A flow of energy

Fluid is a quirky collective of people is gearing up for the third edition of their festival which is all about unconventional art forms

Juggler and flair bartender Ami Shroff

Novel ideas, interesting communities, innovative start-ups…Bengaluru has them all. Fluid is one such quirky endeavour led by people who bond over adventure, thrill and basically anything offbeat. The core team of Sunand Sampath, Salman Shareff, Shalini Bai, Chethan Karanth, Taushik Mandal are a curious mix of photographers, mountaineers, martial arts and poi practitioners trying to create a platform for unusual art forms. Fire poi, acro-yoga, devil’s sticks, slack-lining…anyone?

“In Bangalore there are different kind of offbeat art communities but they are all scattered. The idea is to unite them and also create awareness,” says Sunand, who co-founded Fluid with Sweekar Pinto, Chetan Karanth and Kutts. He is a software engineer-turned-life coach and organises expeditions to Mt.Everest Base Camp.

Now, to spread the word about these unconventional practices, the collective organises their annual one day festival. This year it will take place on May 1 at Ganga Farms near Clark's Exotica off International Airport Road away from the frenzy of the city.

The event will have experts not only showcase their skills in juggling, hoola-hoop, shibori, paper quilling but also imparting basics for those interested through workshops on the same day. One of the biggest names on their roaster is Ami Shroff, an ace flair bartender and juggler. She was there in the last two editions of the festival as well so was Gali Durgappa from Hampi, who plays djembe, dholak and wind instruments. “He has a small store in Hampi of music instruments which he makes himself. So, it is not that we are restricting ourselves to any particular form. We know only as much. People are welcome to approach us if they want to be part of it,” says Taushik, who is a photographer.

But do these niche art forms have enough takers? “Gunjan Saraf who will demonstrate juggling runs juggling and hoola hoop classes in Indiranagar. Juggling has immense potential and can be extremely beneficial for people. It can activate different parts of your brain. In Mumbai, there is a huge community of capoiera and in fact, most of the core members practice it. It is quite holistic and music is an integral part of it,” says Taushik.

While capoeira, juggling and fire poi have featured in their past two editions, this time there are new additions of shibori, paper quilling and acro-yoga as well. “A Srishti pass-out will demonstrate shibori and she will also set up a stall,” Taushik adds.

Since they want to reach out to as many people, the entry is free but deliberately kept the venue far. “Only those who are genuinely interested will make the effort to come that far. Also, it is children friendly, pet-friendly place and completely eco-friendly event. Though we will have water and food there at very reasonable rates but we encourage people to get their water bottles,” says Sunand.