With three weeks to go for Christmas, Hyderabad’s cultural calendar is abuzz with new cultural events — Hyderabad Performance Festival, Hyderabad Theatre Festival and Mind Sutra. Here’s what to look forward to at these fests.
Hyderabad Performing Arts Festival
An artwork representing the performance festival
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Special Arrangement
A confluence of dance, music and drama, Hyderabad Performing Arts Festival (HPAF) brings book stories to life on stage. Launched by Hyderabad-based Ukiyoto Publishing House, the festival’s objective is to bring stories to life, says Arjun Chaudhari, director-founder of the publishing house, adding, “With over 5000 books published, select stories such as ‘Pavanputra Hanuman’ and ‘Vishwaroop’ are to be depicted in Kathak theatre dance.”
The six-year old publishing house that conducts the annual Kolkata Literary Carnival in Kolkata earlier hosted literary carnivals in Hyderabad for two years.
Arjun Chaudhari
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Special Arrangement
The festival features Kathak performances by dancers of Naadbhed Studio, a Bharatnatyam recital by K Sai Rithika and three book launches — BHARAT, a coffee table book on cities in India, Stories from India, Season 6.0 by Manmohan Sadana, Kajar Guha, Sanjai Banerji, Devajit Bhuyan, Mahendra Arya and Ishrat Lalljee and a graphic novel titled Tagdu and the Wrath of the Serpents: The classic Indian Manga by Sanjai Banerji. The event hopes to attract authors, writers, book lovers, artists and theatre lovers.
At Birla Auditorium, Birla Museum Complex, Khairatabad, on December 7; ₹50 for visitors.
Hyderabad Theatre Festival
Naseeruddin Shah in a scene from the play ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’
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Delhi-based Alchemist Live brings its flagship theatre festival, Hyderabad Theatre Festival, featuring three plays — Ismat Apa Ke Naam, Autobiography (Hyderabad premiere) and Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, from December 12 to 14.
Launched in Delhi in 2017, The Delhi Theatre Festival which recently conducted its sixth season in November, began as a single-stage initiative and has now grown into a large-scale theatre festival. Besides Delhi, the second edition of the fest is happening in Bengaluru this weekend, from December 5 to 7.
Prabhu Tony
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Prabhu Tony, CEO and co-Founder of Alchemist LIVE, has seen a growing appetite for cultural experiences in Hyderabad. “The city’s diverse, young, and engaged audience made it a natural next step for expansion. We wanted to bring a festival that matches the city’s evolving cultural energy,“ he explains. The idea to start a theatre festival was to create a space where audiences could immerse themselves in good storytelling and performances. “The intent was to revive and re-energise the theatre-going culture in India and to offer people a weekend experience beyond routine outings.”
Delhi Theatre Festival was mooted to bring together big names, fine productions, and a diverse community of theatre lovers under one roof annually. “Individual productions happen throughout the year, but a festival creates a momentum, scale, and cultural buzz that single plays cannot.”
With a plan to make Hyderabad Theatre Festival an annual cultural landmark, the organisers hope to collaborate with regional theatre groups to showcase Hyderabad’s own voices and storytelling traditions: “The festival should feel like a blend of the best national productions and the cultural soul of Telangana.”
At Shilpakala Vedika Auditorium; December 12 -14; tickets: Bookmyshow
Mind Sutra
Artwork to be displayed at the show
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Special Arrangement
In our busy urban lives, we rarely get time to unwind. “Just as how a physical detox is important for overall health, a mental detox is significant for our wellbeing,” says Aman Preet Kaur. The Hyderabad-based artist-curator is busy finalising activities for Mind Sutra, a three-day multi-arts festival celebrating arts, wellness and community.
The festival is a collaboration between Aman Preet and Surya Swapna, founder of Kathavani, a storytelling platform. Aman and Swapna had teamed earlier for art and storytelling workshops focusing on mental health. The duo had also organised a seven-day summer camp at State Art Gallery, this year, on the same theme. The positive response to the workshop encouraged them to plan an event on a larger scale.
Aman Preet Kaur and Surya Swapna
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This festival is open to all age groups, including children aged above 10. “Today’s school-going children hardly have enough time for themselves. They are occupied with school work or attending activity-based sessions that leave less time for their own creativity or character to grow. The coming generation definitely needs healing.”
With a focus on ‘create, connect and self-care’, the fest has immersive workshops and activities, panel discussions, live music, theatre and stage performances that narrate stories that heal and inspire.
Works to be displayed
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Special Arrangement
The festival hopes to make participants pause, reconnect and celebrate the harmony of art and well being. “We hope to bridge ancient Indian wisdom with contemporary practices to create a space where creativity meets mindfulness. It is a platform to experience healing through art, meaningful conversations and activities that inspire self-awareness, compassion and collective growth,” says Aman Preet, hoping the participants take back the sutras (concise or aphoristic statement or manual of such statements in Sanskrit) of wellness with them.
At Chitramayee cultural complex, State Art Gallery, from December12-14; Ticketed entry; Check @mind_sutra_ for schedule.
Published – December 04, 2025 11:00 am IST
