Serendipity Guide: What to expect at the 10-day art, music and theatre celebration

Goa, meanwhile, will be celebrated through the exhibition, ‘Not a Shore, Neither a Ship, But the Sea Itself’. Curated by Sahil Naik, the research-based show at The Old GMC Complex will trace the cosmopolitan and layered identities of Goa through works of artists from the state, and the Goan diaspora who have engaged with its oceanic histories spanning centuries.

Having spent three months at Royal College of Art’s London campuses as part of a residency programme between Serendipity and RCA, artist Aditya Pande’s multi-layered works explore new directions, blending digital and traditional techniques. ‘Infinite Drape’, curated by Rashmi Varma, explores the infinite possibilities of sari-draping in India as a visual and tactile language passed down through generations of wearers.

In yet another exhibition ‘Therefore I Am’, curator Salil Chaturvedi will explore how disability shapes identity and self-expression through painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance and digital media.

Curated by Sandeep Sangaru, the exhibition ‘Hands, Tools, and the Living Thread: From Kashmiri Craft Atelier’ explores the everyday environments of Kashmiri artisans, focusing on the spaces where traditional crafts are practiced and sustained.

And one won’t really need to step into an exhibition space necessarily, though, in order to view art — dotted across Panjim’s heritage streets and waterways will be Diptej Vernekar’s large scale installations that reimagine Goa’s living traditions of effigy-making. Near the shores of the Miramar beach, meanwhile, will be architect Vinu Daniel’s installation Terra-grove, reimagining how public spaces can be inviting and sustainable.

Different Lens

At a time when the notion of home and belonging has become fragile and the realities of displacement have deepened, the exhibition “Displacements: A Migrant Art” curated by Rahaab Allana, will see an aesthetic exploration of the phenomenon through participating artists from the Gulf and beyond as they ponder the internal and external shifts they encounter in their lives.

Occupying the Old GMC Complex will be documentary photographer and co-founder of Nazar Foundation Prashant Panjiar’s more inward-looking project that will spotlight various occupational communities from Goa. Another project co-curated by him will feature archival material from the family of artist Divya Cowasji. Titled ‘Remember Me’, the documentation also re-imagines her family history through material objects and family lore passed through generations.

Curated by Ranjit Hoskote, the exhibition titled ‘Otherland’ will bring together the practices of four Indian photographers across different generations — Naveen Kishore (born 1953), Ram Rahman (born 1955), Samar Jodha (born 1966) and Ritesh Uttamchandani (born 1981). The common thread between their practices? It is how they have documented crises, predicaments, currents of unrest and occasions of turbulence in societies.

‘Hands, Tools, and the Living Thread_ From Kashmiri Craft Ateliers’, curated by Sandeep Sangaru for Serendipity Arts Festival 2025.

Sound Check

While the popular River Raga, which features classical performances on a sunset cruise, returns in this edition, The Arena at Nagalli Hills will also host several performances. A day after maestro Zakir Hussain’s first death anniversary, musicians whose own journeys have been shaped by the legend will come together in a line-up curated by Zubin Balaporia and Ranjit Barot on December 16.

Honouring the timeless essence of classical traditions, ‘Fading Traditions, Emerging Sounds’, curated by Bickram Ghosh will see an evening dedicated to stringed instruments, featuring the likes of Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Murad Ali and Ashwini Shankar on December 14.

Curated by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan, “1871 in 2025 – Parsi Gayan Uttejak Mandali” on December 18 will reconstruct the first jalsa or concert held by the Parsi Gayan Uttejak Mandali in April 1871. Established in October 1870 in Mumbai, the mandali was one of the earliest formal music clubs established in the city for the study and performance of Hindustani music.

With several projects rooted in Goa, the musical line-up will also reflect this endeavour. The opening night on December 12 will see ‘Clay Play’. Curated again by Pradhan and Mudgal, the two-hour performance will be a celebration of percussion instruments made from clay, each with distinct playing techniques, including Goan folk percussion such as the samel, ghum, dhol, tasha and zhanj. The atmosphere will evoke the jagor tradition of Goa, where processions travel from place to place accompanied by music.

Stage Presence

An operatic satire by Mahesh Dattani, to be staged on December 14, Kavan will be performed entirely in poetry and song. Reflecting on the nation in the present moment, the narrative captures the young Ambedkarite experience. From December 17 to 20, Anuradha Kapur’s The Legends of Khasak based on OV Vijayan’s magic realist novel, will trace the journey of a troubled young man who arrives in a remote Kerala village and takes employment at a village school, where he finds himself drawn to the rich tapestry of the land, including its people, myths and legends.

Winner of five awards across 13 categories at META 2025, Lillete Dubey’s Nihsango Ishwar: The Loneliness of a God, to be staged on December 18, is an introspective monologue set on the final day of Krishna’s life.

Sankar Venkateswaran’s Bob Marley from Kodihalli takes inspiration from Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley to explore the complex realities of Dalit youth navigating urban India’s seemingly liberal society that remains exclusionary. To take place on December 21, the performance will feature a mix of Brechtian theatre and Kannada musical interludes. Curated by Quasar Thakore Padamsee, Seconds Before Coming, on the other hand, will investigate pleasure and abuse through its protagonist who was kissed by a man she calls brother at the age of 11.

Steps in Motion

Myth and mythology will also meet reality through dance. Curated by Geeta Chandran, “Bhagavathy”, to be presented on December 19, retells the story of goddess Bhagavathy confronting the viewers with several questions, including what happens when divinity refuses to be soft?

If on December 18 “Deus Nos Acudi”, a contemporary dance performance curated by Jayachandran Palazhy, will explore how systems of power have historically used religiosity, beliefs, deities, rituals and myths as tools of dominance, on December 15 there will be “Double Bill — Nimbus + Pallavi”, curated by Tanusree Shankar. ‘Nimbus’, will contemplate the nature of desire and loss through the metaphor of clouds, while ‘Pallavi’ will trace how bodies discover themselves and one another within an intricate web of movement and rhythm — the performance features Carnatic (South Indian) violin and Odissi (East Indian) rhythms.

The age-old tradition of puppetry will also be celebrated in this milieu through the Puppet Folk Arts Lab that recognises its 3,000-year-old history and 23 living forms in existence currently — the endeavour is to mentor and facilitate new work by traditional puppeteers from across India.