Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival - Part 2


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!!!

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.... 



Comments

  1. Terrific pictures from the Kala Ghoda Festival.

    The commentary with the pictures is a big help.

    My favourite installations are both the Kapala structures (Rampart Row & Traffic Island).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! My son loved the Kapala structures too....

      Delete
  2. Assume 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. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, Bindhu.. did see that yesterday... and thats what I love about these installations... our own thoughts as well as those of the artists..

      Delete
  3. Awesome. Wish i could be there. Wud like to plan a trip next year during the festival :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Aabha! would love to have u here next year!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie