A lively spread

Ripples of laughter and light-hearted chatter eased the stuffiness of the evening summer air that quietly crept its way up the neck. As the night sky turned deep in hue, the crowd at ‘Kitsch Mandi’ also grew by numbers and a friendly feel spread across Pebble. 

It was a weekend of celebration – a celebration of the artistic spirit that reigns silently in the City. Skills and talents that go unnoticed by most were displayed colourfully at the flea market, a regular and much-awaited event in the calendar. Everything from recycled and upcycled products to junk jewellery, hippie clothes, handwoven threads and weaves and organic products were available at the event.
 ‘Kitsch Mandi’ is a platform for budding entrepreneurs, creative minds and enthusiastic artists who are looking to get an early start. Nivedha Charles, owner of ‘Pigtails and Ponys’, says she started off her business at ‘Kitsch Mandi’. Now, she can be found on popular e-commerce sites and has established her website and sales. Selling handcrafted hair accessories, she said, “I like ‘Kitsch Mandi’ because it’s a very cool concept and I like being a part of that. It’s also a fantastic place to network.”

The event provides an opportunity to budding entrepreneurs to meet new people. Padmini Prabhu, founder of ‘Up-Psycled’, a start-up that sells upcycled and recycled products, said, “This is my first time showcasing at ‘Kitsch Mandi’. I think it’s a good place for upcoming entrepreneurs to network and meet new people.”  There were some innovative products like Tharun Dharam’s gourmet candy floss. The owner of ‘Fluffy Tubs’ said, “I make candy floss with organic sugars and natural colours.” ‘Desi Hangover’, ‘Fusion, ‘Gedi Route’ and other stalls had a variety of accessories and apparels on display. 

To accompany the festive mood, there was music of different genres throughout the night. From Shantanu Pandit’s quite, organic folk music to Prateek Kuhad’s toned down, pop rock and folk to Nicholson & Fuzzy Logic, a high energy singer-songwriter, who married the elements of folk, jazz and electronica, they had it all. To end the night, Bengaluru-based beatmaker Blent was on the menu.   There was also a workshop on the art of looping by multi-instrumental musician and singer Frase from Canada. Other workshops included storytelling, pottery, upcycling and live graffiti. 

Talking about his experience at the market, Adi said, “‘Kitsch Mandi’ reminds me of the Saturday markets in Goa – I like how colourful it is. It is a place where people can put out their art and like-minded people can come together and hangout.” Ahindra added that it is a place where artists have the freedom to showcase their work.