The annual Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is well-known for its avant-garde installations, performances, and debates.

But did you know how did Kala Ghoda get its name?

In the mid-19th century, the Prince of Whales(later King Edward VII) statue was erected in that place. 

The king dressed in military attire was mounted on a black horse.

the statue was in a prominent place hence, it became a landmark and as the horse was black in colour, people started calling it ‘Kala Ghoda’.

Over the years, ‘Kala Ghoda’ became a pin code, a name uttered by rote for a locality 

Therefore the name was given.

Although in 1965, it was felt that having a British ruler in such a prominent location of a newly independent country mocked at India’s nationalistic spirit.

Hence, the original statue was removed and shifted to Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan’ the city’s zoo 

In 2017, the residents and stakeholders of the precinct decided to give a locality of a new mascot

They needed something that would epitomise the precinct and its name and hence, placed the sculpture of a black but riderless horse.

This Kala Ghoda statue is at the far end of the Kala Ghoda parking lot, a few metres away from the site of the original sculpture.

Every year in the fortnight of February, the Kala Ghoda At Festival erupts in the riot of colour, and creativity.

The precinct turns into a pedestrian zone and given its ambience and mood, one can easily forget that you are in one of the world’s most business oriented city.