“Crossing The Threshold” is the festival theme this year and the organisers promise that there would be plenty that’s new, including an additional venue at the Cross Maidan. And adding a grand touch to the festivities will be the launch of a book on the history of the street arts festival written by Abha Narain Lamba. So we have Alien Chutney, Prateek Kuhad and Karsh Kale who are otherwise music festival favourites. Also, thanks to the government’s Make In India campaign, there will be a special focus on homegrown content. Cartoon Network has also allowed us to use their mascots so there will be a Mr Bean, Johnny Bravo and so on. This is the largest street festival in the city, and it brings together artistes from every field.. Omar Qureshi, cinema curator: This time around, the focus in the cinema section is to provide diverse content. This year we are upping the ante with a staggering 600 events on the schedule much more than last year and there is something for everyone. And what makes KGAF special is not only that it is arguably one of the biggest festivals of its kind in Asia, it is also an event that caters to all segments of art. If you are a tea lover, you need to be at the event! Tea taster Sanjay Kapur will launch the signature Kala Ghoda blend: An assemblage of floral Darljeeling tea and a select strong Assam tea. Nicole Mody, food curator When we started out, we were worried about people’s reception to the food section, but slowly it has become a favourite with KGAF visitors. Then we have Nir Koren with the electric sitar, Natalie Di Luccio — a Candian singer who has worked with Amit Trivedi and A R Rahman. We have also asked the more than 150 authors who will be participating, to donate two signed copies each of their books apart from the usual call for book donations, and these will be donated to the David Sassoon and other libraries in the city at the end of the festival. The highlight this year will be the food and crafts expo too is expected to CUBE LARGE VACUUM COMPRESSION BAG be a major draw.Juhi Babbar, theatre curator Ever year we try to outdo ourselves, but I believe what we have in store will prove to be the most interesting. And the highlight this year will be the food and crafts expo. There is a sense of community that is built during the days of the fest — I am looking to experience more of that. Brinda Miller, festival director:The KGAF is a street festival like no other. So this year we’ve partnered with Cartoon Network and consulates of several countries including the US, Canada and Italy to play children's content from across the world. A new aspect we are adding this year is dividing the venues and schedule according to genres. The masterminds have planned 600 events across 12 categories spread over a dozen venues. Arpana Gvalani, music curatorWe will kickstart the festival with the Symphony Orchestra of India, with children from the group presenting a concert. Personally, I am looking forward to Sancha: The Tea Diaries event on February 12. I am excited about Piyush Mishra’s Jab Shehar Hamara Sota Hai, which is inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Clinton Cerejo is another artiste to look forward to; I think his Coke Studio session was one of the most talked about, and it will be an experience to watch him live. We have critically acclaimed, experimental, musicals, commercial and even amateur theatre. Pankil Shah, Farhad Bomanjee and Yohaan Datoobhai will talk about the organic food movement — there is so much food jargon we come across that we do not understand the meaning of. I want to understand what their response is going to be like once they look at the performance list. Then we have Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan at the Cross Maidan. We have introduced a lot of local theatre this year. More than anything, I am excited about the audience’s reaction.jpg The heritage precinct’s annual arts and culture festival is back, which means it’s celebration time for Mumbaikars!As the city prepares to kick start its culture calendar with the 17th edition of the iconic Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, the organisers are hoping to cross the staggering 1. This year, we have talks, book launches and workshops from celebrity chefs.

