This Sunday morning, the OneMatunga festival is set to bring colour and life to the locality in downtown Mumbai. In its fourth edition, the festival that is free for all will be held on the entire stretch of B.R. Ambedkar Road from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. being peak time).
Simple pleasures
The idea for the fest came about when Achal Sarawal and a group of 14 residents decided to bring some community spirit to their locality and get children to play outdoors. Mr. Sarawal said, “We saw that a lot of children were now wearing glasses, spending all their time staring at screens. When we were children, we used to play games like lagori and kho kho. We wanted to bring that simple pleasure back.”
What began as an initiative to get people out on their neighbourhood streets has now grown in size. There will be not only traditional games like lagori and kho kho, but also a health and fitness zone with yoga, boxing, and judo; adventure sports like rapelling, net crawling and zip line; indoor games like chess, carrom and mini golf; arts and crafts; music including live acts, hip hop and fusion; and a kids’ corner with jumping castles, tattooing, trampolines and jungle gyms.
This year, the organisers have also organising educational events on civic and environmental issues. Children will be taught how to separate waste, why they shouldn’t throw batteries directly into the dustbin and how to be more eco-friendly in the materials they use.
Something for everyone
Senior citizens will also find plenty to do. There are games and activities planned for them at the Senior Citizen Corner, and local doctors have also volunteered to put up a stall where senior citizens can avail of free medical tests such as E.C.G, blood pressure; dental, eye, and lung check-ups, and information on osteoporosis and physiotherapy.
Social causes will find representation in stalls by Isha Foundation and Chinmaya Mission. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corportion, the police and the traffic police will also put up stalls. The police will teach senior citizens how to remain safe in their homes and take necessary safety precautions.
Mr. Sarawal says, “Mumbai has a dearth of public space and people do not spend time in the open space of their localities. This festival is an attempt to remedy this.” Mr. Sarawal says, “The volunteers have been working round the clock for the festival. Nobody will care as much about a place as somebody who has a connection with it.”
