Festival News
The organizers of the Celebrate Bandra festival believe in the motto - 'For the Community - By the Community'. The festival is now in its third edition and is getting bigger and more popular every time. A festival of this magnitude - which is encompassing an entire suburb -would not have been possible without the whole-hearted involvement of residents, lovers of Bandra, and well wishers. We welcome feedback. This encourages us to aim higher!
Here we share with you some reactions, and keep you updated on some Festival highlights...
Supari Tank Municipal School 'Akanksha' at the Celebrate Bandra Festival
"In the Need of Mahatma"
The suggestion to put up a program in Celebrate Bandra Festival (CBF) came from one of the trustees of Fountainhead to Shaheen didi, the CEO of Akanksha. This was made known to the Program Coordinator at Supari Tank Municipal School, Bandra. It is for the first time Akanksha kids participate in CBF. There was so much of anxiety as to what CBF is. When this was made clear the kids began to question 'Sir, do you think we can do it in such a short time?' Obvious reaction indeed. None of them is a professional or amateur dancer for that matter. Akanksha team believes in the inherent potential of a person, and believes in hard work that leads to success. Children were given an idea of 'Bandra with a Heart', the theme of the program. They came up with their own bitter experiences of child labor, exploitation, violence at home (wife beating), violence in the neighborhood (bomb blast in Bandra) and many more. Their worry was how to show these issues through a dance.
The coordinator suggested that our own choreographer be given a chance to train the kids. As soon as the green signal was given Vinay Pardesi, the dance teacher of Akanksha at Supari Tank School, took upon himself the task of expressing the problems faced by our kids through a dance. The song 'Aajare Baapu Aaja' from 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', a Hindi film was chosen. The choreographer garnered all his energy and commitment in carefully selecting kids for various roles and choosing different steps to the dance. Initially, everybody wanted to become a Gandhiji and hardly anyone wanted to be a shoe polishing person! The task of the choreographer was not just to show the steps of the dance alone. It was much more and beyond. It was from motivating the kids to putting in them the hope that they are capable of doing it. It was a task of showing the kids their own potentialities lying dormant within themselves.
'It was hard,' says Vinay, 'until Niloufer, the Coordinator of CBF came to watch the rehearsal. When she approved the work of the kids for the festival the joy of all the kids knew no bounds. This served as a real boost. Then there wasn't much difficulty in getting them do what they were supposed to do.'
All the kids felt good that someone was thinking about them and the situation they are in. Vimal, a boy studying in Std.IV rightly said, 'Sir, I never thought Bandra has a heart.' The process of the dance program has brought clarity within his mind. (He says now that he wants to pursue his career in theatre related activities and boldly says, 'I will become a star one day.') Arjun, who acted as Gandhiji proudly gathered words to pour out his feelings, 'Sir', he said, 'when I become big and earn a lot of money I will also help many kids to do their studies.'
It was also a process of building self-esteem and self-confidence in the kids. Rahima, a girl studying in Std.IV says that now she can even go for shooting along with celebrities. 'My parents and relatives felt proud to see me on the screen,' she recalls.
The show was indeed good. It kept the audience in a state of enthrallment and awe. The coordinator was overwhelmed to show to the kids as well as to his own team the feedback messages and emails from many people. Many kids commented on the next day that they thought they would be afraid to show themselves on the stage but rather were proud and happy to show their talents which they have developed after much practice and guidance especially during their Diwali vacations. The whole process has left the Akanksha team at Supari Tank School and the kids with a deep feeling that nothing succeeds like success and that hard work blended with wholehearted commitment helps us to achieve it.
The kids are waiting for an opportunity to thank those who made it possible for them to come up on the stage and show their talents. Thanks,
James Hilary Sequeira, Program Coordinator and Vinay Pardesi, Choreographer cum Dance Teacher
They are Special!... and so is the Festival!
(feedback from a teacher at the Spastic Society, Bandra
Performing at "Celebrate Bandra" was an experience I as a teacher and my students will always cherish. The excitement started the day we heard of our participation. The children were very keen to be a part of the show. Their enthusiasm motivated me to get the best out of them. During the rehearsals the energy level of the children was at its peak. In spite of their physical limitations nothing would stop them. They would perform and repeat it several times to reach perfection. Their hard work paid them on the day of the show. Their excitement knew no bounds. They were a confident lot who worked to perfection. Not only regarding their dance steps but also to their appearance. Be it their costume or their painted faces. It was amazing to see how naturally they were inclined to trends. They showed perfect colour sense regarding the accessories they wore or their shoes, all was to be well matched. While I painted their faces they would sit still with a straight face for surety of a good finish. I would tease them that it was difficult to get them to be so still during study sessions or as responsive, as they would even want to choose the lipstick shade and the rouge colour. The entire atmosphere was of celebration, it seemed the children had already started celebrating even before we reached "Celebrate Bandra".
When they performed there were no signs of stage fright and they danced from their hearts enjoying every beat of the music, their steps flowed naturally. I realized the effort of movement for them was a lot but their enjoyment and will to dance kept them going. They had the entire crowd moving to their beats and cheering and enjoying every minute of their performance, which was flawless. The applause which the children received said it all.
