Experiences of a Free Arts Festival

A fortnight ago, I went to the free cultural arts festival which took place in the southern part of Mumbai. I guess this was my fourth year attending the various verticals which were a part of this fancy festival. Being a toddler’s mom, I had to list down the events I had to attend beforehand.

On the first day, I wanted to go for literature walk.  Free passes were available at the heritage desk in front of Ador House. The walk was at 11 am and passes were to be collected at 10 am. As the Lion Gate entrance was closer to the heritage centre, I decided to go from there. But to my dismay, the gates hadn’t opened till almost 9:55 am or so. A few people were standing before. Once the gates opened, I felt a bit relieved 😮‍💨 

But then, the security guard was checking everyone thoroughly. At last, my turn came and since I wasn’t carrying anything except my phone, I just went in and ran towards the heritage desk. A girl at the counter was telling a man that the passes are sold out. It was just 10:10 am when I reached the counter. I was so shocked and angry. Apparently, everyone else had queued up since 9:30 only. I tried arguing with her about the gate being closed and all that. Maybe I should have entered from the neighing side rather than from the roaring one. Disappointed I went back home.

At home, I spent time with my daughter and parents, had lunch and then came back again. This time to collect passes for the evening heritage walk titled Oval Outings.

With prior experience, I had reached the desk much earlier than the stipulated time. After waiting for about 35 minutes or so, I did get the tickets. While scanning, the starting point of the walk, I realised that I have already done this walk before. Still, I decided to go for it. The walk was around the Oval Maidan area. It covered the Mumbai University, High Court and statues of few prominent figures who contributed to the city’s development. Initially only four of us were. In which, the host’s parents were also there. Later, about 10 more people joined. A beautiful evening walk till we reached the last leg of the trail. It was at this time that I tumbled and fell. I managed to get up on my own. I don’t like holding anyone’s hand. Even my husband can vouch for that. It’s more so because I don’t want to put my weight on the other person. I did complete the walk and then towards the end, the host revealed that the walk is usually known as Rotten Row. From the 60+ Mumbai walking tours I have been to, this was the only one which got repeated. I somehow managed to walk home. I still haven’t told anyone about me falling. It’s being revealed through this blog.

Before the walking tour, since I had some time, I explored the area a bit. Looked around at the art installations, read about them. Got just in time for a virtual walkthrough of Dongri area.

The next day, I realized that I had seen and experienced a lot more than anticipated. I was excited about the 2^nd day a bit more as, my baby girl was going to attend an event in the festival. It was an animal orchestra event with her music teacher Ria. This took place at the CSMVS children’s auditorium area. Even though, I had been to the museum before. I hadn’t been to this side before. It was a fun experience which ended with a cello performance by Ria. Later, me and my daughter even saw a few cool and educational installations placed in the garden area.

I had gone for an Art Deco walk that evening. The free passes for which had to collected beforehand from the Heritage Desk. The walk was on the Churchgate street. As it was by an architect, one could observe minute and intricate patterns of the building. To describe in one line, Art Deco is a straight line and a small curve. In which the curve signifies fluidity, mobility and modernity. A must do walk for sure. It through such walks that I have started observing my surroundings more keenly. Later in the evening, I went to another venue dedicated to music and dance. There were art installations here as well. Which I experienced on the 4th day. On this day, I had gone to attend a soulful sufi concert. After a few initial hiccups, the music hit the right notes with Kavita Seth songs. I absolutely loved listening to Iktara and More Piya live performances

On the 3rd day, I attended an evening talk. It was a conversation about the film industry with inputs from critics and writers who had worked with stalwart artists. Personally, I didn’t enjoy the talk that much as I had not viewed most of the films being discussed. Also, another thing bothering me were the mosquitoes hovering all over.

I even went for a theatre performance on this day. Something which I had been to in years. The entire act was executed by a one person. The play was titled as Aunty Moxie is Delulu. I was totally engrossed in the play for that one hour.

The fourth day of the festival fell on a Tuesday. On this day, I had gone for a workshop, “Architecture of a Story”. This workshop briefly covered the various aspects of developing the story, introducing the plot points, defining the characters, relevance of conflicts and a lot more. It also included a realistic portrayal of a writer’s life. A great workshop for anyone interested in writing a nonfiction or fiction story in any medium.

Later in the evening I sat for two entirely different sessions. The first one focused more on female characters and how their friendships affect the story. It started off well but then I lost interest later. However, I was more excited for the next talk. It was all about ghosts from the past and their impact on us now. Some stories which were made to believe through popular folklore. During this conversation, a cute cat made its way up on the stage and sat for some time. After the talks, I also glanced through a poetic exhibition which was being displayed in the background. The display talked about poems through various tactical skills

On Wednesday afternoon, I went for a comedy show. It was on this day that someone actually checked my entry ticket. As the title suggests, this festival was completely free of cost. You had to just register on an app. A way of collecting data I suppose. The standup act was at the same venue where I saw the play “Aunty Moxie is Delulu”. For some reason, the opening act comedian kept on thinking he is performing the set at night. As mentioned above, the show was in the afternoon but in a pitch-dark room. So maybe it was night, one can never tell.

Next up was a female comedian who was too keen on doing the brand integration. The standup comedy section of the festival was funded by a flavoured coconut drink brand. The drinks’ name gets repeated twice. She even tried making jokes on her dad’s balls, which eventually spiraled into her reading zodiac predictions of audience members sun signs. The finale performance was a surprise one. He really saved the entire line up. When I tried to click his photo, a girl from the organizing committee tried to stop me but then someone else told her that clicking photos is allowed. At times the volunteers think that they own the show. Though I had been to comedy shows before, this was my first at this festival

For the fifth day, I had plans of going for another heritage walk which I didn’t end up going for. Instead I decided to explore the art works displayed in the Cross Ground. On the first day also, I had seen artworks on Rampart Row. This year, the installations were a bit smaller in size. Last year some of them were humongous and even hanging on trees. The installations at the cross ground followed a theme in which the square represented the past as it is rigid, a circle was an indication of the present as it is always in motion and a triangle pointing upwards which indicated the future. There was a mirror maze type of a setup which I didn’t quite understand. People were sitting in the next installation I saw as there was a train seat on one side and a metro type seat put on the other side. Right in the middle of the ground there a white rectangular shaped enclosure. People were queuing to go inside. I also waited in line for 20 minutes or so. It was all about Virtual Reality. People could go back in the past and experience it by walking across historical monuments. Then go ahead in the future. A cool experience. In front of this was a maze set up. People had to find their ways towards the end goal. There was even a sand art jigsaw puzzle.

Overall, this was my raw and real experience by being a part of the various verticals of the festival. The festival did go on for a few more days; but I could go in for a few days only. Do I regret missing the other events? Yes, I do. But there is an always a next time. Even though I had a bumpy start, the end was quite satisfactory. I will always cherish the moment when my two-year-old daughter got excited on seeing a huge stationery item display. Another one being the surprise standup act or even the immersive installations on the ground.