Ragbag 2025 in Thiruvananthapuram, to feature curated performances, food and craft

“Ragbag is simply a metaphorical expression,” says Sasikumar V, 1 of the curators of Ragbag 2025, a six-day agelong performing arts festival combining imaginativeness and technology, acceptable to instrumentality spot astatine the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village (KACV) astatine Kovalam successful Thiruvananthapuram, from January 14 to January 19. “It is simply a container of rag, everything present is reused, reimagined, revisited and truthful on.”  

A first-time festival that has been successful the pipelines for implicit 10 months, Ragbag was lone imaginable with the assistance of Sreeprasad TU, COO of KACV, who “sensed” this festival, says Sasikumar.

The gala boasts a enactment up of planetary artists from Italy, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, France, Poland and India. Aiming to bring a twist successful its thought and execution, stepping distant from purist tendencies, the festival is expected to beryllium an “immersive experience”, says Sasikumar, who was a erstwhile coordinator of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala.

“None of the acts mentioned are purely theatre gigs.  It is simply a premix of theatre, music, exertion and adjacent circus and puppetry,” points retired Sasikumar. “Performances enactment connected a antithetic standard present arsenic we unrecorded successful a integer era, wherever imaginativeness and exertion travel unneurotic and truthful galore caller performances are born.”  

Ragbag explores the thought of “oceanic circles”, a metaphor introduced by Mahatma Gandhi, emphasising the request to physique nonviolent structures successful the satellite arsenic observed done antithetic ecosystems oregon circles in the ocean. Sasikumar says, “There is biologic and sociological interconnectedness, and this festival is astir the interrelation of societal existence.”

The festival is further divided into 4 segments. Performance Bag refers to the theatre and staged acts, opening with The Manganiyar Seduction, directed by Roysten Abel from Kerala with implicit 40 Rajasthani musicians, sitting successful glowing pods, stacked successful a four-storied operation connected January 15. There is different conception called the Idea Bag, which includes 3 sheet discussions acceptable to instrumentality spot from January 17 to 19, some curated by Sasikumar.

Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, laminitis of Edible Archives, Goa, curates the Ragbag Feast bringing unneurotic chefs from antithetic parts of the state specified arsenic Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Delhi and West Bengal. Activist and author, Jaya Jaitly curates the Craft Bazaar, acceptable to diagnostic 33 artisans showcasing their crafts indigenous to their parts of the country.

Productions that are portion of the Performance Bag conception see ‘Cubo’from Italy, directed by Andrea Piallni, which volition beryllium vertical act, performed connected crane-lifted cube, combining airy projections, vertical dance, and acrobatics. There volition besides beryllium a street-style accumulation called Animal School by artists from Poland; an aerial drama enactment called ‘Rito para Un vals’ from Chile; a Danish accumulation of Alice successful Wonderland; an Indian production, Oru Poomala Katha featuring circus, magic, puppetry, trapeze and video art, among others.

Crafts galore

Craft Bazaar with ‘Coalescence’ arsenic its theme, combines community, craft, civilization and climate. The stalls volition see handmade textiles, unsocial jewellery, location decor and sustainable manner products.

Jaya Jaitly, laminitis of Dastkari Haat Samiti, too being a trade revivalist, activist, person and writer, has been a beardown advocator for sustainability and emphasises that everything connected show astatine the festival volition beryllium sustainable and eco-friendly. “True trade is ever made of integrated and earthy materials. We person thousands of craftspeople successful India who person been soundless proponents of a sustainable satellite and person done this each their life. They are soundless due to the fact that they person not been fixed a voice.”  

One among the displays is paddy crafts from Orissa. Jaya says, “It’s conscionable paddy husk and thread. This is from a household wherever the begetter utilized to beryllium a weaver. Once helium was diagnosed with diabetes, helium could not proceed weaving. He would marque these garlands with paddy husks and marque curves with them, gathering them up to a statue. He was astatine 1 of our stalls and aboriginal went location to look aft his member during the pandemic. He passed distant and now, his daughter and woman person taken up this art.”  

There volition beryllium workshops connected Sanjhi craft, Bagru printing and Madhubani by Ram Soni, Omprakash Dosaya and Remant Kumar Mishra respectively from January 14 to 16. 

“I bash anticipation our crafts volition bring caller accusation to the nationalist and that the nationalist is attracted to what we person to show,” says Jaya. 

The Feast

Sasikumar reached retired to cook Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar implicit 10 months agone astir the festival. “Initially, we had to spot whether the thought of curation aligned with the taxable of the festival. The thought aboriginal turned retired to beryllium astir diverseness and plurality,” says Anumitra, who was fixed the work of representing India’s multiplicity connected a table.

For this, she contacted chefs crossed the state and her archetypal prime was Yimshen Naro Jamir, cook and proprietor of The Melding Pot successful Dimapur, Nagaland. “Once I was successful Nagaland, Naro took maine to the markets and showed maine antithetic kinds of ingredients. This proved that she knows her land, assemblage and stories and this translates successful her food,” says Anumitra.

Anumitra besides brought successful Priya Bala and Padmini Sivarajah, sisters with roots successful Sri Lanka but primitively from Madurai. Priya works with Anumitra astatine Yo Colombo, a Sri Lankan takeaway marque successful Bengaluru.

Also contiguous astatine the festival volition beryllium Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, a women-owned business, offering cuisines originating from Nizamuddin’s affluent culinary traditions successful Delhi.

Last summation to the radical was Samran Huda, a nutrient writer and proprietor of the unreality kitchen, Dastarkhan, successful Bengaluru and Kolkata. Her nutrient explores Bangladeshi culinary civilization arsenic well. Apart from this, Anumitra’s Edible Archive squad volition besides beryllium determination astatine the festival.

The nutrient festival volition person dishes specified arsenic atom congee with crispy chickenhearted tegument by Naro, daal ghosht with roti oregon 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 besides acceptable to service a guacamole, a Mexican dip with an avocado basal with greenish mangoes accompanied by banana chips and tapioca chips.

Anumitra says, “We each are determination successful 1 narrative. But these radical person not travel unneurotic connected the aforesaid level before. It volition beryllium an absorbing mode to observe diverseness and what it becomes.”

She adds, “It is uncommon to spot this benignant of assortment successful the aforesaid place. I privation radical to come. It doesn’t substance if they similar it oregon don’t, but I privation them to sensation and spot their absorption 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 volition beryllium staged astatine the Tagore Theatre, connected January 13, 7pm. The festival is astatine Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam. Tickets disposable connected bookmyshow.com