The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art presents Ladies Sangeet: A Musical Dramedy by Aarambh Mumbai. Written and directed by Purva Naresh, Ladies Sangeet is a poignant yet humorous exploration of tradition, gender roles, and changing family dynamics in contemporary Indian society. Set against the backdrop of a North Indian wedding, the play centres around a family preparing for the much-anticipated ladies' sangeet—a musical celebration traditionally reserved for women. As generations of women from the same family come together, buried emotions, unspoken truths, and forgotten desires surface in a riot of song, dance, and drama. Through witty dialogue and soulful music, Ladies Sangeet delves into themes of patriarchy, love, marriage, and the deep impact of the ever-present male gaze on these. With its rich blend of humour and heartbreak, the play becomes a celebration of female voices—both literal and metaphorical—reminding audiences that sometimes, the loudest revolutions begin with a song.

About Purva Naresh 

A critically acclaimed director and playwright, Purva Naresh has directed seven productions and written more than fifteen plays, including Bandish 20- 20000 HZ, Aaj Rang Hai, Ladies Sangeet and most recently Chaandi Raatein. These have travelled to major Indian festivals and have won her both State and National honours including the Laadli Media Award for Best Play on Gender Sensitivity, the Safdar Hashmi Puruskar and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar for Theatre. A graduate from FTII Pune, Purva has also written dialogues for films such as Hasee toh Phasee and Dum Maaro Dum. In 2009 she founded Aarambh, a theatre company based in Mumbai.

About Aarambh Mumbai 

Founded in 2009 and led by Purva Naresh, who is now partnered by the award-winning light designer and theatre and film maker Asmit Pathare, Aarambh is a Mumbai-based theatre group that tells original stories of contemporary India. Over the last sixteen years, they have built a repertoire of productions popular for weaving text with music and dance in a unique way, making their works universally accessible, while keeping the quintessential Indian element intact. 

Credits

Written and Directed by Purva Naresh

Music composers: Vidushi Shubha Mudgal, Harpreet, Anadi Nagar and Nishant Aggarwal 

Cast: Amanjeet Proach, Dipendra Verma, Joy Sengupta, Nisha Dhar, Nivedita Bhargava, Niranjan Iyengar/ Asmit Pathare, Rajashree Sawant, Sarika Singh, Shabnam Vadhera, Shimli Basu, Siddhant Karnick, Yash Khan

Live Musicians: Purav Jagad on Harmonium | Anadi Nagar on Vocals | Rohit Das on Guitar | Ruturaj Bhosle on Percussions

Technical Director Asmit Pathare | Sound Engineer Varun Gupta｜Lights Adi Shastri｜Backstage Rakhi Kashyap, Yash Khan, Dipendra Verma | KNMA Technical Lead MT Aditya Srinivasan | Event Documentation Innee Singh｜Production Partner Shobiz

About KNMA

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), founded in 2010 by renowned art collector Kiran Nadar, is a distinguished private museum dedicated to exhibiting modern and contemporary art from the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Since 2023 KNMA has offered a series of events that reflect its commitment to making a meaningful difference in the Indian performing arts, by encouraging multidisciplinarity and innovation. Through events such as the Legacy Series, Centre Stage, and KNMA in the Park which revolved around different genres of dance and music, the organisation aims to support the enduring, the endangered as well as the experimental.

KNMA has become a vital platform for diverse artistic practices and has showcased numerous critically acclaimed exhibitions. Kiran Nadar’s contributions to the arts have earned her prestigious honours, including the Padma Shri and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, establishing her as a globally influential figure in contemporary art.

In the coming years, KNMA is set to evolve into a landmark cultural destination, with a new location near the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It will feature multiple exhibition spaces, auditoriums, an archive centre, a library, restaurants, and a members' room. The new space will expand the cultural role played by KNMA in the national capital as a dynamic hub for both visual and performing arts and a promoter of artistic innovation and cultural dialogue.