabba has apparently been made by students
of the Singapore International School, which really impressed me.
And here is the dabbawala.... literally carrying the city on
his back...
The attention to detail is great.... there are our most
popular monuments right there, along with a few dabbas..
And here is a closer look at the man himself. What a
wonderful tribute to a group of men who make it possible for us to have hot
meals from home delivered to our office!
People come to the city, with stars in their eyes... which
is represented by this installation, which literally shows stars in our eyes!
There are stars... and then again there are stars – filmstars!
It is impossible to talk of Mumbai without films and film
stars figuring somewhere. And they were here too, in large numbers, I may add –
if not in person, in representations! One of the most prominent installations
depicted 100 years of Indian Cinema....
with the father of Indian Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke looming over the installation...
and loads of film stars, of course, the bulk from Hindi
films.....
They were everywhere to be seen... even hanging from the
trees!
Fashion in the city wasn’t neglected either, with this huge,
high heeled shoe entitled ‘Shoe in a Metro’.
And finally, among installations related to the city, there
was this huge replica of a Mummy, right outside the side entrance of the
Museum, encouraging visitors to go look at the Mummy which is on display at the
museum. And it looks like the ploy was successful, since we saw huge queues
waiting for a glimpse of the Mummy, and thanked the stars we already had our
turn!
If you are wondering, no, thats not all.... there is still
more to see.. And we are still at Rampart Row! So, come back again, tomorrow,
for some more glimpses of KGAF 2013!
Once again, for those of you who want to go and see it for
yourselves, here is a link to the complete schedule....
Terrific pictures from the Kala Ghoda Festival.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary with the pictures is a big help.
My favourite installations are both the Kapala structures (Rampart Row & Traffic Island).
Thank you! My son loved the Kapala structures too....
DeleteAssume you would have noticed the interpretation of the 7th picture. It's Mumbai in 2100 when there is no earth at all, only water. But what first crosses one's mind is your interpretation. In fact, both are more or less same. This installation depicts flooding forever while we expect only the seasonal one. :)
ReplyDeleteyes, Bindhu.. did see that yesterday... and thats what I love about these installations... our own thoughts as well as those of the artists..
DeleteAwesome. Wish i could be there. Wud like to plan a trip next year during the festival :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Aabha! would love to have u here next year!
Delete