Altered reality

Magic realism is the focus of this one-of-a-kind cultural festival, featuring films, theatre and art from the genre.

It’s as fascinating as it is abstract, an altered world or a “Marvelous reality”. To borrow another good description of magic realism from history, it is “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something ‘too strange to believe’”.

Magic realism, in all its various forms, is the focus of a unique festival called Marvelous Reality. The festival strings together works of art, film, theatre and literature all of next week across cultural centres in Delhi.

Conceptualised by curator/writer Sunil Mehra, the festival invites dancers, choreographers, writers, filmmakers, painters, designers and art theorists to meet and generate thinking and debate on the way in which an idea can manifest and express itself in various media.

Are there significant linkages and similarities in the conceptual process across media? Mehra explains that “This is a theme which is new in India. Each element of the festival will suck you into a world of magical realism. There is a beautiful play by Neelam Mansingh, The Suit, based on the theme. We also decided to have a food festival, for doesn’t food also have magical properties? It is a celebration of the senses, too, and so we got Ritu Dalmia to cater food from her restaurant Diva for one of the events. It is a festival where you smell, drink, touch, feel, and let it all sink in.” With its wide variety of offerings, this festival is the culmination of the efforts of Abhyas Trust, Gallery Espace and other partners.

In the coming days, a literary festival, art show and film screenings, featuring talent from Spain, Columbia, Italy and India, will explore this theme: is magic realism irrelevant? What happens when the real and the magical collide?

Curated by film critic Aruna Vasudev, the film section of Marvelous Reality will see screenings of recent interesting films such as Love in the Time of Cholera, Pan’s Labyrinth and Spider’s Stratagem. “Magic realism really comes from Latin America,” she says. “Judging from how the concept has grown across the world, we have on show a package of films from Italy, Spain and America.”

Indians have shied away from this genre, she says, apart from retellings of folk tales like that of Paheli, recently adapted by Amol Palekar into a film of the same name. “Since we have seen so little of magic realism in the country, we all liked the idea of opening it up to debate here,” she says.

Marvelous Reality is on till December 19 in Delhi.

For details, visit marvelousreality.com