The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival that combines different art forms and contributes to the building of a cultural and aesthetic consciousness was opened from Saturday 6th February to Wednesday 17thFebruary 2016 (Extended by three days at Cross Maidan for Make In India Festival). With a variety of music, dance, theatre, literature, food, street stalls, cinema, workshops, visual arts, urban design and architecture and heritage walks in store, this 12-day spectacular entertainment promised a cultural plate like never before served.

The diversity KGAF offered and the fact that it was not restricted to adults made it unequaled and unique. Every year, the festival made a special effort to engage children in interesting workshops and sessions. Being a regular at kala ghoda, hence attending a large number of workshops made me go to a session on chocolate making by Zeba Kohli which indeed was a special delight.

This year the artisans connected me with new, diverse forms of art from across the globe. I tried and integrated the new ideas into my writing(as i am a freelance writer) to give them freshness. If we talk about music, special mention had to be given to a theme of 'Breaking Barriers' by the Pepe Jeans Music festival which featured Inuit throat singing about Canadian folklore, an Israeli musician playing an electronic sitar, and a fusion of jazz and Indian classical vocals.

The sub-theme for the dance festival powered by Killer was 'Breaking Boundaries' and this section showcased some novel interpretations. This year, the festival had something for everyone. On one hand it had big bollywood names like Ayushman Khurrana and Clinton Cerejo performing their hits and on the other hand it had Prateek kuhad, a singer-song writer.

When i walked through the streets of Kala ghodha , it felt like walking through a wonderland where you can cross through innumerable works of art and take a bunch of selfies. The interactive installations focused on the theme of Without borders. The installation created by artist Seema Kohli was a treat to my lenses. She used more than 500 coloured cutting chai glasses and 700 glass holders to give an unforgettable view to the spectators. In order to provide people with great fun,there was an interesting corner where one could experience clay and create something with his/her hands.

The festival is basically an integral part of Mumbai's cultural fabric. It's theatre section catered to a wide taste palate. I find myself lucky to get such an amazing experience by going to the festival.