To connect with more people, we are also introducing the concept of Tweetchat, which allows people to interact directly with our panellists through Twitter. This year is also special because we will be launching a book on the journey and history of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, which is written by Abha Narain Lamba.5 lakh footfalls that the event had got last year. We are also partnering with the Make In India Campaign for the first time with the aim of improving quality. This year, we have made sure that there is a good mix of every genre. In fact, this time we have a host of celeb chefs: Ranveer Brar will present a few recipes, there’s a food walk with chef Vicky Ratnani, Sanjeev Kapoor will share select recipes.. There’s something for everyone. Then there is a play in Hindi based on the Comedy of Errors. Some of the most interesting additions include our own book installation, the “bookstallation”, that will be put up at David Sasson Library and also a heritage tour of the library itself. We are hoping to educate people with this talk. Another new aspect this year will be the addition of the Cross Maidan as a venue which adds a lot of space. We are kickstarting the plays with Tee, a Marathi play that is rarely explored on stage. The children’s section and the stand-up comedy section, owing to their growing popularity, have been drastically expanded this year. We have themes for each day of the festival, ranging from horror to dark films, and we’ll be ending with love and romance as the last day of KGAF will coincide with Valentine’s Day. There will be 95 art installations in all, 119 stalls, 48 workshops and panel discussions on topics that range from food to literature to avant garde art to Johnny Bravo. We have gone beyond the seasoned stars, and Bollywood faces to accommodate new talent.. Some of the interesting panel discussions include the one by artist/illustrator and writer Molly Crabapple and Malay rapper/poet Omar Musa.The heritage precinct’s annual arts and culture festival is back, which means it’s celebration time for Mumbaikars! STALLS4. This is my first time curating for the festival and I felt that we need to focus a lot more children’s content as that is what India sorely lacks.Finding one’s way through a maze of so many events may be a mind-boggling task for many. So we got curators of specific sections to provide a roadmap.This year we have made a conscious effort to make it a ‘mixed bag’ and also, to include talent that isn’t mainstream. I remember when we held a session by Pooja Dhingra in the first year, we had to send about 75 people away because it was a full house. We have ramped up the mainstream content that we have and there is also a lot of focus on shorts and especially the children’s section. Asad Lalljee, literature curator: Apart from the usual workshops and panel discussions, we are conducting three-hour long masterclasses with some of the most well-known names in literature across the world. We have drastically expanded two of our sections — the children’s section and stand up comedy.

Moscow recently held an anti-terrorism military exercise with Pakistan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi bent himself to woo President Vladimir Putin.Deliverance for India came in the shape of Russia.. This was an insouciant attempt to defend its strong relationship with Pakistan and paper over Islamabad’s use of militant proxies. Their cool bilateral vibes could impact Brics’ economic agenda. Moscow signed defence deals worth thousands of crores of rupees with India.Beijing also reiterated that Pakistan was its “all-weather friend”. It’s evident that its stakes in Pakistan have increased phenomenally with the pledging of $46 billion for infrastructure development that would culminate in the building of Gwadar port in trouble-hit Baluchistan, which is likely to become a Chinese naval base.On Monday, the day after the conclusion of the summit, the Chinese foreign ministry noted that Beijing was not in favour of blaming a country or a religion for terrorism.India’s effort was to emphasise that terrorism emanating from Pakistan is an international and regional scourge that bedevils peace, stability and development prospects. In Goa, they spoke out strongly against terror attacks against India.Of the eight Saarc countries, all except three Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives are in Bimstec on account of their geography.

The Brics communiqué devoted several paragraphs to condemning terrorism. These include the supply of five S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft systems, a joint venture for manufacturing 200 Kamov light helicopters, and four guide missile stealth frigates, and agreements in space, security, railways, energy, and smart cities. It remains to be seen, though, how India’s recently stamped strategic convergence with the United States plays with Moscow, though the two can do much together, including in Afghanistan and Central Asia despite Russia’s proximity to China.The recent Brics summit hosted by India in Goa, and along with it the outreach to the seven Bimstec Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation nations that were r The recent Brics summit hosted by India in Goa, and along with it the outreach to the seven Bimstec Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation nations that were represented at the summit level except Thailand was sought to be designed by India to suit its current foreign policy imperatives.Given this context, India may expect little by way of solicitude from China on matters like NSG membership. It named outfits such as ISIS and Al Qaeda, but not the Pakistan-based groups that wreak havoc inside India, though there was a reference to terrorist organisations named by the UN, of which Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Mohammed is one. In fact, the Goa summit may be seen as China’s attempt to scuttle India’s anti-terrorist agenda and diplomatically give it a shove in a conference of countries that only weeks ago rejected Islamabad’s invitation to attend the Saarc summit. The results can said to have been mixed at best. Of course, they also court China on account of Chinese military and China Hanging vacuum storage bag economic heft.