Mumbai Weekend Snapshot by Krrish - 11 : Clickie Booth [ Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #13 ]

I got my photos clicked here in the Clickie booth and they sent us the photos by email.

It was lots of fun.

ABC Wednesday - 'H' for HOPE & Hand Cart: Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #12 : Cart of Hope

The Reverie Wagon (Cart of Hope)

Hand Cart also known as the 'Hath Gadi' here in India has been an ancient handmade source of transportation. Hand carts have been mentioned in literature as far back as the second millenium B.C. The Indian sacred book Rigveda states that men and women are as equal as two wheels of a cart.

In India, we still have a large population that uses the 'Hath Gadi' and relies on it for a daily living. It is still the only source of income for scrap distributors / collectors, farmers, vendors, goods carriers and many more.

The 'Hath Gadi' is a blessing for many poor families in cities as well as rural areas. The message here, to people from different walks of life is that the 'Hath Gadi' might just be a means of transporting goods but for thousands of people in our country, who are below the poverty line, it is an angel in disguise.

By creating this, the artist wants to touch their hearts and send out a message to people that 'what looks like trash to us is astonishingly a treasure to others'.

For interesting photos of 'H' for      from across the world click below:

Our World Tuesday # 24 : Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #11 : Painting

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #10 : Wordless

This is a part of an art installation at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

What would you like to call it and interpret it as?

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme March 2015 : Aging - Elephanta Caves [ Trip To Elephanta Island #8 ]

Aging of Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves and the island (originally called Gharapuri island) were named so by the Portuguese rulers after a huge rock-cut black stone statue of an elephant they found installed on the island. The statue is now installed at the Victoria Gardens (Jijamata Udyan) in Mumbai.

After climbing the flight of stone steps, you will finally reach the entrance area to the caves, and need to pay an entrance fee here, which is Rs. 10 for Indian citizens and Rs. 250 for foreign nationals. The caves are closed on Mondays - so do not buy boat tickets even if you see the sellers selling them at the Gateway of India.

This is the main cave of Elephanta Caves and called Cave 1. It is carved in solid basalt and has some magnificient stone carvings and artwork known to be made in ancient times- somewhere between the 6th and 8th century. 
The cave is a massive hall, supported by pillars and houses the famous Maheshmurti statue of Shiva in his 3-headed aspect - Creator, Protector and Destroyer. It is also in partially ruined state like many other sculptures here. The caves were regular places of worship of Lord Shiva in the ancient times.

If we could imagine what the caves and the sculptures of Hindu gods really looked like when they were formed, we can see the richness of ancient history, art and culture here.

The aging of the caves and the sculptures is natural, and due to neglect under rule of different Indian rulers and also caused by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, who did shooting practice on these sculptures in the caves. 

MAHESHMURTI AT ELEPHANTA CAVES

The Elephanta Island has more caves and sculptures, and also two old cannons at the hills called Cannon hills.

Skywatch Friday 2015 - 9 : Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #9 : The Cycling Tree

The cycling tree at the Kala ghoda Arts Festival against the clear bright sky.

The Cycling Tree, 15 ft tall, 10 ft wide and with 11 bicycle wheels, is inspired by a common passion for want of greener streets, healthier lifestyles and a love for cycling. The idea is to create awareness that cycling can also be used as a means to generate power.

People were invited to ride the bicycles and see the tree lighted up.

Art by ; TAD Connect Team

(www.tadconnect.com) 

For lovely skies around the world, click below:

ABC Wednesday - 'G' for 'Gestures' - Kala Ghoda Arts festival 2015 #8 : The Semantics of Gestures

From holding an infant in your arms, to games that bond; from fun and dance to a moment of solace found in holding someone's hand - gestures have always been an important way of sharing love and life. Trust, love, sympathy, empathy, anger, fear and a myriad of emotions can be seen, felt and communicated through gestures and touch.

There are many instances of negative touch in today's society, but positive gestures hold the potential to enhance bonding at every level. It truly has its own language - one that we are incomplete without.

Art and Description by:

Anushree Chaterjee

START World, India

Take a close look at some of the gestures:

GESTURES- CLICK TO VIEW IN LARGE SIZE

For more photos of ABC Wednesday 'G' for 

click below:

Monday Shopping & Markets : Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 # 6 Shopping At Kala Ghoda Festival

WOODEN CRAFT AT KALA GHODA ARTS FESTIVAL 2015

Skywatch Friday 2015 - 8 : Trip To Elephanta Island - 4 # Seagulls In Flight

SEAGULLS IN FLIGHT

We spotted a flock of seagulls who were attracted to some food that the  passengers were throwing in the air. They were trying to catch the food and I managed to get them really close.

These are my first ever proper bird shots and I'm so happy I went to Elephanta island.

