A festival brings together 100 artistes in a commercial high-rise to make performances more accessible to office goers and residents of the business district
Encased in a cubicle from Monday to Friday in one of the skyscrapers that dot the skyline of Lower Parel, a corporate executive has enough and more ways of letting his hair down in the business district before heading home on the weekend.
There's the mall for retail therapy, and countless fine-dines, QSRs, lounges and taprooms to suit every palate and pocket. But with Sitara Studio going dormant, Hard Rock Cafe shutting shop, and the Canvas Laugh Club yet to reopen in another location in the area after it closed down in Palladium, Lower Parel, at the moment, it's all commerce and no arts.
Mumbai Parkour members will put up a live installation at the venue
To change that, Jhamela, a hyper-local arts festival will be making the sprawling terrace of a commercial high-rise in the area its home for two days. Organised by theatre actor, singer and dancer Abhishek Krishnan, Jhamela, or "artistic chaos" as he calls it, had its debut edition exactly a year ago in Versova. "That's where a friend, who works at Marathon Futurex, saw the performances and offered to help us bring it down to Lower Parel," shares Krishnan.
Featuring almost 100 artistes, one of the highlights of the festival is the Jhamela Expo, where city-based academies like Mumbai Parkour and Duende – Ensemble Physical Theatre will be creating live installations to give visitors a peek into their respective specialties that many remain unaware of. "Apart from that we have 15 solo artistes from diverse theatre backgrounds, who will be showcasing clowning, physical movement, Shakespearean acts, poetry, and comedy," Krishnan informs, adding that the experience will be an immersive one, giving the audience a chance to try their hand at these art forms. "The idea is to make art more accessible to Mumbaikars by bringing it to their doorstep."
The performance line-up includes kathak by the Pooja Pant Dance Company, flamenco by Shehzeen Cassum, and music gigs by Naquita D'Souza, and outfits like Curls and Beards, Avi, and Inga. The headlining acts on the two days are the Hindi rock band Rang, and hip-hop reggae outfit Bombay Bassment. The event will also feature a flea bazaar and food stalls.
"Since we are organising the festival in an office space, we are hosting it on Friday and Saturday, so people can come and unwind after work hours. On Saturday, we are expecting more visitors from South Mumbai. The line-up has been curated keeping these specific audiences in mind," says Krishnan.
Going forward, he hopes to organise one annual festival on a large scale, and a couple of smaller events in different neighbourhoods of the city through the year. "It would be ideal to have such an event in a sprawling open space, but I've learnt from experience that it requires a host of permissions and licences," shares Krishnan, referring to his earlier plan of a portable fest with monthly outdoor editions across Mumbai. "So our focus will be on indoor venues, with immersive experiences. Who knows, your waiter could be a character too!"
ON: March 8 and 9, 12 pm onwards
AT: Marathon Futurex, Terrace Garden, Lower Parel.
LOG ON TO: insider.in
ENTRY: Rs 600 onwards
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