Fabian's Bandra
On occasion of the Celebrate Bandra Festival, FPJ will carry a series of Bandra stories, where the people who have grown up there, and helped contribute to Bandra in more ways than one speak of their home. FABIAN PINTO is one such Bandra personality: call him an odd collector or a relic photographer. Or even an amateur historian. But he is no normal Bandra resident. From old newspaper cuttings of Bandra, to antique artifacts, to classic black and white pictures of Bandra, why, he's even dug up the history of Bandra's graveyards: his prized collection boasts of a tombstone dating back to 1650. Even though he doesn't reside in Bandra any more, he speaks to BHAVITA BHATIA on his muse - Bandra.
"Unnoticed Bandra. I love taking its pictures and exploring this region. I have a very old picture of the Bandra Railway station - pre independence days. I like taking pictures of the site even today. It's a massive structure - even bigger than the Andheri station, but in a very dilapidated state.
I know of quite a few people - the natives of Bandra that are leaving their homes today. Some sell off their properties for crores of rupees and move out to flats worth 20 lakhs rupees in Borivili. Others migrate to New Zealand, Australia, Canada or so.
There is a drastic change in Bandra every six months or so - in town planning, infrastructure, and even in the villages.
I remember this old archaic bungalow at St. Paul's Road, which is gone today. Many villages of Bandra are also disappearing. Take Shirley Rajan for instance. Because of high estate prices, builders are buying the property and replacing these quaint villages with high-rise apartment buildings.
I know that 20 years from now, Bandra will not look the same. I want to preserve these memoirs through my pictures atleast.
When I silently reminisce of Bandra, I'm reminded of its streets, the simple people, the third generation cobbler that inhabits the footpath of Hill Road… these are the people that were 'Made in Bandra'. When they first moved here, it was Bandra which truly 'made' them.
And even the fisherfolk which have lived here for generations. Sometimes I just sit with them at Chimbai village and hear them talk about their fishing, their boats and their sea myths - associated with the unruly climate and spirits.
I always loved to explore… I wasn't allowed to go near the sea as a kid. But I'd still go there with friends.
I always thought of Bandra as my native place. Mishmash of the Goan and East Indian culture. But even other than that, it is such a culture curry - with the Catholics, Parsis, Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, etc constituting the population of Bandra.
Near the Bandra station, there is a lane where a mosque, a Jain temple and a chapel coexist on the very same street. I think that speaks for its all-inclusive, cosmopolitan, secular nature.
Bandra is my home, irrespective of where I live today or where I will live in the future. What makes it my home? Well. My childhood, my school, the trees, the nature, climbing them, stoning them till I'd get my fruit of labour (laughs)."
Do Not Disturb
(Recollections of the 'Bandra Shorts' Theatre Event, Celebrate Bandra Festival-November, 2007)
I looked at the plastic scraps clinging to the wild grass.
This was at Shirley Rajan, the site for the short plays to be performed that evening.
Should we remove the plastic or let it be ?
Divya Bhatia, theatre event head , had tried patiently to explain the concept of site-specific theatre yesterday. At Pali Village .
We had just designed the performance space in the small compound in front of Teresa's house. This was to be the home of the characters in our play.
'Looks good' we told each other.
Divya was not impressed.
The Bench
'Everything looks staged. Why are we performing here? What's the point? For instance, why is this bench placed at an angle here? Would you do that normally? Wouldn't you just put it against a wall?'
We had thought it looked perfectly natural under the overhanging branches of a tree !
Now, it seemed like something deliberate . Arranged.
Of course, we had deliberately shifted the bench from the landing, to meet the story requirement.
'Mohan' needed a place to sit.
And of course Divya couldn't be bothered about him.
'The script is like that' said Ashish , the Assistant Director.
I couldn't decipher the words muttered in response.
Girish, the actor playing 'Mohan' leaned against the stair railing.
'I don't need a bench . I can talk from here . After all this is my house.'
Divya was visibly pleased.The problem remained . Where would 'Mohan' sit ?
I placed a stool at the bottom of the stairway , against the wall.
The Stool
Divya : No, no, why would you put a stool there? Wouldn't it be in the way?
Prabha : Where will he sit?
Divya : He can sit anywhere.
Prabha (To Girish) : You can sit on the bottom stair, or the middle...
Girish :( Pointing to the beautiful green heritage railings) I won't be seen from there.
Divya had turned his attention to the plants.
I pulled the stool a little away from the wall and looked hard..
Girish ( Sympathetically) : I can carry it.
Prabha : That's it ! You can take it wherever you want ! Here, near the sofa or...
We didn't tell Divya.
The Potted Plants
He seemed to be particularly upset about two potted plants which had been arranged at one corner of a low platform, opposite The Bench.
Divya: Why would the plants be there? Did you put them there?
How did he know?
He was also very, very upset about the platform.
The Platform
Divya : ' It looks staged. The way it is placed.? Why is it at angle? I preferred the mat you used at Ranwar'
Prabha : Ya, we'll remove it. I didn't want it but Ashish felt...
