Latest news with #KashkolCollective
New Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Romancing the Mango: Chef Sadaf Hussain's mango-centric dinner at Bazm-e-Aam celebrates India's beloved fruit
As monsoon clouds begin to hover over the capital, summer is slowly retreating. Despite the scorch of the past few weeks, there's one thing Delhiites still await with childlike anticipation: mangoes. From Alphonso and Banginapalli (Safeda) to blushing Raspuri, mangoes arrive across India like edible postcards of summer. But beyond fragrance and flavour, mango season tugs at childhood memories — of climbing trees and grandparents waiting with plates full of mango slices dipped in salt, chilli, and oil. To celebrate this nostalgia, Delhi-based Kashkol Collective's Bazm-e-Aam at IIC, offered an evening of poetry, dastangoi, music, and a mango feast curated by chef and author Sadaf Hussain. 'Everyone has a childhood memory with mango,' says Hussain. For him, summers meant endless mangoes at his grandparents' home in Sasaram, Bihar. He recalls eating mango mixed with rice and dal — a combo that reminded him of Thailand's mango sticky rice, 'but desi-style, though I didn't love it,' he laughs.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ek shaam, aam ke naam
At Bazm-e-Aam, Shivangini Yeashu Yuvraj, Isha Priya Singh, Ishan Sharma, and Archit Anand, Dholak Rani presented traditional folk songs as an ode to the desi summer (Pic: @kashkolcollective) Har desi dil mein aam ek khas jagah rakhte hain - and this love brought many mango lovers to Bazm-e-Aam, an evening dedicated to the memories, metaphors and magic of the mango. Curated by Kashkol Collective, the evening at IIC had chroniclers, chefs, artists in attendance, who sliced the mango in lyrical, poetic, musical and culinary ways. "Mango is a subject that unites us all. Everyone has a story, connection, memory related to mangoes. Bazm-e-Aam has been organised with an idea to start a tradition of an annual aam ki daawat in Delhi," said Ambreen Shah, founder, Kashkol Collective, an initiative dedicated to fostering artistic collaboration. Kashkol Collective founders Ambreen Shah and Ashhar Haque Tasting tradition through tales, sonic experience and food Bazm-e-aam began with a qissa-e-amba, performed by Ashhar Haque - tracing how the mango sparked conversations but also rivalries, inspired poetry and imagination, and continues to be used as a metaphor and a muse in our culture. Sohail Hashmi in conversation with Sopan Joshi, author of Mangifera Indica: A Biography of the Mango "This event is a starting point to talking about the mango. From the design of the paisley that was inspired by the mango to the use of mango wood in havans, mango is one fruit that grows all over the country and so the connection with mango operates in so many ways and layers," says geographer Sohail Hashmi, who was in conversation with Sopan Joshi (independent journalist and author of Mangifera Indica: A Biography of the Mango), as a part of the event. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free Chess. No Ads. Just Fun Play Classic Chess Install Now Undo Blending songs and storytelling, the Dholak Rani Ensemble gave the audience a chance to sway to melodies celebrating the spirit of summers in India. Shivangini Yeashu Yuvraj (L), Isha Priya Singh (R) presented traditional folk songs that capture the rhythms, moods, and memories of the Indian summer Historian Eshan Sharma & chef and author Sadaf Hussain Chef Sadaf Hussain showcased the versatility of mangoes through his mango-forward menu, featuring ramkela and malda varieties. The menu was a vibrant celebration of mango flavours from across regional kitchens, with dishes like Gujarat's ras no fajeto, Manipur's heinou metpa, Andhra's mamidikaya pulihora, Bihar's aam ka koocha, and Rajasthan's kachche aam ki kheer. "I wanted Delhi's mango lovers to taste dishes that were popular in regional kitchens. I don't think any other fruit offers as much versatility as mangoes, from raw to ripe," said Sadaf. Chef Sadaf Hussain's five-course dining menu was all dishes mango KN Shrivastava, Director, IIC and Salman Khurshid Chef Gunjan Goela and culinary chronicler Pushpesh Pant
Mint
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Planner: 4 events that make this an eclectic week
Anupa Mehta Contemporary Arts, Mumbai, is hosting Voir Dire 2, featuring artists such as Madhavi Subrahmanian, Sumakshi Singh, Vibha Galhotra and Chandrashekhar Koteshwar. The previous chapter of Voir Dire, held between March and April, presented a dialogue on materiality, perception and authenticity. The exhibition's second chapter carries this forward and examines how 'truth is constructed, perceived and revealed through a multiplicity of perspectives'. Subrahmanian, for instance, presents works from the Spiral series, featuring a set of 373 handmade stoneware cones and 343 terracotta cones. At Anupa Mehta Contemporary Arts, Mumbai, till 10 July, 11am-6pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Historian Sohail Hashmi A unique event is all set to celebrate the culture and generational memory around the mango. Organised by the Kashkol Collective, Bazm-e-Aam