Konachi Wadi at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2012

Konachi Wadi is a film about an urban-village in Girgaon called Khotachiwadi. Formerly, the British referred to Girgaon as "Black Town". It lay on the fringes of the Fort area which was the administrative hub of Bombay Presidency. 

On 6th Feb 2012, 11.00am at the BNHS Hall (Bombay Natural History Society), a small part of the former black town goes to the heart of the old Fort area. There is no better location and the occasion too is grand- The Kala Ghoda Arts festival! 

Konachi Wadi screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the director.

For more about the film Konachi Wadi follow this link http://sakhalkar.blogspot.com/2010/12/konachi-wadi-whose-wadi.html

Come one, come all. Get to know one of Bombay's old wadis. What is a wadi you ask? The film tries to find the answer to that very question!

For more info on the Kala Ghoda Arts festival visit their website http://www.kalaghodaassociation.com/artfest.htm or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KalaGhoda#!/kalaghodaartsfestival

'Konachi Wadi?' bags a Gold!

As a mundane routine exercise, late one night, I opened my spam tab and decided to delete it all. My eye caught an e-mail from IDPA (Indian Documentary Producer's Association, www.idpaindia.org). Not unusual to get an e-mail from them since I am in their database and receive updates to their events from time to time. Unusual was the fact that the subject line said 'Your film has won an IDPA award' and there the mail lay..in my spam tab!

My first reaction: *^$#%^*(%$#!!! Even the spam-bots are mocking me!

After a few breaths though, I decided to call the IDPA office the next day. Very politely, Pooja answered the phone and confirmed, "Yes Shraddha, your film konachi wadi, right, yep yep, its won something in the student category." My mental reaction 'something? eh?' Before I could go on a longer train of purely useless thoughts, Pooja interrupted, "You're gonna come, right? You should!"

So I went. The award ceremony began and I straightened up as the announcer said, "We're going to begin with the Student category. The Gold award in the non-fiction section goes to...the film Whose Wadi?...blah blah blah.."

Didn't have the mental faculties to catch the rest of that because I was thinking, '...cringe...they used the English translation... never-mind..they're giving you the Gold award...WALK...one-two, one-two..shake hands, hold trophy..make sure it does not fall...smile..smile...walk back without tripping...one-two,one-two...'

And that's that!

Yes, yes, with name and all!

The In Divine Interest Project

Been a part of this project since its inception and loved every minute of the year that took to make it real! Here is what it is all about...

In Divine Interest, where, for God's sake if not for mankind's; we question numerous misinterpreted Indian mores and traditions. Where we celebrate the things that really need to be celebrated and tell stories that need a telling.

As Indians, we make noise when we marry and bray when we pray. We fling garbage out our windows but cut trees because the leaves litter roads. This land of colour, crafts and vivid performing arts, we embrace it with all its contradictions while doing our bit to make it better.
 
We tell Indian stories, old, new and the ones we cook up from time to time. We bring to life, the country's craft products in an all-new, designer, yet affordable avatar. We make India-centric films and merchandise inspired from Indian artforms.

Made in India by Indians.

Check out the very first video In Divine Interest...

To do or not to do. An inherent internal conflict. Who said Gods were immune to it? Watch Hanuman the Wind-God's son at his naughtiest best!





Another whopper, released today and what timing too. Dusk...the perfect time to release a video of the Goddess of wealth, Laxmi! 

The fickle Goddess, Laxmi, reigns over wealth in all its forms, from money to progeny and courage to knowledge. Thats the Goddess you want on your side at all times. Difficult to please and easy to put off. What does she do when an obvious, annual human blunder comes to her notice?





Support this project, visit the website http://www.indivineinterest.com/ , grab the free goodies and buy the products, share, spread the work and talk to us!

P.S: Many more films will follow this one and as and when this post will be updated!

Guess who's back?

Dear blog, long time no see...

You will be happy to know that much travelling has happened during that time. You and the world wide web were not missed, not remembered. Don't fret, though. I am back from the land of the dawn-lit mountains and I have stories to tell, stories to show and a strong urge to leave you again for those very mountains.

Don't hyper-ventilate, I didn't miss you but I did miss the small things in life like returning from work and retiring in my own bed with my familiar pillow and a book. Boo, the graceful pariah dog, the pair of bulbuls that visit my balcony every morning and demand banana bits. The list is long. I am rearing to go gallavanting again, but not just yet.

Such is my duality, that I did miss all these things, sorely. But I am eager to travel again. Meet new places, visit new people. Do the work I do best and do it well. In my last post, I wondered where I would travel next and it turned out to be of all places, the magical, mysterious, Arunachal Pradesh.

Dare I wonder where I'm going next?

Anticipating a weekend

Last night, delirious with sleep and exhausted after a week of research, I collapsed on my bed. As the warm red cushion blurred, I had an aakashwaani of sorts, some very wise travel philosophy. Unfortunately for me, almost immediately I also passed into a deep slumber, woke up late today, burnt some toast and barely reached work on time. Of course in all that fracas, the loss of those beautiful lines was felt this evening as I anticipated a weekend of laid-back breakfasts.

What a way to be jerked back into reality!
I wonder where I am going next?

Konachi wadi? (whose wadi?)

Poster for my film

Accidental wrong turns on the streets of Mumbai often lead to surprises. A few very specific turns in Girgaon, the old heart of Mumbai elicit a gasp from even the toughest critics of the city. For, just beyond these turns lies Khotachiwadi; a quaint urban village. A cacophony of curving-winding lanes, colourful Burma-teak houses with verandas, chawls and Art-deco buildings all inhabited by generation upon generation of the same family. This Mumbai-unique village is one of many. These villages are a testimony to the layers of history that this city is steeped in. Each of its unique features a remnant from every era lived through. If only these spaces could speak. 

Konachi wadi? is a film that tries to give a voice to Khotachiwadi. It explores the definitions of what can be defined as a wadi. Is a wadi just a tumble of gallies and buildings or does it have something more to it? The call of a fisherwoman, the couple that fell in love across balconies, the chapel with its neon cross and the house next to it where someone strums a guitar while the beer warms with droplets of condensation and dusk becomes night.

This 35-minute documentary film and supporting research was my Diploma project. This project was funded by the NID-Ford Foundation Scholarship and was completed in September 2010.

Watch this space for more on Khotachiwadi!

Ahmedabad on Uttarayan

All businesses closed

Goats on streets, almost no people

New clothes, jewellery

Everyone was on terraces

Till dusk.

These photos were clicked on Uttarayan, 2009.