The Mumbai Design Trail will culminate with a one-day conference on ‘Empowering through Design’ on February 17. It’s organised by the India Design Forum (IDF), perhaps India’s most prestigious design platform, as a part of the Make in India Week.
During the week-long event, select galleries, outlets, cultural centres and even artist studios will showcase unique exhibitions and ideas on design.
Lola Mac Dougall Padgaonkar, coordinator of the Mumbai Design Trail, explains, “What we propose is a curated selection of what we think are the most interesting design offerings in Mumbai. We want to transmit the idea of a very lively Make in India/Make in Mumbai design scene. And we invite the public of the Design Trail to accompany us to visit their founders, and get to speak to the leaders of the different initiatives.”
The unique experience allows the public to reach venues, which they wouldn’t otherwise be able to. For instance, sP+a architects, Ministry of New, Lekha Washington, The Table Farm, and others will open doors to everyone simply because of their participation in the Design Trail.
In the same vein, this morning will be an exciting way to kickstart the city’s design extravaganza. One sense that we tend to ignore (or even suppress) in Mumbai, is that of smell. A group of young Mumbaikars aged eight to 12 will learn to pay conscious attention to their sense of smell. Monika Ghurde, an independent perfumer and researcher, will lead a one-of-a-kind smell workshop. “The idea is to give them an experience of different smells that they encounter on an everyday basis and train them to start smelling more actively,” says Ghurde. She will also be explaining the structure of a perfume and the different fragrance families and then offering a space where the kids can actively participate in the process of perfume creation. At the end, they will get a chance to mix up a concoction that gives them a sense of having created a unique scent. Goa-based Ghurde’s workshop is just one of the many exciting offerings during the Mumbai Design Trail of experiences.
In addition to Ghurde’s other offering, The Invisible You, a workshop for adults, has been designed by odour artist Sissel Tolaas. She explains the relevance of her efforts to design: “The way a perfume is designed is similar to any design format. You have to have a structure and the right question or agenda, before you start to create it. Just as you would think about what you want, what material you have, who you’re making it for when you’re considering designing a dress or a building, it’s a similar process for a perfume.”
Ghurde, who has trained and worked under an English perfumer, is founder of the MO Lab, which conducts research, workshops and fragrance development projects. She has carried out extensive research on the heady and historic scent of Jasmine. This includes a collaboration with author William Dalrymple to trace the journey of the flower from ancient times, and to understand the profound yet subtle effects of its fragrance on human consciousness. “I don’t know if jasmine follows me or I follow jasmine,” she laughs, explaining how her first ever olfactory memory is redolent of this evocative scent.
She says, “I vividly remember following my grandma into her jasmine garden, sitting on the swing with her as she wove jasmine garlands.” This is the awareness of our surroundings that she wants to impart to Mumbai’s young minds.
