Kala Ghoda Arts Festival: Visitors shop to give a helping hand

When Tara Subramanian, 60, purchased table napkins from a stall put by Paraplegic Foundation, she wasn’t sure what use they would be put to. “I would either gift them or tell people that I bought it from this place and encourage them to buy it too,” she said.

Click here for pictures

At the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, 45 stalls deal with social causes, and visitors have been helping to further their cause. The stalls have been put up by NGOs working for the blind, the disabled, and self-help groups. “This way we manage to ensure that our products are sold and we highlight our cause as well. We try to raise money for our health and other medical issues,” said Vijay Gupta of the Paraplegic Foundation who had made the napkins.

Dipika Diwakar Bhagat of the NGO Self Groups said, “Last year, we saw a lot of crowd here and so we decided to put our products on display too. Around 18 self-help groups have put up bags, jewellery, boxes etc.”

“I am on the board of a company and get no time to help the underprivileged. And that makes me feel guilty. Hence, I shop only at the shops that sell for a social cause or to help someone,” added Subramanian. Just like Subramanian made purchases to do her bit for the underprivileged, others, such as Swati Dixit, a lawyer, purchased art items to promote the NGOs. “I fight cases related to charity (and charitable organisations). And so, I like to promote them,” she said.

Buying products made by visitors was a choice many seemed to making. “I would prefer to buy something than donate money. The underprivileged don't need our pity. They are special people who we need to reach out to so that their talent brings out something fresh. Also, by buying their products we are treating them like employees and increasing their self-respect,” said Anushree Lotlikar, a Thane resident.

Commenting on the social development-related stalls, Brinda Miller of the Kala Ghoda Association said, “Most of the stalls are selling art and crafts products. It's not just through the stalls that we promote the underprivileged. We also promote their talent through street festivals and various other programmes. For stalls we charge a very nominal amount because free is not respected.”

Rustle up some healthy snacks

“My children are very fussy. It is difficult to predict their likes and dislikes,” said Munira Rampurawala, mother of two kids aged seven and three. Rampurawala and many other health-conscious parents attended the ‘Nutritional Snacks with Delna Palia’ event at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on Tuesday to find newer ways to prepare healthy food stuffs for their children. They hoped that their children will acquire a taste for healthier preparations of pancakes, exotic soups and salads.

“The fact that pancakes could be prepared with wheat flour and soups can be made in minutes are some of the things that will lure kids into a healthier breakfast,” Rampurawala said.

“The idea of the workshop is to tell parents about how they can alter popular dishes into something healthy. For instance, in pancakes white flour could be substituted with wheat flour,” said Delna.

People attending the workshop learnt how to rustle up dishes made with eggs and noodles and also prepare French onion soup, Thai soups and curries in healthier ways. “Besides telling them about new recipes, I also told them on how to improvise on certain dishes. Thai food tends to get oily as its main ingredients are coconut milk and cream. I gave them tips on how to make these dishes healthier without compromising on taste,” added Delna.

Different ways in which ginger and garlic could be used for better digestion was also explained at the workshop.

More reasons to love chocolate

She can have dark chocolate even when pregnant was a revelation for Ameeshi Shah who attended the Demystifying Chocolate with Zeba Kohli event at Kala Ghda Arts Festival. “In fact, we even got to know of chocolates that are good for those suffering from arthritis,” Shah added.

“Mustard chocolate, wasabi chocolate and chocolates that can be prepared with garlic were some of the chocolates preparations we learnt,” said Deepali Sampat, one among the 100 people taking part in this event.

“Many people get into technicalities of chocolate instead of enjoying its preparation process. The idea of this workshop was to take them through a journey of what chocolate is — the different kinds and colours,” said Zeba Kohli.

Zeba also explained of what goes into making chocolate and the different colours based on the cocoa percentage. “It is actually from where the bean is that makes the difference. Forrestaro is a bean is cheap and mild and is used in most chocolates. The other is Criollo which is expensive and has a much stronger taste. The third variety is Trinitario. It is a blend of both,” added Kohli.

But what many liked was ways in which they could alter the tempering to make better chocolates. “I have problem with tempering that gives a shine to chocolates,” said Evma Frank.

She also explained on how to avoid fungus on chocolates.

Schedule for February 6

Time: 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Place: Museum garden
Description: A workshop for children aged between eight and 12 years on how to preserve nature by using waste by Saevus Wildlife India

Time: 3pm to 4pm
Place: Museum garden
Description: A print-making workshop for the children of NGO Akanksha with Tasneem Rajkotwala

Time: 3.30pm to 5pm
Place: Max Müeller Gate
Description: A workshop on creating Chhau masks and learning the folk martial art of Chhau for children aged between seven and 14 years by Amit Gharat and Nuriya Rao

Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Place: Kitab Khana
Description: Raid-a-tomb quiz based on the book Revenge of the Pharaoh by Sonja Chandrachud for children aged between 10 and 13 years

Time: 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Place: Kitab Khana
Description: A workshop on Fundoo fundas based on the Fundoo 4 books by Aniruddha Sen Gupta for children aged between nine and 13 years

Time: 6.15pm to 6.45pm
Place: Cross Maidan
Description: A dance performance by the children of the Salaam Bombay Foundation Kathak Academy choreographed by Anjalie Gupta

Time: 7.30pm to 8.30pm
Place: Cross Maidan
Description: Nandanik Manipure Dance Academy and Malashree will present Pubayan, a confluence of Manipuri and Odissi dance forms

Time: 8.40pm to 8.50pm
Place: Cross Maidan
Description: Freak M Stylz (India’s first breaking crew) will be presenting a dynamic b-boying routine

Time: 11am to 1pm
Place: Coomaraswamy Hall
Description: Screening of the 2010 movie Paan Singh Tomar directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia

Time: 2pm to 4pm
Place: Max Müeller Bhavan
Description: Screening of the 2012 Bengali movie Nandigramer Chokher Pani (Tears of Nandigram) directed by Sarfaraz Alam and Shyamal Makar

Time: 2pm to 4pm
Place: Gallery Beyond
Description: Screening of a combination of six-minute-and-above art films -- It was a Summer Afternoon (2013) by Seema Kohli, Being Peripheral (2012) by Nrupen Madhvani, Michelangelo’s Madonna and Son: The Human Form (1995) by Rumi Hilloowala, and Gurukula (2012) Ciaj Rocchi

Time: 4pm to 6pm
Place: Westside
Description: A workshop by The Pantry, Kala Ghoda’s four-month-old bakery-café showcasing three of its favourite recipes made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients

Time: 2pm to 4pm
Place: Kala Ghoda Association office
Description: A workshop on detective writing by Zac O’Yeah

Time: 7.30pm onwards
Place: Horniman Circle Garden
Description: The play Swami Vivekanad presented by Shekhar Sen

Time: 7.30pm onwards
Place: NGMA
Description: The play Kunti and Nishadin by Mahashwetadevi presented by the Phoenix Players

Time: 7.30pm onwards
Place: Starbucks (Fort)
Description: Arzan Khambatta's stand-up comic act

Time: 2pm to 3.30pm
Place: Artisans
Description: A workshop on making bracelets through macrame by Pradnya Chauhan