“Ragbag is a metaphorical expression,” says Sasikumar V, one of the curators of Ragbag 2025, a six-day long performing arts festival combining imagination and technology, set to take place at the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village (KACV) at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram, from January 14 to January 19. “It is a bag of rag, everything here is reused, reimagined, revisited and so on.”
A first-time festival that has been in the pipelines for over 10 months, Ragbag was only possible with the help of Sreeprasad TU, COO of KACV, who “sensed” this festival, says Sasikumar.
The gala boasts a line up of international artists from Italy, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, France, Poland and India. Aiming to bring a twist in its idea and execution, stepping away from purist tendencies, the festival is expected to be an “immersive experience”, says Sasikumar, who was a former coordinator of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala.
Sasikumar V, curator of Performance Bag and Idea Bag segments at Ragbag 2025
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Special Arrangement
“None of the acts mentioned are purely theatre gigs. It is a mix of theatre, music, technology and even circus and puppetry,” points out Sasikumar. “Performances work on a different scale now as we live in a digital era, where imagination and technology come together and so many new performances are born.”
Ragbag explores the idea of “oceanic circles”, a metaphor introduced by Mahatma Gandhi, emphasising the need to build nonviolent structures in the world as observed through different ecosystems or circles in the ocean. Sasikumar says, “There is biological and sociological interconnectedness, and this festival is about the interrelation of social existence.”
The festival is further divided into four segments. Performance Bag refers to the theatre and staged acts, opening with The Manganiyar Seduction, directed by Roysten Abel from Kerala with over 40 Rajasthani musicians, sitting in glowing pods, stacked in a four-storied structure on January 15. There is another segment called the Idea Bag, which includes three panel discussions set to take place from January 17 to 19, both curated by Sasikumar.
Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, founder of Edible Archives, Goa, curates the Ragbag Feast bringing together chefs from different parts of the country such as Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Delhi and West Bengal. Activist and author, Jaya Jaitly curates the Craft Bazaar, set to feature 33 artisans showcasing their crafts indigenous to their parts of the country.
Productions that are part of the Performance Bag segment include ‘Cubo’from Italy, directed by Andrea Piallni, which will be vertical act, performed on crane-lifted cube, combining light projections, vertical dance, and acrobatics. There will also be a street-style production called Animal School by artists from Poland; an aerial comedy act called ‘Rito para Un vals’ from Chile; a Danish production of Alice in Wonderland; an Indian production, Oru Poomala Katha featuring circus, magic, puppetry, trapeze and video art, among others.
Cubo, a vertical performance from Italy
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Special Arrangement
Animal School, an allegoric play from Poland
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Special Arrangement
Dancer and performer Tilde Knudsen in her rendition of Alice in Wonderland
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Special Arrangement
Rito Para Un Vals, a Chilean aerial comedy act
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Special Arrangement
Crafts galore
Craft Bazaar with ‘Coalescence’ as its theme, combines community, craft, culture and climate. The stalls will include handmade textiles, unique jewellery, home decor and sustainable lifestyle products.
Jaya Jaitly, curator of Craft Bazaar at Ragbag festival
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RAGU R
Jaya Jaitly, founder of Dastkari Haat Samiti, besides being a craft revivalist, activist, politician and writer, has been a strong advocate for sustainability and emphasises that everything on display at the festival will be sustainable and eco-friendly. “True craft is always made of organic and natural materials. We have thousands of craftspeople in India who have been silent proponents of a sustainable planet and have done this all their life. They are silent because they have not been given a voice.”
One among the displays is paddy crafts from Orissa. Jaya says, “It’s just paddy husk and thread. This is from a family where the father used to be a weaver. Once he was diagnosed with diabetes, he could not continue weaving. He would make these garlands with paddy husks and make curves with them, building them up to a statue. He was at one of our stalls and later went home to look after his brother during the pandemic. He passed away and now, his daughter and wife have taken up this art.”
There will be workshops on Sanjhi craft, Bagru printing and Madhubani by Ram Soni, Omprakash Dosaya and Remant Kumar Mishra respectively from January 14 to 16.
“I do hope our crafts will bring new information to the public and that the public is attracted to what we have to show,” says Jaya.
