Steps of Mount Mary’s Church to bustle with art, music and dance in festival

Formally known as the St. Stephen’s Steps, the space was used as a garbage dump till 2017, when it was repurposed into an amphitheatre.

Come December 16, the steps leading up to Mount Mary’s church in Bandra, will come alive with art works, music performances and stand-ups acts for the fifth year in a row. Though the festival schedule has not been finalised yet owing to delays in getting permissions, the organisers promise a fun-filled evening every Saturday from 5pm to 8pm till February 3. Some events are also scheduled on December 22, a Friday.

Steps of Mount Mary’s Church to bustle with art, music and dance in festival

Formally known as the St. Stephen’s Steps, the space was used as a garbage dump till 2017, when it was repurposed into an amphitheatre amidst wide steps and a crisscrossing ramp. Efforts to transform the area into a community space began two years later, in 2019, on an informal basis.

“The space had a lot of bad memories associated with it. We wanted to dispel those. So, we invited some of our artist friends to come and perform. People loved it,” said Anca Abraham, the organiser of the festival. Anca organises the festival with the team: Dhanashree Diwane, Zahabia Abid, Shruti DSouza. The lineup of the festival as well as the crowds it attracted grew in subsequent years. Hundreds of artists across ages, genres and forms, including rookies and veterans, participated without charging a fee. Participants too did not have to buy any tickets, justifying the tagline: “For the community, by the community.” In due course, the Steps Cultural Foundation was also set up for people inclined to help monetarily.

“There’s something special about the space, where CEOs intermingle with those from the bastis. It is very accessible to everyone, and people from various sections converge here to take part in cultural activities, workshops, performances, and so much more,” said Abraham.

Past editions of the festival featured art installations, workshops, art activities, live music, and various kinds of dance including Odissi, Kathak and ballroom dancing. This year, former bicycle mayor of Mumbai Firoza Suresh will be taking a workshop on the first day. Students of the Deepmalika Kathak Dance Institute, regulars at the festival, are slated to perform later in the festival.

“The vibe of the festival is just so wonderful, and the crowd is appreciative of our dance, even though it is classical. It’s wonderful to see Anca and the team go to such lengths to make it happen, as they’ve had trouble getting permissions,” said Avantika Gupta, the institute’s managing director.

Meghna Girohtra, who runs the Mumbai Instagrammers community and is slated to host a photography workshop this year, said people in other parts of Mumbai must take a cue from what what the Steps festival has achieved as a completely non-commercial space. “I too would like to replicate it in the suburbs, where I live,” she stated.

Since the commencement of the festival in 2019, the Steps resemble an oasis in the otherwise bustling city even when no events are scheduled. People are found gathered in groups, shaded by tall trees along the 12-meter-wide path way, chatting, taking a breather and listening to music.

“Residents come to walk their dogs; others come to exercise. Kids from the basti come and play football and badminton. We keep receiving videos of such activities all the time,” said a beaming Abraham.

“We sit here with friends every morning at around 7.30am. We return here after work, to relax a for a bit. It’s a nice place,” said Sharda Gurav, a domestic worker who lives in the vicinity. “People come here to shoot videos, to dance or to teach dance. It’s always vibrant during the weekends,” she stated.