KBF’s Art Beyond Art Music and Dance Fest from March 20
Kochi / March 16, 2026
Kochi, Mar 16: Kochi Biennale Foundation will present Art Beyond Art, a music and dance festival, from March 20 at Pavilion, Bastion Bungalow, Fort Kochi. The three-day festival curated by culture enthusiast Keli Ramachandran marks the conclusion of the outreach programme series, Art… Time… Conflict…, of the sixth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) running through March 31. The performances will commence from 7 pm.
Art goes beyond entertainment, reflecting the conflicts in society and the trauma the marginalised manoeuvre every day and the struggle to resist injustices. Culture becomes a form of resistance to preserve itself. “The three performances at the festival are political discourses addressing the conflicts of the hour,” said Keli Ramachandran.
On March 20, visitors can listen to a 90-minute long Dilruba and Taus recital by Sandeep Singh accompanied by Harmeet Singh on tabla. “More than a classical instrument it’s about how dilruba evolved from the heavy taus (mayuri veena), how Sikhs used them, how it helped collaborate, and travel,” said Keli.
Narthaki Nataraj and team will perform Bharatanatyam on 21 March. She will be accompanied by Shakthi Bhaskar on Nattuvangam; Kaushik Champakesan on vocal; Nagai Narayanan on mridangam and Anantharaman on violin. “Narthaki overcame her gender conflicts through dance at a time when ‘transgender’ was hardly heard of. She approached the Tamil Nadu government to use Thirunangai instead of Aravani for transgender. Narthaki is the first transwoman recipient of Padma Shri,” said Keli.
Manipur, another conflict-ridden zone will come to the fore on March 22. Rewben Mashangva will present Blues, Ballads, and the Music World of Nagas. The 90-minute rendition explores the tribal folk music tradition of the Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur. “The performance will showcase how the Manipuri folk singer views tribal music, how it can be transformed and create dialogue with music genres across the globe; how he approaches tribal people; environment; women, art through music. He has won Padma Shri for his contribution in tribal music,” said Keli
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