Culture Khichdi at the Kala Ghoda Festival - 1

Each year, the Kala Ghoda Festival gets bigger and better. At this time of the year, this heritage rich area in Mumbai comes alive with colors and a rich potpourri of gallery and pavement art shows, literary events, film screenings, music concerts, dance performances, exhibitions, workshops, heritage walks, a food fiesta, and a street festival that brings in people from across the city, and yes, sometimes from a different part of the world. For me, it was, above everything else, an opportunity to profile fashion individuality at its diverse best. Foreigners in Indian clothes, Indians in western designer labels, and many folks dressed uniquely enough to be featured on shotcouture.

Beginning today, I will be posting pictures from the festival that concluded last week, on the 11th February. I have called this series Culture Khichdi for a simple reason. Khichdi is an Indian dish made from a combination of rice and lentils. In colloquial terms, khichdi is also used to imply a mixture of sorts (think hodge-podge in English).

This lady’s short kurta was breathtaking. A delicate green embroidery on white… and with that hair and impish smile, she reminded me of a slightly younger version of Dame Judi Dench. Those shoes, though overtly casual, make sense when you know just how much walking around is required at the festival.