“Ragbag is a metaphorical expression,” says Sasikumar V, one of the curators of Ragbag 2025, a six-day performing arts festival combining imagination and technology, scheduled to be held at the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village (KACV) in Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram from January 14 to 19. “It’s a bag of clothes, everything here is reused, re-imagined, revisited and so on.”
Sasikumar says that while this is a first-time festival that has been in the pipeline for over 10 months, Ragbag was only possible with the help of KACV COO Sriprasad TU, who “understood” the festival.
The festival will feature international artists from Italy, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, France, Poland and India. Moving away from puritanical tendencies, the festival is expected to be a “unique experience” with an aim to bring a twist in its idea and execution, says Sasikumar, former coordinator of the International Theater Festival of Kerala.
Sasikumar V, Curator of the Performance Bags and Idea Bags segment at Ragbag 2025 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sasikumar explains, “None of the acts mentioned are purely theater programmes. It is a mix of theatre, music, technology and even circus and puppetry.” “Performances now operate on a different scale because we live in the digital age, where imagination and technology come together and create many new performances.”
Ragbag explores the idea of the “oceanic circle”, a metaphor introduced by Mahatma Gandhi that emphasizes the need to build non-violent structures in the world as seen through different ecosystems or circles in the ocean. “There is an interconnectedness of the biological and the sociological, and this festival is about the interconnectedness of social existence,” says Sasikumar.
The festival is further divided into four segments. The performance bag refers to theater and staged acts, starting with The Manganiyar Seduction on January 15, directed by Kerala’s Roysten Abell, with more than 40 Rajasthani musicians sitting glittering in the four-storey structure. There is another section called Idea Bag, which consists of three panel discussions taking place from 17 to 19 January, both curated by Sasikumar.
Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, founder of Edible Archives, Goa, curates Ragbag Feast by bringing together chefs from different parts of the country like Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Delhi and West Bengal. Activist and author, Jaya Jaitley curates the craft bazaar, in which 33 artisans will showcase their indigenous crafts from their respective parts of the country.
Production to be part of the performance bag segment includes ‘Cubo’From Italy, directed by Andrea Pialni, which will be vertical acting, performed on a cube raised by crane, combining light projection, vertical dance and acrobatics. There will also be a street-style production called animal school by artists from Poland; a Hawaiian comedy act called ‘Rito Para un Vals’ from Chile; A Danish production of Alice in Wonderland; An Indian production, oru poomla story This includes circus, magic, puppetry, trapeze and video art etc.
cubeA vertical display from Italy Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
animal schoolAn allegorical play from Poland. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Dancer and artist Tilde Knudsen in her performance Alice in Wonderland
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Rito para those walls, A Hawaiian comedy act from Chile. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
crafts galore
With the theme ‘Coalescence’ the craft market connects community, craft, culture and climate. The stalls will include handmade garments, unique jewellery, home decor and sustainable lifestyle products.
Jaya Jaitley, Curator of Craft Bazaar at Ragbagh Festival. Photo Credit: Ragu R
Jaya Jaitley, founder of Dastkari Haat Committee, apart from being a craft revivalist, activist, politician and writer, has been a strong advocate of sustainability and insists that everything displayed at the festival will be sustainable and eco-friendly. “True craft is always made of organic and natural materials. We have thousands of craftsmen in India who have been silent supporters of a sustainable planet and have done so all their lives. They are silent because they have not been given a voice.”
One of the exhibits is paddy crafts from Orissa. Jaya says, “It’s just paddy husk and thread. He comes from a family where the father used to be a weaver. Once he got diabetes, he couldn’t continue weaving. He used to make these garlands with paddy husk and make curves with them, making them a sculpture. He was at one of our stalls and later went home to take care of his brother during the pandemic. He passed away and now, his daughter and wife have taken up this art. Have adopted.”
There will be workshops on Sanjhi crafts, Bagru printing and Madhubani by Ram Soni, Omprakash Dosaya and Remant Kumar Mishra from January 14 to 16 respectively.
