Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: Mumbais Largest Annual Cultural Fair

Mumbai’s biggest cultural fair is just around the corner, and it is going to be bigger than ever this year. The Kala Ghoda Festival (KGAF) is a vibrant celebration of art, dance, theatre, literature, and food. Over the years, the festival has grown to attract a range of activities and sees participation from across the globe. The Festival is generally nine days long, but the 2016 edition is extended by three more days to feature the Government of India’s Make In India program.

Kala Ghoda

The area got its name from the statue of King Edward VII, which was once placed on the old Esplanade Road, but is long gone now. The area is sometimes also referred to as the Art District of Mumbai due to the presence of some key institutions in the area like Max Mueller Bhavan, Jehangir Arts Gallery, Bombay University, Prince of Wales Museum and Bombay Natural History Society. With an enviable listing of large number of museums and art galleries in the area, Kala Ghoda draws a parallel to art districts around the world.

Each year, starting the first Saturday of February, the Kala Ghoda area of South Mumbai opens up its galleries, theaters and streets to play host to the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. Even if you do not get to enter one of the indoor spaces, you can enjoy the street art installations, stalls and street art, and if you are lucky, you can catch a glimpse of a street play as well.

KGAF 2016

The final schedule and venues for KGAF 2016 events have already been posted. The Festival will start on February 6th 2016 and end on February 17th 2016, of which KGAF will be from February 6th to 14th, and Make In India Festival will be from February 13th to 17th.

Literature

The Literature section of KGAF has evolved over the years to become a small festival in itself. Apart from including various forms of writing like poetry, fiction, non-fiction etc., the Literature Festival extends across disciplines to include writing for cinema, theatre, music, philosophy, and more. The KGAF is also involved with five languages for the Lit Fest – English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and Gujarati.

Food

This year’s food theme is organic. The Festival will showcase talks and demonstrations focusing in this theme of locally sourced and fresh organic produce. KGAF will, for the first time, play host to a market in Cross Maidan displaying brands that focus on fresh and local supplies.

Heritage Walks

The walks will take you through various parts of South Mumbai like Esplanade, Victoria Terminus, the libraries and Fort. You will get in on the history of Mumbai and get to hear tales of what made Mumbai what it is today. There will also be one-hour open bus tours which will give a brief tour of the Southern Mumbai heritage.

Make In India

Kala Ghoda and the Ministry of Culture (Government of Maharashtra) have collaborated to host a Make In India Festival that will be a part of the KGAF 2016. The Make In India festival will run from February 13th to 17th 2016. This will include extending the dance and music programs, NGO participation and a curated Food Festival. There will also be several street art installations focusing on Make In India.

KGAF has something for everyone – dance, cinema, standup comedy, children’s literature, visual arts and so on. Entry to the KGAF is free of charge, restricted only by the capacity of the venues.

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