For interesting skies around the world, click below:

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #5 Chillin' Like A Villian

Chillin' like a villian

Live fast

Die young

Hustle hard

Keep it cool

Earn and burn

No regrets

Smile it off

Be living like a king

And chillin' like a villian

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #4 Say Cheese With Your Favourite Legend

SMILE :-)

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #3 - FREEDOM BIKE [Our World Tuesday#22 & ABC Wednesday-'F' for Freedom Bike]

FREEDOM BIKE by OLX, clicked by Krrish at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015

This motorcycle, an art masterpiece is made entirely from unique used items bought on OLX from different corners of India. These unique and vintage items were collected during the OLX Great India Collectors' Ride by two motorcyclists who travelled 10,000 kilometres for 50 days across the country.

A closer view of the Freedom Bike

OLX Freedom Bike

OLX chooses to call it the Freedom Bike as 'Freedom lies at the heart of OLX which gives users the freedom to buy and sell at the price, place and the time of their choice.'

Items such as a 60 year old railway lamp, a unique wheel clock, a typewriter and a musical instrument Esraj have been all put together to give life to the Freedom Bike. According to OLX, they represent the diversity of the OLX users, and the variety of things sold on the website.

I am linking this post as entry to Our World Tuesday meme

Our World Tuesday # 22 : Freedom Bike

and ABC Wednesday meme 

ABC Wednesday - 'F' for Freedom Bike

Trip To Elephanta Island -3 # Ships & Vessels

THE SHIP ANKLESHWAR

We saw the ship Ankleshwar and other big ships and vessels and boats on the boatride to Elephanta island. Krrish was very excited as he was seeing a real ship for the first time.
By now we were almost halfway to Elephanta island.

Weekend In Black & White : 11 # Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015 #1 - Porosity / Happy Valentine's Day

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai is the second largest arts festival in the world after the Edinburgh Arts Festival. The theme for this year's festival is SPARSH, or touch, symbolic of the deep connection it enjoys with Mumbai. The arts touch the soul and satisfy the primal human need for inspiration, sparking change and hope.

Tourists from all over the world plan their trip to Mumbai to witness the Kala Ghoda Festival. The festival, now in its 17th year, is a community celebration of the arts within one of the most beautiful precincts of Mumbai, the Kala Ghoda Art District.

[Information Source]

The festival is an interesting kaleidoscope of Visual Arts, Urban Design & Architecture, Dance, Music, Theatre, Cinema, Literature, Food, Street Acts and Workshops for children and adults. There are 450 events held over 9 days across several locations in the Kala Ghoda Arts District.

I visited the festival for half a day but managed to capture only the Visual Arts Festival on my camera and noted down the details of the arts. The Festival is being covered by media, professional photographers of the city and amateurs too. I hope I can do justice to the Visual Arts Festival through my photos.

Variable porosity in this pavilion is an inspiration from nature. It is very evidently seen in many aspects in nature including the bone as they have more material at places where required and less where it does not have structural / functional need.

For interesting photos in black & white from around the world, click below:

A Very Happy Valentine's Day to All Mumbai Daily Snapshot's Readers (All Mumbai Virtual Tourists) from Krrish and Anita. Thank you for all your love and support on our comeback after a break of 5 years.

Skywatch Friday 2015 - 7 : Trip To Elephanta Island - 2 # Seagulls & Speedboats

As we moved away from the fast fading Gateway of India, we could see seagulls flying around us and some sitting on some floating foam-like material and enjoying the high tide. We also saw quite a few speedboats zooming past us in the wintry haze. All cameras were out and hardly anyone was seen seated in their places
We were now looking forward to see some ships and rigs in the sea.

For awesome skies around the world, click below: 

Trip To Elephanta Island -1 # Get Away From Mumbai

We purchased tickets in the queue for Elephanta Island near the jetty. Each ticket costs Rs. 160 ( for adults and children alike) and is a return ticket. We got into the Elephanta boat from the Gateway of India and grabbed our seats. No one is allowed to go to the upper deck. 

The weather was pleasant because of  the cool breeze. As the boat moved away from the Gateway of India, everyone moved from their seats. The children were already munching snacks and the passengers were clicking pictures - selfies, group photos and photos of the harbour we left about five minutes back.
This photo shows you the view of the Gateway Of India, Mumbai's iconic 5 star hotel - the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Taj Mahal Tower from the Arabian sea.

There were lovely white private speedboats zooming past us every few minutes.
We also started spotting seagulls. I will show you these in my Skywatch post.

Our World Tuesday # 21 : CST- UNESCO World Heritage Site

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), formerly known as Victoria Terminus is one of the busiest railway stations in India with over three million commuters daily.

A magnificient work of of period architecture, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is hard to travel till the station or pass by without adoring its beauty and grandeur and trying to discover something unseen in it or capture it in the camera from a different perspective.

For beautiful photos of 'Our World' from around the world,
click below: