Kala Ghoda 2011

Kala Ghoda wrapped up over a week ago, but I have been busy with work and a lot of other things happening in my life. This past month has been painful, but all your kind messages have made me feel better. March is around the corner, and so are the Fashion Weeks. As a blogger, this is my favourite time of the year. Collections to preview, review and new seasons's fashion to appreciate. Some of my favourite designers will be showcasing their collections at the fashion week, and I am all geared up to see their designs on the runway.

Meanwhile, some of the beautiful, wonderful, colorful moments from the Kala Ghoda (Black Horse) 2011 Festival.

Kala Ghoda - A Day At MORA

Second day at Kala Ghoda was for MORA responsibilities, as Elbert and I did crowd control at the stall. MORA is a collection by Ritika Mittal, a dear friend and a talented designer. Her exquisite collection is created from rare fabrics hand-picked from across India, and adorned with traditional embroideries and techniques. The result is a collection where every piece is unique, and special enough to be an heirloom. As the crowds poured in, and appreciation became difficult to handle, I found myself in the role of a bouncer, letting only a specific number of guests enter the stall at a time. My favourite MORA piece of the day was the skirt-set on the mannequin. Made from 32 meters of finest Mul cotton, this piece is held together with 107 pleats around the waist. Along with the dupatta and a beautiful fabric for the tunic, it would be a breathtaking addition to any wardrobe.


Ritika was in her element, personally attending to every visitor. A daunting task, but MORA is about choosing the right piece for yourself. After all, MORA does mean "Mine". I did get to visit some other interesting stalls and will put up the posts soon. And yes, I did pick up some lovely things for the house. You will get to see them too.

Kala Ghoda - Day 1

Barely made it in time to see some of Ritika Mittals' awesome collection - MORA - at Kala Ghoda. Day 1 is usually very crowded, and chaotic. Stall owners are still trying to get the logistics right and get in place their own ways of crowd management. Some pretty interesting stuff there. Will cover all that later. For now, just a few pictures that I managed to get.


Roseanne and Ellie pose for the camera.


Me, Roseanne and the mannequin. I am wearing a MORA sari.


Ritika's mother taking a quick break


Ritika, tired but happy with the success of the MORA collection


An interesting installation. In fact, the only one I managed to see.

Thinking Out Of The "Box"- Installation Art

This one is really interesting. We have all heard of the Tibetan Prayer Wheels. They are literally wheels on a spindle. Traditionally made from metal, wood, leather, or coarse cotton, they form the base for depiction or encapsulation of prayers, mantras and symbols such as the Ashtamangala (too complicated to explain in this space). It is believed that the spinning of the prayers wheels has the same effect as orally reciting the prayers or the mantras.



Prayer Wheels In Samye --- Photo courtesy, Wikipedia

What some of you might or might not have heard of are the Mumbai Dabbawalas. The word translates literally into “one who carries a box”. A “dabba” is a cylindrical tin or aluminium container or box. It is used for carrying one’s lunch, and there are special delivery services that use men to send these pre-packed lunch boxes to their destinations. So a dabbawala loosely translates into a “lunch box delivery man”. This is a highly specialized service, and an integral part of the life and culture in Mumbai. Many people in Mumbai commute to workplaces far away from their home. This makes it inconvenient for them to carry a wholesome, elaborate lunch-meal to office. So many office workers order cooked meals sent by a caterer who delivers it to their workplace, in the dabba. These are recollected the same day, and the next day, a fresh dabba is sent over. To mark the dabbas, the dabbawalas use a distinguishing symbol or color on them. Many NGO’s use these dabbas to put spread social service messages across the city, simply by putting a removable sticker on them!



Dabba! - Photo courtesy, Wikipedia

So what am I getting at? Yes. The installation art at the Kala Ghoda Festival. As a tribute to this integral part of the bustling city, one of the installations was a depiction of the simple dabbas as … prayer wheels! It was truly inspired and breath-taking. I loved the use of vibrant colors on the dabbas, made to look like rotating prayer-wheels. I love the way art can seamlessly bring together a spiritual concept and a day-to-day survival idea. Brilliant!

Kala Ghoda Festival - Cat Tales

As I promised earlier, I am starting a series of the installation art pictures from the Kala Ghoda Festival. But first, a breather. This was perhaps the cutest site at the Festival. There was this exhibition stall with artwork made from scrap. Pretty interesting stuff. While I was browsing through their junkyard art, I spotted these two metal kittens. And right behind them, were two real ones. They was just too well-placed! I was not the only one to notice this sweet coincident. There were cameras flashing all around me. I took several pictures from different angles. The black one, especially, was a real dude. They were not scared of the cameras, and lounged comfortably as the world around them took their pictures.

I wanted to buy one of the cats: the metal one. But the prices were, as usual, prohibitive. Besides, after seeing the two lovely kittens sitting behind these two, buying just one somehow seemed unfair. I know that a lot of hard work must have been involved in the making of these pieces of art. But the entire idea of the festival was to make art more accessible. I know for sure that they did not sell as much as they’d have liked to. Maybe next year, the sellers will get the drift. Volumes of sales will make up for the margins. I hope they see the buyers’ point of view.

Culture Khichdi -8

One of the final pictures in the series. After this, I plan to do an entry on the installation art and the shops at the Festival. I love the long dress-knit jacket combination. It’s really simple, but works for me because of the way it bring out the colour of her eyes. In the background, you can see the audience gathered for a rock band performing at the makeshift amphitheatre. For the entire duration of the Kala Ghoda Festival, this is the stage where several arts, dance, theatre and music performance draw people from across the city. This is my favorite part of this festival and every year, there are some memorable performances.

Culture Khichdi - 7

I did not ask her, but it seemed like a transracial adoption. One sees a lot of them in Mumbai. Tranracial adoption means parents of a particular race or ethnic group adopting a child who is of a different race or ethnic group. All in all, a perfect shot for a series titled Culture Khichdi!

Though that wasn’t why I clicked her photograph. What grabbed my attention was her smoothly tailored jacket. The fabric seemed so fluid; structured but light. And her minimal accessories really did it for me. Her look was simple yet elegant. I guess, I also fell in love with the innocent expression on the kid’s face. Such sweetness! The gentleman standing close by just happened to walk into the frame and was not a part of the family.

In the background, you can see a part of the entrance gate for the Kala Ghoda Festival. Further away, the old building you can see is the Army & Navy building. It is just one of the old buildings in a row – David Sassoon Library, Elphinstone College, the Army and Navy Building and Watson's Hotel. They are all built from the same yellow Malad stone, and give the area a unique character.

Culture Khichdi - 6

The Culture Khichdi series is far from over. I plan to finish with some interesting pictures of the installation art, and some interesting observation shots. But for now, the next in the Kala Ghoda Festival series. This young girl was all colour with her beautiful Indian kurti and juttis. With her look, I could just sense the summer around the corner. I am a big fan of juttis myself. They are a form of traditional Indian footwear, a kind of slip-ons, skillfully handcrafted in leather. Juttis are often embroidered with beads and threads in different colorful patterns to create vibrant and unique designs. Almost always flat, though heeled versions are now available, they are extremely comfortable and ideal for Mumbai’s hot climate. They can be worn with traditional Indian wear, or with a pair of jeans like this girl has worn. She was also carrying a hand embroidered bag which is not clearly visible in this photograph. All in all, she was all sunshine and bright smile.

Culture Khichdi - 5

These two were Photogs… the real stuff. They went around clicking lovely pictures of the Festival, and I decided to take one of theirs. They both had this fun air to them. I love the shoes on the one on the left, and would give an arm for the curls the lady on the right has. In the background, you can see a photography stall that took out your pictures in the seventies style. If you see carefully, in the background you can see those clay apples hanging from a tree. And I really need to invest in a better camera.

Culture Khichdi - 4

I love shoes with coloured laces. They have this real sweet playfulness to them that reminds me of the sports field from my school days.
They both had a very casual, about-town look. Dressed down appropriately enough for a street festival, they both looked really comfortable with their styles. I think that along with the shoes, the red scarf really made her stand out.

Culture Khichdi - 3

He of the funky t-shirt and pony-tailed mane. She of the Rolling Stones attitude and gold necklace. I rarely like jewelry on men. But on certain individuals, it seems so right. This couple personified Rock Chic to the last letter. They were bold, they were unique and they head-banged their entry into the shotcouture hall of fame. He was cool enough to beat the heat in head to toe black, and sporting enough to turn around and pose patiently for me to be able to shoot the back of his tee. And she was a born groupie. This one is for the Nay-Sayers who find black boring and bland. There is something very interestingly mismatched (and gladly so) about this couple and the artsy yet very Indian Kala Ghoda Festival!

Culture Khichdi - 2

This young lady and her mother turned heads as they walked down the road. I love the girl’s skirt and her mother’s tee. Dig those elephants; and she totally rocked her look with the WSD (Welfare of Stray Dogs) cap. I love fashion with a conscience! Mumbai had been extremely pleasant that day, and the girl’s clothes had a lovely summer feel to them. And the mother’s clothes were fun and said young-at-heart. They were both such gorgeous women!

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.