Creative windows to Mumbai

Children are a part of the Kala Ghoda Festival for the first time in the last three years since the festival began. Purnima Sampat and Shital Mehta (the duo known for their Windows to the World art workshops) have chalked out seven creative events for children. “The theme of the festival being mantras for renewal of the city, we have designed the events around the history and culture of Mumbai,†Sampat says.

And so fisherfolk. The workshop, choreographed by Bindiya Sampat, began with an introduction of the fisherfolk community in Mumbai that they have a thriving culture of dance and music, which many don’t even know about. Children between the age group of four to 10-12 years joined in thereafter to get into the groove.

The children’s creativity chapter started with a workshop conducted by Anahita Devitre called Human Machine. The children were told that human beings are surrounded by machines, which dominate their lives and that human beings are slowly turning into machines. Now wasn’t that too much for a seven-year-old to tax their brains with? “Not really. It was not just a lecture. It was an interactive session about how one uses machines all the time, how one begins to depend on them after a point. The workshop was quite successful. By the end, children formed a big human machine, which will be on display in front of the Max Mueller Bhavan. It’s never a problem to interact with children as long as they’re having fun. They are very spontaneous with what they discern and do,†Sampat explains.

The registration for these workshops are on a first-come-first basis. “We have kids walking in to venues and registering themselves,†says Mehta. “It’s open to any kid who comes in. The sad part is that there is not much awareness about it all over the city. Parents haven’t come to know, so kids from all parts of the city have not had the opportunity to participate, although we have started with a fairly good number,†Mehta says.

Five more events have been scheduled. There’s Neela Bhagwat’s Sounds and Rhythms of Mumbai a workshop that will help children discover the difference between ordinary sounds from daily life that can become noise, and music. Two of the workshops will guide children through the history and heritage of Mumbai, whereby they will “challenge themselves to complete incomplete pictures of the landmarks of Mumbai and use their creativity to visualise beautiful surroundings for monumentsâ€. There’s also something on the environment and water conservation, which will end with a painting exhibition by the participants.