Bandra Festival begins

MUMBAI: The queen of the suburbs is ready to welcome the denizens of the city to a week of revelry, from music, dance and theatre to visual art, food and craft, the Times Bandra Festival has something for everyone. This cultural potpourri, that is open to the public, will complement another mega sale, the Times Utsav, with its offerings of appliances and furniture.From audio/video, digital and FMCG lifestyle goods to interior and hand decor stalls, consumers can hope to get a good bargain in the festive season.
Over the years, the festival has grown from strength to strength and this year's line-up presents an interesting mix of performances. Ashish Balram Nagpal is organising the art shows and Nadira and Juhi Babbar of the Ekjute Theatre Group are putting up plays, poetry-reading sessions and workshops for adults and children. India's rich range of handicrafts will be showcased, from carpets, glass idols, wooden toys, candles, baskets and wall hangings to gift articles and paintings. Children will be kept out of mischief with fun activities such as origami, painting and wood modelling.
For those who love music, there will be a different performance at 8.00 pm every evening. From sufi by Kailash Kher to qawaali by Munnawar Masoom to fusion santoor by Rahul Sharma, ghazals by Talat Aziz, rock by Pentagram and renditions by Suresh Wadkar, Abhijeet and Shreya Ghoshal, this is a line-up that any music aficionado will find hard to miss. Ghazal maestro Talat Aziz says he will play some of his crowd pullers including ���Zindagi jabhi teri bazm��� from ���Umrao Jaan���, ���Phir chidi raat baat phoolon ki��� from ���Bazaar���, ���Aaina mujhse meri pehle thi surat mange��� from ���Daddy��� and ���Kaise sukoon paaun��� during his two-hour show. "I will also dedicate a few songs to ghazal masters Ahmed Farraz, Momin, Ghalib and few others,'' he says. "A festival of this kind is remarkable in this age of cricket and Bollywood. It's very gratifying,'' Aziz concludes.