Divya : Who Ashish? You're the director.
Ashish and I had discussed this problem minutes earlier.
(Ashish and Prabha looking at the platform)
Prabha : (Worried) What is it?
Ashish : It's a platform.
Prabha : No, I mean what is it doing there? In the compound of the house? What is it ?
Ashish : It could be a water tank.
Not fair. This is what I had suggested a day earlier while discussing the need for a platform .
(One day earlier. On the phone)
Ashish : Are we getting a platform?
Prabha : ( Pause) Do we need it ? (Pause) What will it be?
Ashish : It can just be a space . For 'Rane' and 'Manju' . 'Rane' can sit on it.
Prabha : O.K. (Pause) It can be a water tank.
Plants on the Stairway
Divya had returned to the subject of potted plants.
Divya : Those plants on the stairway. Did you put them there or were they there already?
This time , I was innocent.
The Cute Wooden Stand
Divya : Now, that stuff you have lined up against the wall. That's exactly what you would do if you were performing on a stage.
What! That cute wooden stand and all those lovely odds and ends I had borrowed from Teresa's house to make our performance space look 'real'.
It was all terribly wrong. It looked like a' set up!'
I hid everything behind the curtain which 'Mohan' and 'Butter' had so efficiently strung up at stage right.
The Curtain
Divya : And that curtain!
Prabha : ( Quickly )That's the kitchen.
Divya : See, that's just it. Why can't the kitchen be in there?
He was pointing to the top of the stairs. To the main entrance of the house.
But 'Aai' and 'Manju' were constantly entering and leaving the kitchen.
Climbing up and down each time would slow down the pace of the entire scene.
Divya is usually right but...
The Script
We would have to get back to the script once again.
To find that universal something , also present in the specific.
And then begin afresh , without destroying either.
Staying true to both.
The whole thing needed rethinking.
But that was for later.
It would be showtime in a few hours.
Better to leave some of the plastic scrap on the grass for now.
Prabha Pandey
Sambhav Theatre Group
2nd December-2007
Ageing glory from Bandra
By Bhavita Bhatia, Mumbai
A century ago, he saw emerald sapphire crested waves kissing the shores of the Bandra beach and a century later, he looks forlornly a dark industrial effluent saturated waves lashing the beach. He is 104 years old and his name is Abdul Gulab Sheikh.
Being felicitated at the recent Bandra Festival was a moment of utmost pride for him. He gushes like a young child winning a trophy, "They picked me up in the car, presented me with a shawl, and the qawwali night was just splendid." Born in 1903 in Bhabha Hospital, he grew up in the Madamwadi area of Bandra, where five generations of his family had lived before him.
Though the menfolk of his family worked in the railways, he quit studies soon after to set up a barber's shop. The 'Bandra Haircutting Saloon' came into being in 1932, in the lane next to Lucky Restaurant, and he remembers being the family barber for many of the prominent Muslim families in the area. Business was good and he had a fixed clientele. In those days, as per tradition, it was the barbers who did the circumcision of young boys and he was often in demand.
"I remember my childhood very well. Bandra was just a forest then." He recalls it being sparsely populated. "It would be quite eerie to be outdoors after 7 in the evening. With no electricity, the streets were lit with kerosene lights. The 'Teen Batti' -a lamppost with three lamps - at the junction of Hill Road with Ghodbandar Road, now SV Road, was a popular meeting 'naka'. Electricity came about only in the 1920s," as he recalls. The period that led to independence was a time of major transitions and upheaval. Sheikh's native place being Gujarat, a lot of his relatives moved to America, England, Africa, Rangoone etc. to settle down for more lucrative options. "Back then, there were no passport problems and travel was easier."
One endearing memory is of the communal harmony in Bandra - which Abdul Gulab Sheikh says has remained unchanged to this day. There was close interaction between members of all the communities and as a youngster he remembers the satyanarayan puja at Madhav Rao Samant Road (lane opposite Lucky restaurant) where Hindu and Muslims sat together during the bhajans. While riots were witnessed even up to Mahim during the partition riots, Bandra was securely insulated from any political or communal strife. As he says, "The area from Mahim to Churchghate was flooded with communal riots. Kids, women were being killed barbarously. People had gone mad. Bombay was like a garbage can then. We (Hindus and Muslims) were such good friends. We even fought for freedom together. I recall staging demonstrations near the Bandra police chowky. My friends were thrashed by the cops and kicked out of there. The British followed the 'divide and rule' policy and succeeded at it."
Ask him how he felt about India finally acquiring independence, he says, "1947 ki Azadi (Independence) was good. But because of the British divide and rule, and the riots, hatred for our Hindu and Muslim brothers filled our hearts." He continues after a pause, "India is a great country. It really is the 'Sone ki Chidiya'. Even the current scenario is not what I'd truly call 'independence'. Not the kind of independence we had fought for. First we only had Congress. Now we have split up into so many parties. When they fight for elections, it's like barbaadi (utter destruction). Everybody wants separate independence. That's how Gujarat, Maharashtra and other 'independent' states were formed. Nobody is united in their stand. We should work together. Our country is great. If we are united, India will rise to the top."
