Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014

Best evening ever experienced…A day well spent..!!
Watch, think, eat, click, celebrate was the agenda of the day. And carnival like ambiance at Kala Ghoda added fervor to the day!
It started with the monorail journey, then Kala Ghoda Arts Fest, reminiscent Heritage tour & the climax was the stupendous performance by “The Great Farhan Akhtar”

Wadala Metro Station captured from inside the monorail.

Beginning with the monorail ride..The first week rider of the monorail :P Monorail is b’ful & cute as seen in pics below.. The pink color monorail’s journey of 9 min was one delighting experience. The views from the glassy doors and windows of monorail depicted true picture of Mumbai.. Somewhere tall building, posh areas n within few miles long spread derelict slums… The most awe-inspiring view was when it was entering Wadala station and could see the entire campus from the monorail.. However it seemed that monorail has been built on the route which isn’t much useful for the office going people and most of the commuters now a days are those who have cm just to enjoy the ride.. The wonderful monorail journey comes to an end to begin another b’ful journey at Kala Ghoda..

Inside the monorail with a friend.

Outside monorail with a friend.

As such I am not an artistic person having eclectic taste in art.. Though I enjoy music & dance, I don’t have that good taste in paintings n creativity stuff.. But Kala Ghoda offers an opportunity to step outside of daily grind, broaden horizon, think, eat, celebrate !! The installations at Kala Ghoda leaves you astonished.. It attracts people of all ages and different tastes.. Few glimpses of the installation at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

A colorful installation at the Kala Ghda was one favorite spot for the visitors to click photos. So did I :P 

Another amazing installation.

The Bottle Mountain view from inside it.

Horse made of mechanical parts.

Lion installment

String of colorful origami swans. Horse made of mechanical parts, raises several social issues from infanticide to roadblocks of women. Graffiti board, replica of auto..

The very colorful installation..The mirror installation lets u play with mirrors and the angles.. Apply ur ideas n come out with an amazing click! Something that lifted my eyebrows was the bottle mountain.. No better example of best from waste. Among other creations were Mumbai- Nexus of Gods, Fading Impressions.. You can find more pics on the link that would be activated soon.

After standing 45 min in the queue under the hot sun, we had WON passes for the heritage tour bus… Then McD was to our succor.. Relaxed there for a while and then ventured the HUNT for the bus stop  .. We were told to report at the bus stop in front of the Regal Cinema.. And there were several bus stops all radially equidistant to regal cinema!! And we were whirling around round n round n finally could catch up the mob.. Having hard time standing in queue and searching for the bus we finally settled in the reminiscent double deck blue bus…. As the bus started moving the lady made an announcement of the sites to be visited… Those were very common n frequently seen areas.. However as the bus started moving we came across valuable addition to the information we have.. Amazing facts that we didn’t know… Cool breeze, relaxed mind and body and calmly watching and listening totally refreshed me.. As the bus was rolling on the roads I couldn’t ignore to notice the people looking curiously at the bus and wondering.. I found that funny and gave kudos to myself to have planned well ;)

Then it was time for the Farhan’s musical concert.. I absolutely didn’t plan for it… Knew in advance that it’s going to be overcrowded and he might come too late like stars usually do…Still we joined the verryyyyy longgggg queue with a slight hope of getting some place as there was Nikhil D’souza’s concert scheduled at 6 pm n did start sharply on time.. Kala Ghoda Fest events are known to be conducted with discipline and on time.. But the Asiatic steps, where the event was held, was fully packed with audiences already... That didn’t deter us though. Now my desire to attend concert reached a peak.My mind was all set to attend the concert and from the experience if I really want something I do get that. Earlier it was too crowded that I decided to quit but preferred to wait 5 min more… At one point it got too overcrowded enough to create stampede. Many people left then. And not very surprisingly we soon got a descent place to watch concert very closely and safely..

It was Nikhil D’souza on the stage.. “Tujhko Jo Paya…Toh Jeena Aya”Within seconds all the tiredness ran away and filled me with the sense of nostalgia, joy. It was the last song of his concert.. After the lovely song he takes a leave.

Then two very energetic buddies Mumbaichi Mulgi Urvi and SIDHU takes control of the stage but audience unanimously started roaring “We want Farhan” Though little impatient to watch Farhan was I, it was amazing to see face behind this grand Kala Ghoda Festival Brinda Miller. Meanwhile Kalki Coechin made an appearance to gift the winner of HT contest. 

Finally “Farhan AKhtar Live” was all set on the stage except Farhan.. The beats of “Sinbad The Sailor” filled the air..  Every one of the audiencewas very alert now just in any second Farhan could enter..The words fell on ears with the voice very much loved… 
“It is so wonderful to perform in Mumbai, my very own city”

 Yes it was Farhan now in shiny black welvet jacket… He entered stage..Everyone stood to wave at him and then his view was blocked.. But soon everyone settled and the band gave a very energy rich performance on Sinbad The Sailor“ Ek jahaaz mein jab chala mere yaron sunlo sunlo” Farhan blew up the energy by jumping around n dancing n at the same time singing the song.. His level of energy amused m.. Within seconds explored every inch of the stage while singing and jumping around.. He gave a new life to people waiting for him since noon may be and made everyone feel very happy and satisfied … With his complete power pack performance in the first song itself he looked equally eager to perform for us and equally excited as we were for him.. Within a minute he established a very strong connect with the audience… Mesmerized audience with his vocal skills…

 

After thrilling performance he then shared that coming to Kala Ghoda brings back memories of the time when, as a student, he spent time in that part of the city. “ I was meant to be in college and everyone was worried about what I was going to do with my life. The question in my mind was “ Mai aisa kyu hu?” And then he sang the song from Lakshya.  

After the song Farhan read out lines from " What is the country that I live in?" - a poem he wrote after the Delhi gang rape. “You need to use your collective voice… to make India a better place,” he told the crowd. “Keep on questioning.”  He said it with so much of anger in his eyes for wrong doers and that got goosebumps on me!

Farhan’s next song was ‘Socha hai’ from Rock On, followed by ‘Khwabon ke parinde’ where Shannon Donald shared the vocals. The show reached its crescendo with ‘Zinda’ and ‘Havan karenge’ from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Before he rendered the songs, Farhan described his meetings with the country’s legendary athlete, Milkha Singh, on whose life the film is based.

“Meeting him convinced me that the human spirit knows no boundaries. He said, and I quote,  ‘Haath ki lakeeron se taqdeer nahi banti’.”

WHile singing 'Tum hi Zindagi' Farhan did 40 push stunning push ups!!

At one point, Farhan descended from the stage and strode through the hysterical crowd. He then played the title track of the film Dil Chahta Hain. “This is the first film that I made and the song brings back memories,” he said. The concert ended with ‘Rock on’, the grunge rock hit!!

After this power-pack performance I returned home filled with full of energy..!!