will include a myriad forms of storytelling to look at the mango as a cultural metaphor and a symbol of nostalgia. You can attend the Qissagoi—Dastan on the Mango by Ashhar Haque, tracing the journey of this fruit from Buddhist parables and Mughal memoirs to colonial kitchens. A highlight of the evening is a talk by historian Sohail Hashmi and writer-environmentalist Sopan Joshi on the mango and Indian cultural memory. At the end is a meal curated by chef Sadaf Hussain. At India International Centre, Delhi, 14 June, 7pm onwards. Magdalene in Ecstasy, Oil on canvas, by Caravaggio After mesmerising audiences in Delhi, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's exquisite painting, Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, travels to Bengaluru and is on show till early July at the National Gallery of Modern Arts (NGMA). The painting – considered one of the best examples of the chiaroscuro technique – was done by Caravaggio around 1606 while he was in exile after being charged for murder. After having been lost for centuries, the painting resurfaced in a private collection in 2014. At NGMA, Manikyavelu Mansion, Palace Road, Bengaluru, 14 June - 6 July 2025,10 am-6pm (closed on Mondays and national holidays). BeautyXperience 2025 includes masterclasses by celebrity makeup artistes, luxury brand showcases and live music performances. Phoenix Mall of Asia Bengaluru is hosting BeautyXperience 2025, a three-day celebration of beauty, style and artistry. On schedule are masterclasses by celebrity makeup artiste Sandhya Shekhar and beauty educator Bhumika Bahl, luxury brand showcases, and musical performances by StringFisher, Kanya, and the Fernandes Trio. At Fan Park, Phoenix Mall Of Asia, Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, till 15 June, 2.30pm onwards. For details and registration, visit
Mint
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
‘Bazm-e-Aam': An evening of storytelling around mangoes
If there is one fruit that evokes strong feelings among people across the country, it is the mango. From the aromatic Kesar and the golden-yellow Banganapalli to the Langra and the sweet Dasheri, different varieties of mangoes are grown and enjoyed across the country. While everyone talks about the fragrance and flavours, this summer fruit also has a rich cultural memory associated with it, often serving as a muse for poets. Now, this shared sensorial memory is being celebrated by the Kashkol Collective with an evening titled 'Bazm-e-Aam', where storytelling—through music, dastans, poetry and food—takes centrestage. The collective was started earlier this year by Ambreen Shah and Ashhar Haque to create a collaborative decentralised platform that empowers artists to find performance spaces and build connections. 'Bazm-e-Aam' is the second event by the collective following the one in April, which honoured poet Daagh Dehlvi's legacy. According to Shah, the mango offers a shared inheritance. 'While some prefer the sweet Alphonso, the tang of Langra finds favour in another region. These friendly debates get passed on from one generation to the next. Mango certainly slices through geography. We want to celebrate what it means to us as a community,' she elaborates. The evening will kickstart with a dastan performed by Haque, which traces the mango's journey from Buddhist parables to Mughal memoirs, colonial kitchens, and folk wisdom. Historian Sohail Hashmi, who has been taking people to the village of Rataul for almost a decade now to explore different varieties of mangoes, will be in conversation with writer-environmentalist Sopan Joshi to uncover the oral histories associated with the fruit. 'The shape of the mango, known as paisley, has inspired embroidery and wood carvings for centuries, while the tree's flowering season is connected with the arrival of the koel. From Babur to Shah Jahan, most Mughal emperors exhibited a fondness for the fruit and would have it preserved in large pots of honey, to be enjoyed through the year,' says Hashmi. The evening will take a musical turn with a mix of ragas and folk songs by Dholak Rani, led by vocalist Shivangini Yeashu Yuvraj. The musical collective, rooted in the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, will evoke the emotional landscape associated with the mango. 'Bazm-e-Aam' will then culminate with a five-course 'Aam menu' curated by Sadaf Hussain. The chef-food historian will be presenting the dishes in their traditional avatar, while focusing on different regions of India. So, the menu features dishes and relishes such as the aam kucha (raw mango chutney) from Bihar, a mango and mutton keema dish called achraj from Lucknow. Some other dishes include aam kathal ki sabji from Bihar, a chutney and salad from Manipur and a Gujarati-Parsi dish known as ras-no-fajeto, and aam ki kheer from Rajasthan. 'I want to explore the social fabric and use food as a conversation starter. There are so many varieties of mango, but we can use these differences to celebrate diversity,' adds Hussain. Bazm-e-Aam will be held on 14 June at the India International Centre, New Delhi, 7 pm onwards. Deepali Dhingra is a Delhi-based culture writer.