He is also a Hakim - self taught - and attends to patients even today. He taught himself the intricacies of herbal and unani medicine from an old book written by a Parsi in Gujarati, which he would read in between haircutting sessions. Herbs were purchased -even today - from Pydhonie in central Mumbai and he speaks with self-effacing charm of treating patients with diabetes, jaundice, boils and piles! Born and brought up in Bandra, he wishes to see the last days of his life in Bandra itself. Like a silent prayer, he almost whispers, "I read the Namaz daily for everyone, for the whole of Hindustan. Main dua karta hoon sab ke liye."
A roadside art!
Bandra Festival
This time the Michaelangelo of Bandra takes us through the sights and colours of Bandra evoking softly the sublime sensuality in our psyche through the half shaded quaint lanes dotted with basket ball courts, football grounds and the hustling never asleep roadside shopping malls thronged with daintily dressed damsels.
Moreover, the walls in his home are a testimony to his magical brush. DELWYN REMEDIOS may not have made it to the J J School of Art, but as luck would have it, got through at the National Institute of Design (NID) instead. But what perhaps led this Stanislaus boy to fame was his graffiti work at the Bandra Reclamation tunnel, as seen in the picture. He speaks to BHAVITA BHATIA of Freepress Journal on his roadside art.
"Growing up, I remember being fascinated with the giant wheel at the Bandra fair. I used to love drawing it. I was totally obsessed with it. As such, anything that moves catches a kid's attention - be it football, the buses or even the rides at the Bandra fair. Anything with light and colour. Or maybe it was the things of gigantic proportions attracted me!
I remember my mom actually getting me a birthday cake with a giant wheel made out of cream perched atop the cake. I started drawing when I was four years old. I remember drawing out a football match - with all the players chasing the football, including the goalkeeper! No one would quite understand what I would draw then.
In the second grade in school, my teacher actually gave me a verbal lashing for the drawings. "You're not supposed to ask your mother to draw for you." She couldn't believe that it was my work alone! The graffiti on the tunnel wall at the Reclamation was fun. It was difficult, sure. To strain my neck for hours and get the paint right while dangling on the ladder. Sometimes, the paint would fall right into my mouth (laughs).
I love colour. I love to throw it around on the canvas and mix it up. My mom would say, she never quite understood what I was doing until I would just transform it into something altogether different in the end. I like everything about Bandra - not just the beautiful things - even the ugly things. The faded walls, the potholes, the slums and traffic jams, even the bumpy rickshaw rides! I love crowds, strange as it sounds. They're so full of energy and always so alive.
I particularly love the basketball court. Even the shopping roads. I always walk up from Bandra station to my house near St. Andrew's church. Of course, Carter Road and Bandstand are also very dear to me…. (pause) but the Reclamation promenade holds a personal place in my heart because I've etched my mark on its walls. Bandra has this inexplicable homely feel to it. Even if I'm offered a swanky house in Malabar Hill, I wouldn't leave Bandra. I'll live in a hut here if the need be. Because Bandra is after all Bandra."
Sweet dreams are made of these
Radhika Raj Saturday, December 01, 2007, DNA
"I grew up in a beautiful cottage in Bandra. Our garden had over 40 rose shrubs and exotic plants. There were four guava, one sitafal, one chickoo, four coconut and eight drumstick trees, a pond with goldfishes and two toads. All of this came within Dad's monthly salary of Rs200. Could I have asked for more?" began Roland Cardoz, 72, as the crowd at Bandra's Pioneer Hall listened enrapt.
You could see each one trying to conjure a mental image of a lost suburb that existed 50 years ago. "There were about 20 private cars in Bandra, around six or eight taxis, but plenty of elegant horse carriages. The return journey in a taxi from Crawford Market cost Rs10 then. Lucky restaurant still stands, but Chakkar, the sweet shop is no more. Linking Road at Bandra was a large stretch of fruit trees."
Cardoz was recounting his memories about Bandra at a session organised by the Celebrate Bandra committee this week. A fortnight ago, some senior Bandra residents were contacted by the festival organisers. They wanted to showcase a literary event centred around old stories of their suburb. Apprehensive at first, the group of seniors finally agreed to talk about what they call the "golden years of Bandra". And so it was that on Thursday. While the sun was setting, they all gathered dressed in their best, to relive the Bandra they remembered - the churches, the villages, and World War II blues.
A lot of work and remembering went into the 'storytelling' session. "When I started penning down my memories, I realised there was so much to tell. Bandra has changed so much. There was a saying in our time - throw a stone in Bandra and you will hit a pig or a Pereira. Today there are few Pereiras, but the pigs - they have all left. They must have found it too dirty to live in," said Raphael Donald, 80.
Everyone had a different story to tell. Johnny Alves talked about a village he grew up in. "I was born in Chuim, but there are worse things that have happened there," he joked. In Chuim, everybody knew each other and like him, had a great sense of humour. "The East Indian was a happy, drinking man," he said, beaming. "We had a bar at Danda where everybody assembled. There was no rich or poor then. Some earned a little more than the others, but that rarely mattered.
