Mumbai: Kala Ghoda festival goes ‘Green’ this year

This is the year of painting the town green and again witnessing and soaking up the beauty of the city at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in every form. The show has already begun with its splendour performances and programs to promote environmentally friendly lifestyle.

With the change in calendar, there is a change in the concept of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) each year. This time the KGAF team is hitting us off with the ‘go green’ theme. Their key focus is on to aware everyone about the environmental crisis and how to combat it.

Wonders of nature

Hara Ghoda – The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival brings to the stage the wonders of nature shown through performance and art. The raging flames of the Fire of victory (agni), the liquid blue of Aqua (jal), the indefinable Air (vayu), the indestructible Earth (prithvi) and the realms of Space (akash), finds its place and artistic representation at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2018.

The 9 day multicultural festival has already started to amuse everyone from 3^rd Feb and will continue to showcase a kaleidoscope of elements that bring out the rich culture of art of the state till 11^th Feb 2018. It has now become a synonym for art.

The workshops, food, dance performances, heritage walks, literature sections, stand up comedy events, visual arts, urban and architecture designs and music are sprinkling a shade of green in some or the other way.

Notes to be made

Kids’ installations are created on the theme ‘Green Shades of Life’. While culinary experts give ideas on how to simplify cooking and minimise kitchen waste, they also emphasis on eating local. There will be a session with chef, Varun Inamdar on cooking with kitchen leftovers. The theme for the food is ‘Hara Bhara’.

To bring some ‘horse power’ to the stage, the festival is going to be graced with the presence of Zakir Hussain, L Subramaniam, Papon, KK, OneEmpire and so many more to leave you with an earworm.

‘Haha Hara’ is all set to jostle our funny bone with the top most comics in the city on February 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th – out of which on one of the days will be an all women line up. You are heartly welcome to fall in love with comedy in its greenest.

‘New Life’ and ‘Old Building’ might sound as contradicting philosophies, but while we are building our way to sustainability, why not conserve what is already green? It is to bring The Horniman Circle garden area in picture, which is precisely known as “Bombay Green” since it was a vast tact of greenery.

An interesting medley of city’s history, heritage and art have been exhibited along with the photo walk where the crisis of urban deforestation is being put into the spotlight. The photo art is called ‘Kalava Movement’ (sacred thread). They also make you discover some unique trees and waters bodies that were a lesser known fact about our city.

Grab your seat

Lawyer Anne Thomas, who mans the heritage help walk desk said, that when they are out of tickets, people come up with the strangest arguments…one woman told them her daughter needed to go on the tour to complete an assignment on Mumbai’s heritage!

So, let’s be the viridescent of this year’s festival and imbibe the good.