Jaya says, “I hope that our crafts will bring new information to the public and that the public will be attracted to what we want to show.”
feast
Sasikumar had approached chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar 10 months ago about the festival. “Initially, we had to see whether the idea of curation matched with the theme of the festival. Later the idea turned out to be about diversity and multiplicity,” says Anumitra, who was given the responsibility of representing the multiplicity of India on a table.
Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar of Edible Archives, Goa | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For this he contacted chefs across the country and his first choice was Yimshen Naro Jamir, chef and owner of The Melting Pot in Dimapur, Nagaland. Anumitra says, “Once when I was in Nagaland, Naro took me to the markets and showed me a variety of ingredients. This proved that she knows her land, community and stories and this impacts her food.”
Chef Yimshen Naro Jameer, Chef and Owner of The Melting Pot in Dimapur, Nagaland | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Anumitra also brought Priya Bala and Padmini Sivaraj, who had sisters in Sri Lanka but were originally from Madurai. Priya works with Anumitra at Sri Lankan takeaway brand Yo Colombo in Bengaluru.
Priya Bala and Padmini Shivraj Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The festival will also feature women-owned business Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, which will offer dishes originating from the rich culinary traditions of Nizamuddin in Delhi.
Zaika-e-Nizamuddin cooking food. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The last member in the group was Samran Hooda, a food writer and owner of Dastarkhan, a cloud kitchen in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Their food also explores Bangladeshi culinary culture. Apart from this, Anumitra’s Edible Archive team will also be present in the festival.
Samran Hooda, food writer and owner of Dastarkhan, the cloud kitchen in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
There will be dishes like rice in the food festival congee With crispy chicken skin by Naro, Dal Ghost with Bread Or Paratha By Zaika-e-Nizamuddin, Luchi Aloo Dum More beef from Kolkata black roast with Chailer Roti By Samran from Bangladesh, kiri bath with katta sambol and from Sri Lanka Manapatti Mutton chukka By Priya and Padmini, in addition to other recipes prepared by Food Archives. Anumitra is also ready to serve a guacamole, a Mexican dip with green mango with an avocado base, banana chips and tapioca chips.
Anumitra says, “We are all in one narrative. But these people have not come together on the same platform before. This will be an interesting way to observe diversity and what it is made of.”
She adds, “It’s rare to see such diversity in one place. I want people to come. It doesn’t matter whether they like it or not, but I want them to taste it and see their reaction to it.”
As Ragbag initiates, the play Peer Gynt, written by Henrik Ibsen and directed by Deepan Sivaraman of Oxygen Theater Company, will be staged at Tagore Theater on January 13, 7 pm. The festival is at the Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow.com
highlight
‘Banan’o’Rama’ from Germany with a mix of physical comedy, mime and circus. January 15 (5.30 pm) and January 16 (5 pm).
Chile’s ‘Rito Para un Vals’ combines Hawaiian artistry with comedy. January 15 (7.30 pm) and January 16 (9 pm)
Alice in WonderlandA Danish production that reimagines alice’s adventures in wonderlandWith modular costumes. January 16 (6 pm), 17 (8 pm), 18 (6 pm), 19 (11.30 am)
‘Wuuuu!’, street clown show from Catalonia. January 16 (7 pm), January 17 (7 pm).
Belgium’s ‘Shadow Dance’ features water-screen projections accompanied by shadow play. 16 January (8 pm), 17 January (8.45 pm).
‘Catwalk’, an interactive display from the Netherlands, involving a procession of costumes. 17, 18 and 19 January at 5 pm
‘My Wing’ is a poetic circus production from France that showcases puppetry, parachute dance and live music. January 17 (6 PM), 18 (4 PM), 19 (6 PM)
Aniruddha Verma Collective is an Indian classical music group led by Aniruddha Verma, consisting of over 150 artists from India, the United States and Canada. 17 January, 9 pm
animal school,A look at George Orwell animal farmFrom Poland, featuring bowed figures. January 18 and 19, 7 pm
‘Cubo’, Italian aerial circus on a cube lifted by crane. 18th and 19th January, 8 pm
oru poomla storyIndian production, a mix of circus, magic, puppetry, trapeze and video art. January 18 and 19, 9 pm.
