All Talk and No Action

This Year I finally figured out what Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has stood for, for all these years.

KGAF is a boon for Mumbai and brings out the vibrant colours that make India.

While the original plan was to squeeze in as many plays, movies and discussions as possible, finally I could manage to be at the fest only for 2 days.

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KGAF 2010 had an interesting line up of activities, as expected. Short films, plays, foreign language movies, dance performances, classical music recitals and discussions on myriad subjects by experts.

However enjoyable these might be, they were only the fringe benefits.

KGAF is primarily about arts and craft, small time entrepreneurs and issues.

Artists, craftsmen, entrepreneurs, photographers, story tellers and NGOs from across the country put up their works at the festival. Through more than 100 stalls that make a show every year, various current/universal themes are brought to the audiences, inviting a healthy dialogue.

Madhubani designs, Zari work from Kolkata, cane accessories from Maharashtra, pots from Rajasthan and sarees from all over, made their way to the stalls this year.

Every year, the Festival has a theme and presents entertainment and informative sessions around it.

This year, the theme was Presence of the Past. Don't ask me to elaborate, I haven't been able to figure it out yet.

While KGAF is always known to attract huge crowds, I wasn't prepared for the masses I saw there. Every activity - be it Premchand's short stories or various dances put up by Troupes from across states, were happily lapped by audiences who just couldn't get enough of the magic.

While I absolutely regretted missing the works of Bahman Ghobadi, the talk on Food Writing by Vikram Doctor and Nilanjana Roy and Renuka Shahane's directorial debut Rita, Chanakya at Horniman Circle and a slew of short films made up for the disappointment.

Plays, short films and dances were often followed by discussions with the artists and the performers. This part was the most relished by all. One could see a very different Mumbai - people who were interested in the nuances of Premchand's writings and who could discuss the motivations of a particular short film with its director.

It felt nice to look at the audiences, many of who, turned up in crumpled clothes, with laptop bags, just out of office, not willing to miss the excitement that the festival had to offer.

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Chanakya officially dethroned Double Deal as the best play I have ever seen.

Manoj Joshi and his fellow performers, put up such a strong, splendid play, that it stayed with the audiences long after everybody left the cool, scented air of the Horniman Circle.

Chanakya made me respect theatre artists like never before. Especially, because it was played right in the middle of a busy street, with honking cars zooming by and stray dogs holding a meeting of their own.

Not once during the entire 3 hour play, did I get a feeling that these artists were mouthing Sanskrit lines. The whole delivery was so fluid, that the team got a standing ovation by the end of the show.

Ofcourse, fine performances have to be backed by good writing. Bringing an epic of this scale, live to an audience, required finesse and attention to detail. Chanakya was one of the best strategists and selfless Patriots India has ever had. Sad, a lot of people only associate him with what is now bad in politics.

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I got a chance to view 3 short films, selected from the Vikalp Archives. While the overall experience of watching a short movie was enjoyable, there was more to learn from the happenings off screen.

One of the movies showcased the lives of small town "sex experts" and quacks. These men, in their own way, were doing their bit to spread awareness amongst men on how and when to do it, how to meet the unbelievably high "standards" set by their partners, never once losing their self esteem. The movie trailed the lives of 4 men - a former police hawaldar, a halwai, a gymnast and an aam aadmi. Through each of their stories, the director tried to bring out what went on in each one's mind and how each represented most Indian men, in some way or the other.

While the theme was bold and the writing made a lot of people squirm, it was hilarious to see a lone, old lady, seated in the front row and laughing away at every piece of advise dispensed in the movie.

A lot of men felt uncomfortable and left within the first few minutes of the movie, while those of who stayed back didn't have much courage to face the ladies in the audience.

The movie on and off screen, really highlighted our need of having a formal Sex Education class in school !

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I have decided to be a regular at all the future KGAFs.

Pity, I might have to drag along alone.

Most people I know couldn't care less about the happenings at the festival. Some who showed a passing interest, were too tired to travel all the way to town.

