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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.

Kala Ghoda Festival - From a kid's pespective


For the last three days, I have taken you with me along Rampart Row, enjoying the various art installations on display. While those are my main attractions during the festival, for my son, it is the workshops and the activities that encourage him to join me, year after year. 




I will, therefore leave it to him to tell you his version of KGAF 2013...in his own words... on his own blog. Please click on the link below to read his post...



And please do leave a comment with your thoughts. Nothing encourages children more than genuine conversation based on their observations.



Meanwhile, a few thoughts of my own.... the two workshops we attended were very well conducted. The team from Tinkle were obviously perfectly tuned to the kids, and they had them hanging on to every word! 



Arzan Khambata is known for conducting sculpture workshops for kids, not an easy task, and he too had a great rapport with them, calmly and patiently encouraging them to make the most in the time they had. I especially loved the way he had an encouraging word for every child who came up to him.... as he said right in the beginning –

“There is no right way or wrong way. There is only your way, and that is the right way for you!”

The only problem, if I can call it that, was with the crowd. In recent years, the festival has been attracting so much publicity, and considering that there are few festivals of this calibre, it has been drawing huge crowds. This is bad enough at Rampart Row, with scarcely enough space to enjoy the installations, but with the number of children who turn up for the events, things get really tough. Both these workshops were packed, and the registration concept half an hour before the programme doesn’t really work since there are always too many kids, who turn back disappointed. The Tinkle workshop, for example, was filled, even before the mandatory half an hour. However, the team were helpful, and allowed more kids to attend, handing them a pencil and paper. The same happened with Arzan Khambata too, who hurriedly arranged for more sheets, and then, when even that wasn’t enough, tore up the sheets into halves to give all the kids who had assembled!



This year, the festival was better organised, with more venues added and events being spread out. However, that also meant that we lost out on attending a number of events, since they were all held simultaneously.... but the crowd issue wasn’t resolved.



I am not an expert on such organisational matters, but it would greatly help to have events repeated so we all get a chance to attend more.... and also similar events held at different venues so the crowd actually gets spread out... for instance, all the craft events are held at the museum implies that the kids remain at the museum and do not attend any other event, such as the plays or book readings. Of course, these are simply suggestions, and I am sure there are many of you out there who will have more, and maybe better suggestions. Please do leave your own suggestions as comments, and let’s hope together we can give the Kala Ghoda Association a few they can actually use!

Samhith and another kid hanging up the mobiles they made with Arzan Khambata


Meanwhile, the festival is still on, so please go and attend... even though that means you will be adding to the crowd! And don’t forget to go, read Samhith’s post... and leave a comment too...




Comments

  1. Keep it up Samhith....th we haven't get chance to participate in any event and crowd was also not a problem at that time so don't actually realize the problem which you might have faced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THanks Sejal.. the crowd issue is only on weekends.. that too later in the evenings. unfortunately, thats the time almost everyone is free and wants to visit, but that makes things difficult for everyone!

      Delete
  2. Great Effort ,, Keep Going....

    Thanks
    Real Estate Developer

    ReplyDelete

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