A fest for all seasons

How enthralling it would be if Bombay were to have its very own version of Montmatre', -- a place for all art lovers to mingle, without t...

How enthralling it would be if Bombay were to have its very own version of Montmatre8217;, 8212; a place for all art lovers to mingle, without the intervening shackles of social and geographical barriers. To bump into an artist like Akbar Padamsee or theatre personality Amol Palekar and join them for tea, or discuss Vivan Sundaram and Melli Gobai8217;s art with Vinod Khanna who might also chance to sip some wine at the art district.

A special feature has been the exhibition of Christian art at the charming Scotts Kirk Church 8212; The St Andrew and St Columba Church at Lions Gate. With its high stained glass ceilings and Gothic windows this forms the perfect backdrop for designer James Ferriera8217;s painstakingly curated display of ivories, crucifixes, old plasters of the Pieta, soulful Christs surrounded by the fallen angels, Portuguese alter ornaments and gilded candle stands. These pieces from the private collections of Mahender Doshi, Willy D8217;souza, James himself and many specialised collectors of Christian art have been set up on reams of ecru tassar silk and are viewable to the accompaniment of organ recitals by Meeta Moses and Ivan John and play readings by Vivian Matthew relevant to Christian philosophy.

For the more affluent, Indigo8217;s Rahul Akerkar had got together with the Kala Ghoda Association and planned an eat your art out8217; with cocktails et al. Certainly not free as in the other events, it was priced at approximately eight hundred apiece sans drinks, which kept the art student variety out and made sure that only the socially relevant people were able to attend. Jitish Kallat, on the second of February, had orchestrated the menu and the food as a pallette. Nikhil Khatau, Sherie Mehromji, Czaee Shah, Sheena Sippy, Tariq and Anu Ansari with her brother Rahul Bose, Neerja Shah were some of the people present. On the ninth Papri did her art on the food and Anil Dharker was there with Ayesha and Imtiaz to enjoy it. Zenia Lawyer, Kekoo Gandhi, Niyatee Shinde and several foreigners came for this translating the aesthetic into the edible, visual appeal8217; thing.

Tasneem Mehta had organised a series of events with team members Roshni and Anjani Khanna. The venue was the Wayside Inn, which played a special part in all the events, with fiction readings by Nisha da Cunha and Randhir Khare. Tea, coffee and recital were followed by heated discussions between Shankar Menon and Randhir Khare about his book The Dangs. The poetry reading moderated by Ranjit Hoskote on the 4th was packed with people thronging way into the footpath outside to hear Javed Akhtar recite his Urdu poetry. Anuradha Pal8217;s tabla performance to a packed house here was organised by Mohamed of Rythm House.

Coinciding with the Kala Ghoda festival was the Bombay Art Society opening where Kekoo Gandhi of Chemould Art Gallery was felicitated for his years of art patronage. Other interesting events dotting the Kala Ghoda Artfest calender have been Light of Asia8217; at the Stuttgart Hall. Even Shaina lent her Golden Thimble8217; for conversations with An Intimate Encounter8217;. Jamaat organised a young artists group show for the fest at Hornbill House. JHL Beattie speckled the passage of David Sassoon Gallery with excellent renditions of Mumbai8217;s Prismatic Architecture. The Prince of Wales Museum hosted an opening reception for Russian iconographer Alexander Sokolov8217;s exhibit of Icons.

This year the Artfest 2000 is a huge improvement over last year8217;s festival and credit must be given to Sangita Jindal, director of the show, who has tenaciously spent a lot of her personal time and effort on every minute singularity of the show. She can be seen nearly at every event, busily orchestrating every detail of the show, making calls to see that it is well attended, speaking to people, endlessly informing them of events to come.

With her other team 8212; members Rahul Mehrotra, Sharda Dwivedi 8212; she has seen that the whole of Bombay is aware of the events. 8220;When else will people get a chance to see performers like Zakir Husain and Alarmel Valli free?8221; It was the first time that a dance performance was held at the Hong Kong amp; Shanghai Bank, where Alarmel Valli performed, presented by well-known danseuse Anundhati Subra. The 14th will be the last day of the show and one hopes this wonderful event flags off a new life for Kala Ghoda 8212; with all Bombaywallahs who care and are aware of our heritage, architecture and culture becoming part of creating an art district with a pulse.