Kalaghoda

A charming nip in the air and the chilly breeze made the perfect setting for the most awaited cultural fest of the year – Kalaghoda – the week when Mumbai dons many vibrant colors depicting cultures, ethnicities, literature, art and talent. It is an event that I wouldn’t like missing - so this time come mid February and I was off to ‘town’ the part of Mumbai that still retains the old world charm.

Kalaghoda is a wistful little neighborhood dotted with old stone Victorian edifices, ageless art galleries, old fashioned bistros and traditional shops. Right beside the main quadrangle is the celebrated Jahangir Art Gallery. Many an artist have displayed delightful pieces of art on this esteemed platform – some admirable and some totally indecipherable for a layman like me!

Bang opposite is the David Sasoon Library – a reading library laid out in stone during the Victorian era standing tall having witnessed more than a century of transformation from Bombay to Mumbai. This time the brick walls facing each other at the library’s corridor entrance were lined up with a rare newspaper collection by Abhijit Sahasrabuddhe who had this unusual idea of collecting newspapers of several languages and dialects published across India since the year 1998! What a remarkable penchant!!! As one walks through the corridor, it opens up into a charming little garden. One sees trees gently swaying in the breeze, freshly mowed grass leading upto a tiny podium in twinkling lights of dusk – cutting out a perfect picture for a soulful literary reading. Last year it hosted the graceful Shaukat Azmi, accompanied by her actress daughter Shabana Azmi reading touching passages from her everlasting biographical love story ‘Kaifi & I’. This year the renowned poetess Shomshuklla Das shared some arresting reflections through her verses on people, life & relationships.

The main square of Kalaghoda was buzzing with people and activities around sundown. Office goers decided to stop by after a hard day of work. Art-lovers in colourful bohemian outfits wearing big neckpieces and chunky jewellery also happily intermingled with the throngs of people. Then there were SOBO aunties fluttering around like social butterflies. And ofcourse the very touristy people like us – who inspite of being Mumbai-ites decided to click every unusual piece of art or strike up mad poses! It was enchanting to see the melting pot of budding talent that this platform had to offer – the life-size pyramid made of cutting chai glasses, maze of Bisleri bottles, huge wooden horses, recycled lanterns emitting an aura of the cultural world while giving subtle social messages of ‘save the earth’, ‘eat healthy’, etc.

There were vendors from all across the country selling their ware. It gave a feel of a ‘souk’ in Dubai or probably my imagination of what ‘bazaars’ in Hyderabad in olden times would have looked like! Royal silk sarees of Kochi, cutwork bedsheets and decorative wall hangings of Jodhpur, classy handbags from Haryana, scarves and shawls of Kahmir amongst others. Also amidst this artistic diversity were quaint little stores selling ‘liquor bottle lamps’ and ‘plumbing material vases’ and other such décor, home art and gift articles sprawled across the never-ending street. At the open air amphitheatre there were alluring dance performances such as Kathak, Odissi, Bhangra, Ghummar, jive, salsa and much more! Kalaghoda was a perfect arena for showcasing enthralling country melodies, accompanied by captivating shows that traversed through the untapped interiors of India.

We also happened to enter a make-shift studio which had the most vibrant and multihued backdrops and an fascinating collection of props such as crazy colorful wigs, over-sized wayfarers and slates where one could write messages in chalk and pose for pictures! So they would capture candid pictures of you with your family/friends and voila – within 10 minutes give you a print out of all the fun moments! What an amazing idea to create, freeze and frame memories!! : ))

While we started our evening with chana chor garam and blueberry cheesecake icecream, we ended it at Soam. For the uninitiated, it is a petite food joint opposite Babulnath temple serving authentic Gujarati and Maharastrian cuisine. You must try the spinach-cheese samosas, the soft rice pankhis that simply melt in the mouth and ofcourse the mouth-watering thalipeeth pitla alongwith a glass of guava/mango panna. As we walked out of Soam, an icy cold breeze blew from the sea at Chowpatty marking it as the coldest night of Mumbai in many years! Only we knew how mesmerized and snug we felt that night, inspite of the ‘cold’ Mumbai climate, because we spent a magical evening that warmed the very cockles of our hearts!