Currently, the Kalaghoda fair is on in Mumbai. Last Sunday, we decided to drive out from Malad to Kalaghoda. This is a really long drive and I was driving such a distance for the first time. i really cannot drive on the other days with the traffic, especially in a Toyota Innova. We got there in an hour - not a bad first time driving.
It was a perfect day - we reached there around 2.30 pm - parked the car at Fort, opposite the HSBC bank and walked to Kalaghoda - brought back old memories - the Bombay House on our left, the pavement sellers of books, imported digital equipment, the Khyber restaurant, Rhythm house...
The carpark at Kalaghoda was gaily decorated - lots of children there in a Surf Excel sponsored painting and claymaking - my children are older and hence were not too interested. But interesting displays including some papier mache Kalaghoda, a wired horse, some environmentally friendly cars all set the tone. We merrily clicked away.
We went into the main street, which had been shut for traffic and had become a walking street. Stalls on either side were selling handicrafts, books, and a number of stalls put up by the NGOs. I must admit that the pricing was atrocious. We bought a mat for our devghar (the altar at home). There were lots of foreigners there - this is like a typical street festival that you see in other parts of the world.
We had some icecream at Gelatos, ate some chaat - while we wandered around. There was a stage and at 5.30 pm there was a spirited Tibetian performance. Several performances till 10 pm was in the schedule, though sadly, we did not choose to stay beyond 6.30 pm.
We went into Rhythm House as we were leaving and picked up a few CDs. It was a wonderful experience.
The drive back was somewhat eventful - we did not realise that there was some rioting going on in Shivaji park and the traffic was diverted - there were a few tense moments, but we got back home alright.
Overall a great day out for the family !!!
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