You would often hear someone say, "I am a very rich man, but how I wish I had some money." Alves recounts that the village had a few drinking water wells and kutcha roads. Nearby were two tennis courts and three golf courses where the British played till noon, after which he would go and try his hand.
As the evening progressed, the simple life that was lived in a once-green, sedate Bandra unfolded. Govind Krishna Patil spoke of the Koli community and how his family was the first to get a telephone connection in Bandra in 1942. The police often turned up in the middle of the night to make an urgent call from their telephone. This 'telephone home' was Bandra's pride. He remembers running to the police thana at odd hours to deliver an urgent war message during World War II, seldom knowing what it meant.
However, one of his finest memories was of the time when he saw his first film. "During World War II, a number of foreign films started coming in. In those days, you could buy two balcony tickets for a rupee at the Bandra Talkies (now Globus). That is when I saw Gone With The Wind. Rhett Butler and Scarlett...," he smiles dreamily.
Art veteran Kekoo Gandhy spoke of his home, Kekee Manzil, which his grandfather built and named after him. At the venue, a simultaneous photo exhibition of Bandra's monuments and buildings was going on. Gandhy walks to a recent picture of the Bandra Fort and points to a large rock. "This rock has been there for years. After school, I used to rush to the fort, undress and sunbathe on this rock for hours. I remember my father and friends discussing a bridge. It is the bridge that is materialising today in the form of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link."
When 82-year-old Aylma Curry spoke, it was high-drama time - the audience really sat up and took notice. She spoke of the times when windows were covered with brown paper and street lights with black. Curry was in school one afternoon when World War II was declared. There was a shortage of food and water and the war sirens would go off often. She volunteered to stitch clothes and mufflers for the soldiers. "Every evening, I heard of destruction on airwaves. Burma was taken and we were afraid that it was soon going to be Bandra too. Some Polish war orphans were housed in a bungalow somewhere near my place. We prayed on the rosary for peace and Poland daily," she says.
She sang a song the orphans used to sing: Dear Ma, we're having lots of fun, I'm sending you the Siegfried Line* to hang your washings on. Tell Pa that Hitler's on the run, I'm sending you the Siegfried Line to hang your washings on. I've got a little souvenir for Mary, I've found a German sausage that can sing like your canary. Love from your ever-loving son, I'm sending you the Siegfried Line to hang your washings on...
Bandra's march towards the inevitable high-rise and traffic-infested jungle sparked a wave of nostalgia for the days when it was a cosier and smaller place. Ena D'Monte (91) a resident of Bandra for 74 years, remembers the time when you could walk right onto the beach at the Band Stand promenade. And Eros in Churchgate could be reached in just 15 minutes.
"We knew all our neighbours and got together regularly for balls and dances. We used to eagerly wait for a band that used to play at Land's End once every month. Everybody dressed up for the Mount Mary Fair and had a wonderful time. We could hear the church bells and the trains clearly then. Today there are so many high-rises - I do not know the person who lives next door."
*The Siegfried Line was a defence system stretching more than 630km with more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps built by the Germans during the World Wars.
Celebrating Aseema!
One of the most active and successful NGOs in Bandra, Aseema has worked wonders in the lives of disadvantaged children, many of them from the slums in and around Bandra. This NGO aims at creating an enriching learning environments for children to grow in. They believe education is not just about books and numbers, but about the holistic development of the child, and therefore, lay equal emphasis on academic and co-curricular work. They have taken over the running of the municipal school in Chimbai village of Bandra, with amazing results.
Aseema teachers and staff have remarkable opportunity of learning from other educational philosophies. A special one-week training session was conducted for them at the Sri Aurobindo Society in Puducherry. This education centre is structured around the approach of 'Integral Education' which has been adopted by Aseema. The teachers participated in workshops and discussions on a variety of topics ranging from teaching methods and techniques to yoga and appreciation for nature. Several of their wonderful ideas are now being implemented at Aseema - using music breaks to enhance assimilation of learning, laying emphasis on physical development.
In a training session workshops were held on 'Language Skills' and introduced some creative methods of teaching language to young learners. Through interactive sessions, the teachers discovered interesting stories, songs and games to use in their classrooms.
The children too have been busy with visits and other programmes.. They were enthusiastic participants in a workshop on Art and Craft with Waste organized by members of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) .Children were shown how to make decorative lanterns using cornflakes boxes and other waste material. On another occasion, the children also had visitors from the MET Rishikul Vidyalay at Bandra Reclamation, who made friendship bands with them. On both days, they had a wonderful time with their 'new friends' and their beautiful creations adorn the classrooms today.
Amidst the fun and games, students are preparing for their final exams and exploring options after school. Aseema believes that vocational education is imperative for those who are less academically inclined and they must make children aware of the various alternatives available to them. A field visit was consequently arranged to the Joseph Cardin Technical Institute in Dadar. The Institute offers a variety of courses in Motor Mechanics, Electrical and Carpentry Work, Computers, etc.
