The life of our city is rooted in artistic and bohemian activity. Leonard Cohen found his way to Hotel Kemps Corner decades ago just like he and other celebrated musicians, poets and philosophers found their way to New York’s Chelsea Hotel. To keep this pulsating tradition alive, Cyrus Dastur, Rohini Gupta and Manju Mohinani have pulled together the Shamiana Festival year after year.

The ten-day gala begins on the 11th of January with actress Nandana Sen’s poetry reading and ranges from film screenings and workshops on writing, to kite flying and salsa lessons. Music aficionados needn’t despair; ‘impromptu rap’ provides some mainstream respite while those looking for a taste of the truly eclectic can experience Tom Alter reading poetry to syncopating jazz flute music. They even have a stand-up act by Anuvab Pal to tickle your funny bone.

In concordance is the slightly more abstruse mystic Yantra fair which dabbles between yogic ashrams and art of living. If you ever watched the Matrix movies and wondered how the little boy bent the spoon, you should attend the spoon bending session on the 14th of this month. While many of these events are free some workshops and screenings require a little pocket change. It’s important that we show our city’s cultural heritage some support so take a stroll around Mumbai’s bylanes and who knows what you will discover...

For more information log on to: http://shamianafestival.googlepages.com