Some more pics. Posts coming up by tomorrow.

Sharing some pics that I clicked at the fest yesterday. Thoughts wll be coming up at the end of the festival.














(all pics taken from my cell)

A wayward girl. Pent up anger. A mercurial take on life. Takes refuge in 30 day relationships.

A painfully quiet woman. Loses herself often in her past. Takes refuge in Lord Krsna.

A horrible, murky past connects one to the other.

A past one could die to forget and another would want to keep alive, only if to rub the pain in.

30 days in September is a gripping drama that deals with incest.

Amazing performances and incisive writing by Mahesh Dattani.

For once, I liked the Dubey ladies too.

It's strange. This incest.

I remember my very first reaction when I read about it in a popular Danielle Steel book - Malice.

First few pages into the book and I felt violated. Could this really be happening or had Danielle gone berserk? A dad ??

The book had scared me enough to be put away.

I went to it only after I had sorted my thoughts.

That was about 6 years back.

Things haven't changed much. Our society still turns a blind eye to incest. Heck, India doesn't even have a law that deems it as crime.

Most victims are scarred for life and live in the shadows forever.

Families do not step up. Shame, guilt, family honour take precedence over the dignity and violation of a child.

It's not like incest doesn't happen elsewhere. Yet, in some countries, like ours, the stigma is probably tougher to get over.

I came across Harish Iyer's moving tale. One can only respect the man. But, again, not every person can be a Harish.

So I can only hope that such stories are spoken and written about more.

Anything, to keep our children safe and our society sensitive.

It's not very often that plays come to my side of the town. So when, not one, but two make an appearance, I make it a point to revel in this art form.

Yesterday Salesman Ramlal played at a nearby Academy. Here is my take -

Based on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Salesman Ramlal traced the life of an old salesman, his ordinary life and extraordinary dreams.

On the face of it, the story spoke about the trials of one man, his unfulfilled dreams and aspirations.

But dig a little and you would see various themes being touched upon - parental love and expectations, mid life crisis, a guilty man's face off with himself and most important, individualism.

While Ramlal has always believed that he and his sons are capable of extraordinary feats, has wrapped himself in a cocoon, in reality they are only ordinary mortals, who would be failures, if you applied a textbook definition to it.

While you are deciding what the play is really about - the theme comes out neatly in the second half - that it is OK to be ordinary and it is absolutely fine to not want to do much with your life.

Only, you have to be strong enough to deal with your choice.

Performances - Ramlal, portrayed by Satish Kaushik, is an old and tired man. A tough role to enact, while Kaushik does a good job of bringing out the battle in Ramlal's head, I just couldn't sympathise with his Ramlal. Very often he reminded me of Eshwar (Anil Kapoor), from the movie Eshwar, in his mannerisms and gait. Again, a lot of over the top dialogue delivery just marred what could have been excellent, poignant moments in the play.

Having said that, I loved Ganga (Ramlal's wife), played by Seema Biswas. The sons, portrayed by Kishore Kadam and Raj Arjun, brought a very nice realism to Ramlal's escapism.

And though I am no authority on music, I have to say that the background score of the play was very good ! It blended perfectly and just set the right mood for the melancholy..

Overall, a good play, with some thoughtful insights into an everyday life.

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I just can't help but add here - For all the plays I have seen, I have loved the food at all the auditoriums !!

Shanmukhanda ho ya NCPA - khaane ka jawab nahi !

Garam garam Idli - granular and freshly steamed. Nice spicy chutney. Hot and amazing upma...sluurrrp...Somehow, I always enjoy the Indian fare more than the burgers and waffers there.

Really why don't we have more plays ??!

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This seems to be an amazing week. Yesterday Salesman Ramlal and tomorrow 30 days in September. Though I am not a fan of Lillete and Neha Dubey and didn't think much of their Wedding Album, I still look forward to 30 days...and hope it is a better fare this time around.