Attend ‘India Goes 3D’ At The Indo-German Urban Mela

A pavilion at the mela.

When we visited the Indo-German Urban Mela around 7.30pm this past Saturday, we found that the beer garden had run out of all the non-vegetarian German specialities promised on the menu; that only Kingfisher was available on tap; and that the food, catered by Vivanta by Taj, was over-priced and not very good (over-salted French fries and rock-hard pretzels were among the items we abandoned). On the bright side, the Cologne-based Schal Sick Brass Band’s performance was, as advertised, a jaunty mix of sounds from around the world. Our advice: go for the gigs, but on a full stomach. Here are our picks of what might be worth checking out during the remainder of the Mela, which will close this Sunday, April 22 with two events at the Open Air Stage: a concert of well-known German songs by the popular Mumbai-based choral group the Stop Gaps Choir (at 7.30pm) and a b-boying competition featuring Mumbai-based crews Rock Fresh, Slumgods and Tiny Drops as well as graffiti artists and DJs from Germany, India and Japan (at 8.30pm). See here for the rest of the schedule.

PUPPET THEATRE AND WORKSHOP
On 10.30am on Wednesday, April 18, parents can sit their kids down for a two-hour performance and workshop by Satyajit Padhye, the son and protégé of India’s most famous puppeteer and ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye (the man behind the bunny in the famous 1980s TV commercial for Lijjat papad). Satyajit Padhye, who is a chartered accountant by day, will also show participants how to make their own puppets. The event, which will be held at the Culture Pavilion, is for children between the ages of 9 to 15. See a clip on Padhye here.

MUSIC PANEL DISCUSSION
At 7pm at the Culture Pavilion on Thursday, April 19 , jounalist and author of Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay’s Jazz Age Naresh Fernandes will moderate a discussion on “City Music” featuring Ralph Christoph and Vijay Nair, the respective organisers of Cologne’s c/o pop and Pune’s NH7 Weekender music festivals.

INDIA GOES 3D
Put together by folks from the Berlin Music Commission, Cologne music festival c/o pop and Delhi-based audio-visual collective BLOT, this electronica-centric sub-festival will include a panel discussion that will cover subjects such as “festival culture” and networking in the EDM scenes of both India and Germany, that will be conducted from 11am to 5pm at the Culture Pavilion on Friday, April 20. Also on Friday, from 8pm at the Open Air Stage, Berlin-based DJ and producer Daniel Haaksman will soundtrack a “silent disco” concert, where the music will be streamed not through the speakers but directly to the audience’s headphones. At the same time and the same place on Saturday, April 21, Hamburg-based singer-producer Ada will provide the music for another silent disco concert.

Indo-German Urban Mela

LocationCross Maidan Garden
Karamvir Bhaurao Patil Road
Near Churchgate Station
Marine Lines

Relevant DatesUntil Sunday, April 22

HoursFree

Websitewww.germany-and-india.com