artnlight

The Ghodas (horses) first :) The Kala(black)and the colourful.... Mumbai Masti - The most eyecatching installation :The description said "If the world is your playground, then Mumbai is certainly a giant ferris wheel. And one that carries everything with it, as it goes around its axis going about its daily business." The ferris wheel is made of cycles and the now legendary dabbas (lunch carriers) of Bombay. This was was by Krsna Mehta. Image from the KalaGhoda Festival blog . Do check the blog for some really interesting reading on the unending facets of the festival.

There were these interestingly painted cars... I particularly liked this one

I LOVED these apples that were just suspended from trees. It was such an unexpectedly beautiful thing to look up and see :)
Puppet shows for the children Is any fair complete without these colours? From Tanjore paintings to furniture from rajasthan to....

...Blue Pottery from Jaipur to...
...Beautiful paper and stationery...

...there was much to browse and buy...
The images below are from the Kalaghoda blog ArtQuest had displayed some really interestng pieces of art-"There was a lovely little “koffee with karan” tribute. Cute Hindi film poster art feeling that they managed on a fairly traditional coffeee set. "
There was great one on sting operations. Ultimately everything in the media is a commodity used gainfully to attract eyeballs. The truth be damned:). The use of ratty methods to catch the rat!"
"The exhibit that struck me most was the sculputer “She Smoker”. A set of hands holding a variety of smokes - from beedis to cigarette butts - it seemed to be a comment on the attitudes towards women smoking."
The ferris wheel lit up beautifully...

And interesting lights ended each day on a colourful note.

Our jaws dropped at this kind of intricacy...


"A Pol is a small residential unit consisting of a single street with a group of houses, which is usually protected by a massive gate at the entrance. When the gate is closed, the entire street becomes one big house often inhabited by people of the same trade or even by relatives. A compact housing cluster with dead-end streets forms a distinctive residential pattern within a Pol. "

"In earlier days, the Pols were self-sustaining for a certain period of time since each house had its own underground storage for water, and food grains were stored in the safest part of the house. At times, two different Pols opened for ventilation at the same point and they also had a common service bay for drainage, water supply and garbage collection. These Pols formed a kind of micro-neighborhood, which developed further as population density increased in the city."
Drying towels and the wiring form an odd and real contrast to all that carving that belongs to another century.
Not all of them are styled similarly though, some distinctly show strains of the art deco style

more art deco....

These kind of maddeningly beautiful details are just thrown around the dusty corners.

And the people were extremely friendly and inclusive. The gossip and the chores were all shared so much so that a new comer would never know who belonged to which home. Walking the narrow lanes was almost like walking around in their house and to get certain closer shots I had to climb onto the balconies. All of which ended up in someone asking if I am from NDTV or National Geographic (!) what made them imagine that someone from these places would land up with a point and shoot camera is a mystery. But the experience sure made for a brilliantly memorable afternoon.

These are pics I took one evening on my way back from a shoot (film city- goregaon)

This in turn dictates my wardrobe- what goes with sneakers? Jeans and t shirts? well what can I say... I seem to have got my dress sense bottoms up! Not to forget my rucksack into which EVERYTHNG goes, my books, my camera and even a spare top and sandals in case I go out at night ;) I've even created a design called 'sneaker freaker' (yes, those are my legs! :))I have a fantasy- that a day will come when I have LOADS of time- to walk the streets of the city I live in- to take the many beautiful pictures it makes, to walk into a theatre and catch a movie- just because I HAVE time... what a concept! And I swear I'll spend an entire day just taking pictures of railway stations, I find them limitlessly exciting.

Im a contrast girl- fusion child. I love contrasts and drama & extremes. Which means the pictures I take has LOADS of it. (Which also means I love evening light) which means I can like 2 very different things at the same time. Mix and match- works for me. Fonts and typography are a thing with me. There's something about the power of a letter- classically well formed or roughly written or drawn with long strokes. Fonts are like symbols, simple to look at maybe, but laden with meaning. Latent with potential. Put together in the right way they can convey with magic most things on gods earth. I LOVE antique Indian jewellery. Pure eyecandy- with a generous dose of history. That’s an irresistable combination.When I take pictures ( And I take a LOT of them) they are invariably angles and straight lines. Very few people if at all and no flowers whatsoever. (God knows what that says of me! something I'm not sure I want to know...) And talking of photography, guys, Im looking to upgrade- and am debating between an SLR ( never used one before) and maybe the latest in the non-SLR point and shoot options. Can't make up my mind. Please feel free to advice me on this- Infact I'm asking, so do put down your take on it.



I'm happy to tag Calie of Nohea Lookbook, Peggy of CreativeInfluences, Sas of Interior Inspiration, Roma of DesignFlute and Masala Chai all of who are wonderfully warm & inspiringly creative people I've had the fortune to meet post blogging :)