Taking their commitment to holistic growth a little further Dance and Story Telling classes have been started for the children, which they are enjoying thoroughly. Their mission is to provide underprivileged children with a nurturing and stimulating educational environment that helps them recognize their limitless potential. Every week, committed volunteers meet with emotionally vulnerable children to give them some much needed support. Interactive sessions for teachers are also held by Ms. Zarine D'Monte, a reputed child psychotherapist.
Through the vacations as well, the children participated in many other events. The Celebrate Bandra Festival gave them a chance to display their talent through an energetic dance performance at the three promenades, and their graceful folk dances and cheerful happy faces stole the hearts of many viewers. The children were also part of the inaugural parade organized by Celebrate Bandra. They were delighted to go along in their school bus and enjoyed the performances and celebrations all around them. The school bus was donated to Aseema by the Celebrate Bandra Trust from the proceeds of the last festival.
"PATANGWALE" - Kitemakers of Madamwadi
There is something exhilarating in seeing diamond shaped decorated bits of paper, some with beautiful long tassels, soaring high up in a clear blue sky. Kite flying - once a passionate sport of many, is now a dying hobby. But there are still a handful of kite makers in Bandra who continue to hold on to the age old traditional art of kite making, sitting in their small crowded shops in Madamwadi, in the narrow lane leading in from Lucky Restaurant at the SV road junction. Meet Mustafa Ali Patangwale, Malik Ansari, Asghar Ali Khan, Shaukat Ali Khan, Sheikh Ali Patangwale, Kazi Nizamuddin and others - the original kite makers of Bandra, many of whom set up shop in this lane in the early 1950s.
Some of the kite makers are 'khandani patangwale' -it has been their family business for generations. Some originally set up business on Bazaar Road, and though these shops no longer sell kites, they still hang on to them - for old time sake. Now they operate from small shops in Madamwadi, closer to SV Road. Shaukat Ali's forefathers belonged to Kanpur, and Shaukat then just 10 years old, came to experience the kite flying festival during the Hindu Makar Sankranti celebrations in Mumbai and Gujarat, and ended up staying in Mumbai since business was good.
Those were the days - in the 60s and 70s - when Bandra still had a number of open spaces, families spent time together outdoors, and when there was nothing more relaxing than to be out in the open with a kite 'charkhi' (wooden wheel on which the kite string is rolled) in the hand and trying hard to cut the opponent's kite string to bring down his kite, which would be triumphantly borne away as a trophy. But with the advent of TV and video games, kids are spending more time indoors. Most open spaces are now taken over, and no one now has the time to idle away a holiday out in the open with a laidback pastime like kite flying. More the pity, because these changes have heralded a death knell for this art and most 'patangwale' feel it is a matter of time when their shops will close down. Some like Shaukat Ali have started stocking Chinese kites, which are more durable being made of cloth and use synthetic thread for flying the kite. However according to Shaukat Ali, these kites are difficult to fly and need a lot of wind to lift them up -and can be successfully airborne only at a beach.
Kite flying is now a dying art and hobby, and kite makers of Bandra are barely able to make ends meet. Yet two of the kite makers- Sheikh Ali Patangwale and his childhood friend Kazi Nizamuddin - look at the business with such a touchingly refreshing viewpoint that it leaves you amazed. They jointly run shop no. 11 and both wait eagerly for the festive fortnight of "Uttaran" in January during the Hindu Makar Sankranti festival. This is when a 'mela' is held by the kitemakers in the predominantly Muslim area of Madamwadi, and when entire families of Hindu Gujaratis throng the narrow lane to buy kites to fly during their festival. Kazi Nizamuddin and Sheikh Ali talk with pride of the deep personal friendship which has formed over the years with the Gujarati families many of whom patronize particular kitemakers year after year. Nothing could be a better example of communal harmony. And it is this bond which is preventing them from closing their shop.(JS/ CBT)
The festival showed solidarity for the Kitemakers of Bandra. Residents of Bandra and visitors to the festival enthusiastically joined in the 'Celebrate Bandra Kite Festival', on Saturday, December 01, 2007 at the Reclamation Promenade, when many of the Kitemakers of Bandra's Madamwadi also participated. Everyone got together to relive their childhoods and enjoy the thrills of the old leisure sport of Kite Flying!
Art Attack at Celebrate Bandra - 2007
November 17-December 2, 2007, by Nargis Namazi, WhereMumbai.com
The animation and spirit of Bombay's suburban mini-polis Bandra is infectious – her music, culture, food, art, people and inimitable way of life. Held every alternate year since 2003, Celebrate Bandra is a citizen-driven festival that aims to unite people from all walks of life in a two-week long revelry. The theme focussed this year is "Harking Back to Heritage" and aspires to link Bandra's past to its swiftly changing present. Film, music, dance, stage, charity, literary and sports events will showcase Bandra's rich legacy and age-old tradition.
The Art discipline, which has acquired a significant position since the inception of the festival, incorporates numerous shows under the guidance of Vidya Vaidya, trustee and art event head. By proffering a non-competitive and non-judgmental platform to the residents of the suburbs, disadvantaged children, and beyond, the art and craft initiatives prove to be exciting and truly personify the motto of the gala – "People Coming Together".
