Those who have been to the narrow, congested Sai Baba Mandir Marg in Khirkee Extension would know how unimaginable it is for first-time visitors to believe that the unassuming lane is a hub of creativity. Its walls always plastered with posters sharing the announcement of a new facility or home-delivery food options have never been a sight of delight. But all this has changed with the inaugural Khirkee Festival that has transformed the dusty lane into a newly-wed bride whose appearance has been brightened by colourful confetti and fairy lights. Adding cheer to this joyous mood are bright and engaging mural paintings that reflect the synergies of the inhabitants of this part of the city which is also a melting pot of culture.
It is this varied culture of diverse ethnicities that is being celebrated in and around this neighbourhood, with Khoj Studios emerging as the locus of all major activities. The beginning of the never-ending fun begins right at the entrance where a photo booth is created for visitors to get themselves clicked. Once inside, the title of the exhibition, World Next Door, announces what the ongoing festival, organised by Khoj International Artists’ Association, aims to achieve with its multi-disciplinary approach.
Different stories unfold inside the space with its independent studios converting themselves into exhibiting spaces, storytelling zones and active newsroom places with a common theme running through all of them. They focus on the stories and concerns of its migrant natives who predominately hail from several African countries, Afghanistan and Indian states. While photographer Vinit Gupta’s lens looks at several migrants and their stories through the monochromatic lens, artist Rajyashri Goody tries to understand the politics of culture through the prism of food.
A mural on the police booth wall at the event
Pune-based Rajyashri works, along with two other artists in-residence, Tito Aderemi-Ibitola (Nigeria), Aziz Hazara (Afghanistan) are in response to the neighbourhood of Khirkee. She has created a wooden installation inspired by the game ‘Web of Life’ that describes the specific relationship between organisms and discover how their ways are connected to their ecosystem. In her circular installation, she has replaced the organisms with around 35 ingredients that are used in Indian, Afghani and Ivory Coast cuisines. The names of these ingredients are written along the edge of the circle and each one of them has a small bamboo stick placed before it. Visitors can use the string in the installation to create a recipe of their own using these ingredients.
“As all good conversations start with food, I wanted to look how people can create multiple recipes using this wheel. I am also trying to find out what role food plays within a space,” says Rajyashri.
Her second work is displayed inside one of the studios where the recipes of different dishes are placed in frames. However, the 27-year-old quickly adds that not all of them are recipes. “They are stories about a particular food item. I heard these stories while I was interacting with the locals here.”
Pointing at the ‘Potato Chips’ recipe, she adds, There is no recipe here, just a narration of the significance of these chips in a person’s life”. The story goes like this, “Wake up early, Fry potato chips again. Your children’s favourite and also the cheapest. Pack them chips and perhaps biscuits for lunch…”.
“Food, for me, is an interesting tool to observe lives. And, it also helps me understand how the word ‘tasty’ would hold a different meaning for different people. In this case, I am using food as an instrument to document lives of people here.”
Afghani painter Murad Ali
But for Vinit, intimate portraits of people document stories of the migrants and how they have found their second home here. He started befriending the locals a few months ago and was able to get a peek into their lives that they have left behind. One of them is of Afghani painter Murad Ali who told him how once actor Raj Kapoor was so impressed with his mother’s cooking, who was then a cook in the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, that he invited her to India. But it was only two years ago that he, along with his mother, made the Capital their home. “What is interesting about Murad is that even though he is differently-abled, he has never let that come his way. He is one of the main organisers of the community here and helps them get together.”
The four-day festival which will conclude Sunday is dotted with many such narratives that play out in the form of theatre, food and craft bazaar, film screenings and musical performances. An amalgamation of cultural potpourri is represented through these activities.
“This festival is a celebration of the diversity of Khirkee and also of arts. And since as we are pursuing the change through this medium, we included different forms of arts to encourage and invite people to be part of the celebration,” says Radha Mahendru, curator and programs manager, KHOJ.
The festival will end and the confetti will fade, but the murals have brightened up this alley for years to come.
