A little something for everyone

Different shades

In an interesting coming together of arts and music, ‘Ruins of the Renaissance’ was held recently at the Innovative Film City. 

Spanning over two days, the festival offered a variety of activities — workshops, installations, stage performances and more. A walk into the venue made it visible that a lot of thought had been put into creating an experience for the attendee. 

There was the ‘Laxmi Talkies Film Festival 2013’, where independent films like ‘Do The Math’ and ‘Rainbow’ were screened; pop-up restaurants spotting the huge grounds; galleries displaying minimal movie posters and science toys; open mic sessions and even art installations of various kinds. 
More importantly, there was a lot of music to go around. Day one saw the main stage lined by performances by Baul group Oikyotaan, open-hand dance troupe ‘The Twilight Players’ of Dev D fame and ‘Kuru Circus’ presented as concept performance art. But the highlight of the evening was the headlining act — Manganiyar Seduction, conceptualised by Roysten Abel. The 36 red-curtained cubicles and musical talent that each one contained was overwhelming for those who experienced it, to say the least. 
“I’ve seen a lot of performances in my life but this was the most beautiful and interesting way that visual aspects were incorporated into music. The buildup and the climax were truly spectacular,” shares Jay, a member of the audience.  At the same time, the beach stage, located on an artificial beach in the venue, had its own unique vibe with youngsters grooving to electronica sets by Vipul Angrish, ‘Low Rhyderz’ and ‘Nucleya’. 
Day two saw the same stage being dominated by the likes of DJ Alex, Sam Abraham, ‘Under The Influence’, hip hop band ‘Bombay Bassment’ and the final set by Arjun Vagale. 
The artistes themselves say they had a good time. “It’s very unique and different to other festivals we’ve been involved with. When we heard about it, the ideology appealed to us. It had a good vibe and we noticed that a lot of volunteers were helping for free for the love of art. That really inspired us,” says Gurpal Singh Phgura aka ‘Sinbad’, a member of ‘The Twilight Players’.