Past perfect

Written by Natasha Sahgal

February 6, 2010 01:27 AM IST

4 min read

Get set for a fun crash course in history when you saunter into Kala Ghoda this week. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival,which starts today,takes on a Proustian tone,with its theme Presence of the past: all the installations,performances and workshops promise to recapture Indias past. Last year,we decided to have a fixed theme for the festivals. Weve tried to do this before but never officially. This time,we have made it mandatory for participants to stick to the theme, says Brinda Miller,who is part of the festival committee.

The organisers have gone out of their way to make sure that the festival focuses on Indias heritage. We want to bring back lost memories and want people to get nostalgic with this festival, explains Pallavi Sharma,committee member of the Kala Ghoda foundation. In fact,there will even be some short films on the subject that have been created specifically for the festival by renowned figures like artists Bina Aziz,Subodh Kerkar,Paresh Maity and theatre personality Divya Palat. Similarly,the art installations will have references to the past as well,such as Krsna Mehtas 30 foot installation made of the once-ubiquitous Godrej cupboards. More excitingly,the eponymous ghoda,or horse,of Kala Ghoda will be brought back from the debris of the metros memory. How and in what form,Miller refuses to divulge and says,We want the visitors to come and find out first-hand.

The festival will be inaugurated with an energy packed performance by Drumcafe,a South African drumming company,which will have drummers,singers and dancers perform for an hour. This will be followed by two shows by Prince Dance Troupe,the popular winners of the reality show Indias Got Talent.

Its heart may be in the past,but the festival clearly has an eye on the future with new elements being added in the 11th year of its existence. Were very excited to have added a new venue. This time,we will be conducting some workshops in the garden of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, adds Sharma. While the basics like heritage walks,workshops,food stalls have remained unchanged,we might also be able to do a lot more shopping this time. People complained that we were repetitive with our stalls, says Miller,So we have a whole new line of shops and have tried to make it different from our usual flavour,which focused more on handicrafts and arts.

There is a large line up of workshops and shows and like every year,entry will be free for everything. The line up of plays looks extremely interesting this year with popular plays like Dance Like a Man,Silence! The Court is in session,Class of 84,Munshi Premchands Stories.

One surprise this year is that there will be no paintings and the festival will focus its visual arts lens solely on photography,In the past we ended up with art that we didnt particularly like but couldnt refuse. We have curated it more strictly this year and all the photographers stick to the theme. Youll see some phenomenal work this time, adds Miller

The festival ends on Valentines Day and as a tribute to the day,different versions of the film Devdas will be screened all day.

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DONT MISS IT
DANCE
Prince Dance Troupe
Feb 6,Ampitheatre,7 pm
The Dance Worx,
Feb 13,Amphitheatre,6.30 pm – 7.15 pm

literature
Getting your work
published
Feb 6,Elphinstone
College,11 am
Book launch of Neti Neti by Chandrahas Chaudhury
Feb 8,David Sassoon
Library,5 pm
Kaifi and I -Book reading by Shabana Azmi
Feb 10,Museum Gardens,7:30 pm

FILMS
The World according to Monsanto
Feb 12 by Marie-Monique Robin (English dub) (109min)
Waltz With Bashir
(Hebrew) 2008
Feb12,Max Mueller
Bhavan,7 pm
Sam & Me
Feb 13,Cama Hall,1 pm

THEATRE
Dance Like A Man
Feb 6,Horniman Circle,7.30 pm
Silence! The court is in session
Feb 6,NGMA
Auditorium,7.30 pm