For complete report on the electric happenings under the art banner, log on to http://wheremumbai.com/article.aspx?id=469
It's Magic! It's Magic!
'What did we do last Saturday? , I asked the group of twenty two distracted children.'
'We studied songs'
'What?'
I was exasperated. Disappointed.
'Were there any books? Were you made to read anything? How can you say you 'studied'?
Silence. Fidgeting.
There seemed to be no escape from the 's' word.
This was not a compulsory exercise in a classroom environment.
We had asked the children, before taking permission from their parents, whether they wanted to participate in some activity for the Celebrate Bandra Festival -2007. " "Programme karna hai ? " Ninenty nine percent put up their hands.
The one child who hesitated was later voted a group leader.
The theme was 'Living Heritage'. Every Saturday afternoon, the children were picked up from their schools in the brand new school bus donated to the NGO Aseema, and taken to an empty rehearsal space in another school. They were served snacks and tea after which we played some introductory games.
The idea was to erase all memory of 'school' and associated 'evils' and then whisk them off to a magical world of theatre in which everything dreamed was possible.
You could be yourself or someone else.
A person inside a story or the storyteller.
You could sing a song or become the song.
A bird, a tree, a child splashing about in the rain.
You could run back and forth in time.
Or, you could stand still - as an old man recalling the past.
Anything you wished became possible.
Today was the second Saturday.
We had been trying to 'share' with the children some long forgotten lullabies in Hindi. A living heritage resonating from our own childhood.
'Chanda mama door ke'...'Munna bada pyara'...
The idea was to discover the story element within the lullabye and then enact it as a piece of theatre magic.
But first they needed to know the lullaby.
That meant 'learning' the words.
A workshop volunteer, seated on a chair, faced a group of children gathered
eagerly before her on the floor.
She read out a line from the written text.
The children were asked to repeat.
The same process continued till the whole song had been 'learnt'.
You could see the boredom return to those innocent upturned faces.
This was what teachers made them do in school everyday.
LISTEN . REPEAT . REMEMBER . LEARN .
LISTEN. REPEAT . REMEMBER . LEARN .
In one word : STUDY!
After all our promises of creating magic for them...
We would have to do better than this.
No, we couldn't let them down.
The solution suddenly presented itself!
We got off our chairs and joined our little team seated on the floor
"Let's make a circle!"
For all of us, together, the magic had begun
Prabha Pandey
Theatre Workshop Conductor
Bandra With A Heart
Celebrate Bandra Festival - 2007
(The theatre workshop resulted in an interesting medley of creative interpretations, including songs, dances and enactments, and leading to the performance of a full length short play 'patang' based on the idea that we do not hate because we have a reason but because we are taught to hate. These creations are being performed by the children at various venues during the festival.)
Celebrate Bandra's 'Bandra with a Heart' supports the Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) initiatives
The (WSD) carries out a mass sterilization and immunization programme for stray dogs in Mumbai and has sterilized more than 38,700 strays till date and impacted the lives of more than 90,000 through its on-site first aid, adoption and mass immunization programmes.
WSD has been doing active work in Bandra and has immunized stray dogs in Bandra Reclamation, Carter Road, Mount Mary steps and Mount Mary Church and surrounding area, Bandra Bandstand and promenade, Hill Road and the Rizvi college area in the past six months.
WSD has also been picking up dogs for sterilization every fortnight from various Bandra neighborhoods by liaising with local Bandra citizens and animal lovers. The dogs are taken by the WSD stray dog van to the WSD kennels at Mahalakshmi and sterilized. They remain there for seven days and are put back into their area after they are given a permanent identification mark (ear notch) and rabies vaccination.
As a part of the Celebrate Bandra festival, WSD had organized an on-site mass immunization drive against rabies and covered the following areas on Saturday and Sunday ( 24th and 25th November, 2007) and immunized the strays in various Bandra neighborhoods against rabies. The areas covered were S V Road and Linking Road (upto Khar), Railway Colony , Inside lanes opposite National College, Turner Road, Waterfield Road, Bandra station precinct, Bhoiwada,Bandra Talao area , Shastri Nagar 14 th , 15th ,16th 29th and 30th roads.
Adopt a street dog ! They are a breed apart !
For more details contact:
WSD website: www.wsdindia.org, http://strayingaround.blogspot.com
CAR FREE BANDRA on Sunday, 25th November 2007
Celebrate Bandra supports the Car Free Bandra Initiative. Join us in our resolve to keep our cars at home on 25th November and either walk or use public transport. Let us make a beginning and ease traffic congestion and pollution in the suburb. This will be your effort towards making Bandra a better suburb to live in.
Bandra Re...
