On Valentine’s Day Weekend, Artists Unite to Cherish Idea of India

Dozens of artists will perform in multiple cities across the country for an initiative titled ‘India My Valentine’.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

This Valentine’s Day weekend, dozens of artists will be performing in multiple cities across India “to celebrate the India we know and love – the India of tolerance, the India of acceptance, the India that strove to be a better place for even her most oppressed children.”

The initiative, titled ‘India My Valentine’, is being organised by a small group of people including actor and activist Swara Bhasker. The message from the organisers is a simple one.

“Join us! This year, make India your Valentine!”

Organisers, India My Valentine

The plethora of artists who are performing include actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, singers Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj and Poojan Sahil, stand-up comedians Sanjay Rajoura, Kaneez Surka and Tanmay Bhat, and poets Sabika Abbas Naqvi and Naveen Chourey. And that’s not even close to half the list.

Here are all the details about the venues, timings and lineups for ‘India My Valentine’.

(Photo courtesy: India My Valentine)

‘Gather to Celebrate the India of Acceptance’

“We gather to celebrate the India we know and love – the India of tolerance, the India of acceptance, the India that strove to be a better place for even her most oppressed children, the India that was a dream. We celebrate the India of Tagore and Gandhi, of Nehru and Maulana Azad, of Patel and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the India of Ashfaqullah, Bismil, Savitribai Phule, Fatima. The India of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar.”

Organisers of India My Valentine

The organisers added, “The program is non-corporate, non-political and is funded by donations from friends, well-wishers and networks of like-minded well-meaning patriotic Indians.”

Dates and Venues

14th February

• JNU campus, Delhi - 5 to 9 pm
• Nizamuddin, Delhi - 7 to 11 pm
• Kardampuri, Delhi - 8 to 11 pm
• Sailor's Cafe, Navi Mumbai - 7 to 9 pm
• Mumbra, Thane district - 6 to 10 pm

15th February

• Rajabazar, Kolkata - 8 to 9 pm
• Sienna Cafe, Kolkata - 6 pm onwards
• Inder Lok, Delhi - 8 to 11 pm
• Hauz Rani, Delhi - 8 to 11 pm
• Brijpuri, Delhi - 8 to 11 pm
• Turkman Gate, Delhi - 8 to 11 pm
• Native Spaces, Mumbai - 5 pm onwards

16th February

• Panjab University, Chandigarh - 11 am to 3 pm
• La Makan, Hyderabad - 7 pm to 10 pm
• Big Bro's Cafe, Dehradun - 5 pm onwards
• Sophia College, Mumbai - 5:30 pm to 9 pm

Entry is free to all the India My Valentine events, apart from the event in Mumbai on Sunday, 16 February. For the Mumbai event, tickets are available for Rs 375 each and the organisers say that “all proceeds from the event will be split between organisations working towards welfare of the widows of war veterans and empowerment of women in public spaces.”

(Photo courtesy: India My Valentine)

The Valentine’s Day Lineup

DELHI

Date: 14 February
Venue: JNU campus
Time: 5 pm to 9 pm

Lineup:

• Naveen Chourey - Poetry
• Manik Mahna - Stand-up comedy
• Aditi Mittal - Stand-up comedy
• Varun Thakur - Stand-up comedy
• Sanjay Rajoura- Stand-up comedy
• Faye D'Souza - Speech
• Poojan Sahil- Parody songs
• Ratna Pathak Shah - Storytelling/Monologue
• Ahmer + Delhi Sultanate - Music
• Sumit Roy- Rap
• Saba Azad - Protest music
• Emcee: Swara Bhasker

Date: 14 February
Venue: Nizamuddin East (sit-in protest)
Time: 7 to 11 pm

(Photo courtesy: India My Valentine)

Lineup:

• Naveen Chourey - Poetry
• Poojan Sahil- Parody songs
• Manik Mahna -Stand-up comedy
• Himanshu Bajpai - Dastangoi
• Taikhum Sadiq- Shayari
• Aamir Aziz- Spoken word
• Sabika Naqvi- Spoken word
• Aseem Sundan - Spoken word
• Kaushik Raj - Spoken word
• Nabiya - Spoken word
• Pankaj Bhatt - Spoken word
• Kafeel Jafri - Dastangoi
• Mandvi - Spoken word
• Saba Azad - Protest Music
• Vote of thanks: Swara Bhasker

Date: 14 February
Venue: Kardampuri
Time: 8 to 11 pm

Lineup:

(Photo courtesy: India My Valentine)

MUMBRA

Date: 14 February
Venue: Mumbra, Thane district
Time: 6 to 10 pm

Lineup:

• Raj Shekhar - Spoken word
• Swanand Kirkire - Music
• Yalgaar - Music
• Jashn-E-Qalam - Dastangoi
• Ananya Gaur - Hindustani vocals
• Abhishek & Mayank, Yugm Band - Protest music
• Deepak Peace - Music

The Lineup on 15 February

KOLKATA

Date: 15 February
Venue: Sienna Cafe
Time: 6 pm onwards

Lineup:

• Anirban Dasgupta- Stand-up comedy
• Faye D'Souza - Spoken word
• Saba Azad- Music
• Sumit Roy - Rap

MUMBAI

Date: 15 February
Venue: Native Spaces
Time: 5 pm onwards

(Photo courtesy: India My Valentine)

The Lineup on 16 February

CHANDIGARH

Date: 16 February
Venue: Law Auditorium, Punjab University
Time: 11 am to 3 pm

Lineup:

• Sabika Naqvi - Poet
• Sumit Roy - Rap
• Aseem Sundan - Spoken word
• Kaushik Raj - Spoken word
• Nabiya - Spoken word
• Vipasha Malhotra - Music
• Naveen Chourey - Poetry
• Pankaj Bhatt - Spoken word
• Shubham Pal - Rap

HYDERABAD

Venue: Lamakaan
Time: 7 to 10 pm

Lineup:

• Faye D’Souza - Speech
• Aditi Mittal - Stand-up comedy

MUMBAI

Date: 16 February
Venue: Sophia college, Bhabha Auditorium
Time: 5:30 to 9 pm

Lineup:

• Rekha Bhardwaj - Music
• Vishal Bhardwaj - Music
• Ratna Pathak Shah - Monologue
• Naseeruddin Shah- Monologue
• Swanand Kirkire - Music
• Raj Shekhar - Poetry and music
• Tanmay Bhat - Stand-up comedy
• Sumukhi Suresh - Stand-up comedy
• Kaneez Surka - Stand-up comedy
• Madara - Rap
• Poojan Sahil - Parody songs
• Saba Azad- Music
• Emcee: Sucharita Tyagi