Samata Collective – India Gathering 2025

Five extraordinary arts and community organisations will join together in India as part of Samata Collective – Chitrakoot Collective and Jagriti from India, Project Elimu & Rona Foundation from Kenya & Tinderbox Collective from Scotland – bringing together over musicians, puppeteers, dancers, poets and community groups for an extraordinary gathering and tour. Together they will travel from urban capital Delhi to Chitrakoot and rural Uttar Pradesh – sharing performances, organising festivals, exchanging skills and meeting people along the way. The group will also be joined by researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as part of a project exploring digital inequalities and collaboration. 

 

After arriving in Delhi, Samata Collective will first be hosted by community arts and learning centre Jagriti, in India’s largest community of traditional artists – Kathputli Colony – home to thousands of musicians, dancers, puppeteers and street-performers. The first few days will be a chance for artists from around the world to meet, rehearse and start creating an international performance ensemble like no other!

 

The cast from Jagriti will join Samata Collective for an overnight train from Delhi to Chitrakoot, forming an eclectic performance ensemble and bringing music, dance and puppetry to the railways and streets as they go. 

 

The group’s destination, in Uttar Pradesh is Chitrakoot Collective – a brilliant women’s collective, challenging patriarchal traditions and caste hierarchy in a rural context.  They will be launching their new street theatre show “NAME OF SHOW”, as part of a Samata Collective tour of local villages in the region.  The show… (ADD DESCRIPTION OF SHOW HERE)

 

After another overnight train ride back to the capital, Samata Collective will join Jagriti for a festival in Kathputli Colony and a performance of their newly developed show “Kathputli: A Tale of Art & Resistance” in NAME OF THEATRE in Delhi:  “Despite being forced from their homes into transit camps around Delhi, the community continue their struggle for housing, basic resources and rights using their artforms as their key tool for resistance. First-hand stories of courage and persistence told through Indian folk songs, traditional puppetry, musical instruments and explosive Dhol drumming, guaranteed to leave you dancing in your seats! ‘Residents of Kathputli Colony in Delhi resist slum re-development through song, dance, magic’ (Hindustan Times).