Looking into the Review Mirror

The much awaited Kukdukoo festival is here! Students of higher primary in our school are always sent on field trips to this festival and have always come back grinning ear to ear, wistful that they wanted to stay on longer. I have never been lucky enough to accompany them on these field trips to Delhi and wasn’t too keen on making the long journey on my own with my young boys.

Lo and behold! When I saw that the festival was coming to Gurugram, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about it and buy tickets.

A wake-up call about the fest-

Touted as India’s biggest children’s festival, Kukdukoo claims to be an amalgamation of art, theatre, and literature- a melting pot for a memorable weekend for adults and children alike.

I went on to Book My Show to know more and was amazed to see the lineup of events spread over two days. Boasting three stages for various age groups shows and performances run daily to educate and entertain. Performances were in several languages and included mimes, musical theatre, magic shows, clown performances, puppetry, and more. There was also a lineup of musical events that ranged from folk music to indo-western jugalbandi. There was also a Scholastic book fair (more excitement for me than the kids 😊) and a food court. I immediately purchased tickets, which were 499/- per child. Adults weren’t required to pay for entry.

Kukdu-koming through the gates-

Since me and my boys were excited about the shows that were starting at 11 a.m., we arrived right on time. My Book My Show payment QR code (sent to my email address) was scanned, and my children were given yellow wristbands according to their age group. 

We were given an extensive pamphlet, which acted as a guide for our activities for the day. We had already preselected what we wanted to do at various time slots throughout the day. However, our plans were thwarted as we realized only a few stalls/stages had opened at 11 a.m. To while away time, we indulged in a bit of face painting, craft activities, and ice cream till the place came to life by around noon.

Blogger’s note- 

• I appreciated that the staff wrote my number on each band in case one of my children got lost during the festival. However, I still recommend putting on tracker/calling watches if you have them, as this place becomes quite a madhouse during peak hours of the day!
• Avoid entering the gates on the dot of time. Soak in the experience by entering an hour or two late (in my opinion!)

Crowing about the festival’s experiences-

Since the shows were running late, our plans to attend specific performances went for a toss as stages were doing the best they could to make up for lost time. However, it added to the day’s fun as we dashed from stage to stage without knowing what was coming up. We plunked ourselves wherever we could on the floor, slithering as close as possible to the stage to enjoy the show. The Kukdukoo volunteers did an excellent job of reminding adults and children to sit during performances.

Much to my delight, I cackled along with my children during the performances and jumped and bounced around during movement breaks. Each performer understood their audience and was patient with inputs from children seated in front, adding them seamlessly and comically to their acts.

I saw like-minded parents equally delighted by feeling like a child again. Acts by Monica Santos and Roy Roberts and his team had my children reminiscing on the fun they had long after the day was over. On the other hand, I also saw drained parents of cranky children struggling to cope with the sensory overload. If your child has sensory issues, come prepared, as the experiences can be overwhelming.

Patience is critical if you want to enjoy the festival as a family, as navigating tantrums and multiple opinions on what to do is tricky territory.

I loved the musical stage as performers used instruments I had never seen. The band members were people I had not heard of, being out of the music scene for a while. I found myself gravitating back again and again to enjoy grooving to melodies that were exquisite and demonstrated the expertise of the band members. My children weren’t as interested, though luckily, there was an entire doodle wall there to keep them busy as parents swayed to the beat. This fest had thought of everything!

There was a plethora of stalls for children to enjoy art and craft, science experiments and more. Even though we spent most of our day at the fest, we barely explored the stalls put up for entertainment and education. If you want to partake of everything the fest has to offer, I suggest taking a two-day pass to ensure you cover everything.

Key takeaways-

In the hustle and bustle of the city, it’s hard to find cultural and modern events all rolled into one. It was fantastic to swap strolling around in a mall for a ground full of exciting activities that elicited laughter and learning. I am a fan of this fest and will return yearly as long as my children don’t disown my inner child who wants to have a blast at this most illustrious children’s festival!

Have you been to this festival? What were your experiences? Do you have any questions? Comment below!

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