The Feast
Sasikumar reached out to chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar over 10 months ago about the festival. “Initially, we had to see whether the idea of curation aligned with the theme of the festival. The idea later turned out to be about diversity and plurality,” says Anumitra, who was given the responsibility of representing India’s multiplicity on a table.
Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar of Edible Archives, Goa
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For this, she contacted chefs across the country and her first choice was Yimshen Naro Jamir, chef and owner of The Melding Pot in Dimapur, Nagaland. “Once I was in Nagaland, Naro took me to the markets and showed me different kinds of ingredients. This proved that she knows her land, community and stories and this translates in her food,” says Anumitra.
Chef Yimshen Naro Jamir, chef and owner of The Melding Pot in Dimapur, Nagaland
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Special Arrangement
Anumitra also brought in Priya Bala and Padmini Sivarajah, sisters with roots in Sri Lanka but originally from Madurai. Priya works with Anumitra at Yo Colombo, a Sri Lankan takeaway brand in Bengaluru.
Priya Bala and Padmini Sivarajah
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Also present at the festival will be Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, a women-owned business, offering cuisines originating from Nizamuddin’s rich culinary traditions in Delhi.
Zaika-e-Nizamuddin preparing food
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Last addition to the group was Samran Huda, a food writer and owner of the cloud kitchen, Dastarkhan, in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Her food explores Bangladeshi culinary culture as well. Apart from this, Anumitra’s Edible Archive team will also be there at the festival.
Samran Huda, food writer and owner of the cloud kitchen, Dastarkhan, in Bengaluru and Kolkata
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The food festival will have dishes such as rice congee with crispy chicken skin by Naro, daal ghosht with roti or paratha by Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, luchi aloo dum from Kolkata and beef kala bhuna with a chaler roti from Bangladesh by Samran, Kiri bath with katta sambol from Sri Lanka and manapatti mutton chukka by Priya and Padmini, among others dishes prepared by Edible Archives. Anumitra is also set to serve a guacamole, a Mexican dip with an avocado base with green mangoes accompanied by banana chips and tapioca chips.
Anumitra says, “We all are there in one narrative. But these people have not come together on the same platform before. It will be an interesting way to observe diversity and what it becomes.”
She adds, “It is rare to see this kind of variety in the same place. I want people to come. It doesn’t matter if they like it or don’t, but I want them to taste and see their reaction to it.”
As a curtain raiser to Ragbag, Peer Gynt, a play written by Henrik Ibsen and directed by Deepan Sivaraman of Oxygen Theatre Company will be staged at the Tagore Theatre, on January 13, 7pm. The festival is at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam. Tickets available on bookmyshow.com
Highlights
‘Banan’O’Rama’ from Germany with a mix of physical comedy, mime, and circus. January 15 (5.30pm) and 16 (5pm).
‘Rito Para Un Vals’ from Chile combines aerial artistry with comedy. January 15 (7.30pm) and 16 (9pm)
Alice in Wonderland, a production from Denmark that reimagines Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with modular costumes. January 16 (6pm), 17 (8pm), 18 (6pm), 19 (11.30am)
‘Wooooow!’, the street clown show from Catalonia. January 16 (7pm), 17 (7pm).
‘Shadow Dance’ from Belgium has water-screen projections with shadow play. January 16 (8pm), 17 (8.45pm).
‘Catwalk’, an interactive performance from Netherlands, featuring a procession of outfits. January 17, 18 and 19 at 5pm
‘My Wing’, a poetic circus production from France, showcasing puppetry, parachute dance and live music. January 17 (6pm), 18 (4pm), 19 (6pm)
The Anirudh Varma Collective, the Indian classical ensemble led by Anirudh Varma, comprising over 150 artists from across India, America, and Canada. January 17, 9pm
Animal School,a take on George Orwell’s Animal Farm, from Poland, featuring stilted figures. January 18 and 19, 7pm
‘Cubo’, the Italian aerial circus on a crane-lifted cube. January 18 and 19, 8pm
Oru Poomala Katha, the Indian production, blending circus, magic, puppetry, trapeze and video art. January 18 and 19, 9pm.
Published – January 09, 2025 03:07 pm IST
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