(Sung by Dr Dilip Nadkarni, Orthopaedic Surgeon with Lilavati Hospital, to a huge cheering audience on Nov 20th, 2007 at the LandsEnd Amphitheatre)
Mera chain wain sab ujda, Zalim tere sadak pe
Barbaad ho rahi gaadeeeeeeee
Barbaad ho rahi gaadee
Tere khaddon pe chal chal ke
Mera chain wain sab ujda
Zalim tere sadak pe
Barbaad ho rahi gaadee
Tere khaddon pe chal chal ke
Ho teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaagja, Teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaaagja
Bandra re, Bandra re Bandra re
Mere pyaare pyaare Bandra
TDR ke chakkar mein tere
Pyaare pyaare bangle jaatein hain
Chhoti chhoti galiyon mein teri
Khaane ke thikaane aatein hain
(Turner road pe traffic kabhi hilta nahee
Hill road pe parking kabhi milta nahee) 2
Jaagja chhootena chhootena teri beauty...
Ho teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaagja, Teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaaagja
Bandra re, Bandra re Bandra re
Mere pyaare pyaare Bandra
Dariya mein tere log kyon
Plastic ka kachra daaltein hain
Carter road ke promenade par
Kutte aa kar potty kartein hain
(Baarish mein paani kyon bharta hai
Accident mein innocent marta hai) 2
Jaagja chhootena chhootena teri beauty...
Ho teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaagja, Teri ye beauty na chhoote tu jaaagja
Bandra re, Bandra re Bandra re, Mere pyaare pyaare Bandra, Bandra re
Thank you CB 2007
(mail sent by Mr Brendon Pereira, General Manager, Reliance Industries Ltd. - Petroleum Business, attaching a poem he has composed on the festival)
Dear All,
A humble tribute to all of you and the many others behind the scenes, for a truly inspiring, remarkable & extraordinary affair.
Warm Regards & Best Wishes,
Celebrate Bandra
We came, Bandra, to celebrate,
Replete with childish glee,
The music, the dancing, the energy,
Was exhilarating, akin a Christmas tree!
Hail to the Queen,
Was the unspoken cheer?
Albeit we can't keep her clean,
We are, Oh! So proud of her.
A labourer's toil & artist's mastery,
It took to give us, this fabulous story!
Not in money nor in gold,
Can this be measured?
For always will it be, ever so treasured.
Harking back to heritage, the inspired call
Lifting our spirits and this gloomy pall.
The dusty walks, the cacophonic streets,
The crowded lanes and the hurried feet,
All stop to thank in a rhythmic beat,
Those wondrous few for this amazing feat!
A labour of love, nothing less,
Merci! Merci! And a big God Bless!
(Brendon Pereira, November 19, 2007)
The Kiosk of Someone Else's Dreams: A Public Art Project by CAMP for Celebrate Bandra
A computerised interactive kiosk is being placed at the Carter Road promenade. Kiosks are ideal interfaces and access points for public information systems- be it rural e-governance (E-choupal, Bhoomi etc.) or as urban tourist and info-guides. Many such projects are now becoming feasible, and their social effects noticeable. Such networked interfaces in public spaces may offer, "development" beyond the traditional sense.
But unlike most touch screen kiosks; this is a kiosk with a difference-where there are direct connections with the immediate environment, in this case the Carter Road promenade. By using this kiosk you can view elements along the promenade or in the seafront buildings, perhaps even engage in a live video or audio chat with residents, vote on small local issues, order coconut water from the corner thela, trigger certain lighting and so on.
Such "services" are accessible through the kiosk's touch-screen display. This is a way to test in a poetic and experimental way, the possibilities inherent in kiosks that are not explored in their normal ICT4D (Information Communication Technologies for Development) avatars. There is still a lot to understand- to appreciate the full scope of this initiative. And crucially, to decide who can enter into such inter-relations, and who will decide the terms and conditions?
The touch screen will be placed near the security booth (on the Otters Club side) and will record changes along the sea front, park benches, trees along the promenade, vendors, and in the buildings beyond. It is hoped that flat owners will come forth and co-operate in lending support and participating in this process by allowing video recordings by placing a computer in their sea facing rooms that will allow them to turn of/on light, lanterns and decorations in their windows, all through the kiosk located below, well within their view. BWRA, the residents association which looks after the Carter Road Promenade, has cooperated with such initiatives in the past. The organisers' public art projects have received several international honours including UNESCO digital arts award 2005, Golden Nica Interactive Arts at Ars electronica 2007, Samsung design award 2004. CAMP is in collaboration with Khoj international artists association.
Conceptualised by Ashok Sukumaran and Shaina Anand
For further details contact Shaina at kalakamra@gmail.com
Celebrate Bandra supports the Clean Mumbai Campaign of MCGM
Getting away with spitting, throwing garbage on pavements or any other nuisance which spoils the cleanliness of the metropolis will now be a costly offence.
In an effort to give a fillip to the Clean Mumbai Campaign, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai(MCGM) , the city's civic body has recently appointed five private security agencies to look after cleanliness and sanitation in the city with powers to impose fines ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 20,000 on offenders. Clean-up marshalls will be posted in all 24 wards of the city in an arrangement with the MCGM to assist them in this exercise, which kicks off on Nov, 22, 2007.
Celebrate Bandra supports this initiative. To explain the objectives of this campaign Additional Municipal Commissioner P A Rajeev will be visiting the festival venues at the three promenades - Carter Road, Bandstand and Reclamation- on Nov, 30th, 2007 , 7.30pm, to address the gathering.