Retrieved via the Wayback Machine. Originally posted by Yazad Jal

As a child, I often wondered where or what was the “Kala Ghoda”? Was it a prancing horse like that on a Ferrari? Or a wild animal escaping from a Husain canvas? Or a black beauty imported from England?

Alas, reality was a let down. During a visit to the zoo, my history teacher pointed out an old, ordinary looking statue of Prince Edward astride a horse. She said that it once stood imperiously over the Fort area and people called it the Kala Ghoda. After independence, we removed all statues that reminded us of British rule and dumped them in secluded corners of zoos.

But the statue doesn’t really matter. It’s the idea of Kala Ghoda that still hovers around a small corner in Fort, not just during these nine days every February, but throughout. The idea of a confluence of activities in an urban space. A place for art, business, education, shopping, a place to just hang out and admire the architecture. Apart from writing about the events and the atmosphere during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, I also hope to capture a bit of that idea of Kala Ghoda.