Anupa Mehta: Collaboration as a way of celebrating Ahmedabad

We all know that difficult times call for alternate ways of thinking. This holds particularly true for the arts. Just yesterday, a trio of young British arts managers came by my Mumbai arts space to understand how we "do it" in India - they were referring to fund-raising and other strategies of survival in a winter struck world assailed by cuts in arts funding.

Amid other ideas, we spoke about India's greatest legacy: its ability to celebrate the spirit against odds. This passion for life, art, is what keeps many of us going. It's this spirit of celebration - it resides in the rangoli outside the otla, the pattern of the bhelwala's thela, the sound of the monkey man's damroo and the tinkle of bells at formal soirees and baithaks - which makes it possible to say "yes", again and again, to ambitious arts projects. Arts events get created despite odds, against odds on the strength of passion and belief.

The recently concluded Ahmedabad International Arts Festival is a tiny case in point. Having trained at the inspiring Edinburgh festival in Scotland several years ago, the need to create an interactive art event of scale has been with me for many years. AIAF aspires to be an umbrella organisation, a catalyst that can galvanise many people and many organisations to come together in the spirit of camaraderie and sharing.

This year's festival was not without its share of glitches. But, as I see it, the intention behind any effort is the main thing. City festivals in the early years are about processes; about creating a movement with several stakeholders, each bringing a unique ideology/idea to the marquee, so as to create the shared overall big bang artistic experience.

India now has several destination festivals in various cities. With its booming infrastructure and its hectic bid for growth Ahmedabad is equally ripe for international arts activity, a world class event of scale. As prescient as it may sound at this point, AIAF floats along on just that sort of vision.

The annual struggle of fund-raising, chasing organisers, unrealistic deadlines and a hundred other snags, pales in the face of moments of grace - as seen in the lucid words of an erudite speaker, the whirl of a beauteous dancer or the naad of a gifted vocalist. This pearl at the heart of the arts oyster is the reward for those of us who thrive on the magic of the moment.    

— The author is a published writer and an independent arts consultant