Facets of Mumbai’s culture on display at 4-day festival

This week, those with an intellectual bent of mind can enjoy a cultural festival that features public discussions on knowledge infrastructure in the city, an exhibition of architectural photographs and a lecture by one of India’s leading historians.

This week, those with an intellectual bent of mind can enjoy a cultural festival that features public discussions on knowledge infrastructure in the city, an exhibition of architectural photographs and a lecture by one of India’s leading historians.

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The brainchild of cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote and architects Rahul Mehrotra and Kaiwan Mehta, What We Call Winter — a four-day festival that aims to nurture debate on the importance of developing cultural discourse, institutions and patronage in the city — will be held from December 5 to 8.

“Cultural life is integral to an evolving city. Our concern is to extend the debate on how our cultural infrastructure, including architecture and institutions such as museums, galleries and studios, can be developed,” said Hoskote, who says the event is a prototype for a larger festival of ideas to be organised next year.

Funded and supported by six cultural institutions in Mumbai and Delhi, the festival will also discuss the importance of patronage for urban cultural activities, and the need for participants to serve as active patrons.

“It is very important to reach out to younger audiences who are not aware of the intellectual and institutional history of the city,” said Mehta.