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Indian community events in February 2025

Where to be and what to see in your city this month

Reading Time: 5 minutes

 

So you’re back at work, the kids are back in school, and you’re settling into the warm embrace of routine after the holidays. Indian community events in February

Well then, let’s shake things up for you again! There’s plenty happening on the social and after-hours scene this month. Art. Theatre. Music. Literature. Stand-up. Community. Whatever your poison, there’s something for you. Read on for more.

Oh, and if we’ve missed your event, drop us a line at editor@indianlink.com.au – we’ll be glad to add it to our list.

EPIC MONTH

The Mahabharata comes to Perth Festival this month. The ancient Indian epic narrates a great war of succession between the cousins Pandavas and Kauravas, exploring themes of duty, righteousness and destiny, with the Bhagavad Gita as its spiritual core. A wonderful production performed in two parts (entitled Karma and Dharma), you can see it on two separate occasions, or in one mega sitting with an Indian meal thrown in between.

Indian events in February 2025 Perth
The Mahabharata (Source: Perth Festival)

Sounds like an absolute treat. The question we’d like to ask is, why isn’t this show touring other cities?

As if to fight off the FOMO – or perhaps to prove it’s the most (multi)cultural city in the nation – Melbourne has opted to present the Ramayana instead. (Take that, Perth!)

This production showcases a series of films based on the Ramayana, created by the doyens of India’s silent cinema era Dadasaheb Phalke and Baburao Painter. Painstakingly restored and digitised by the National Film Archive of India, it includes Phalke’s Shree Krishna Janma (1918), Raja Harishchandra (1913), Lanka Dahan (1918) and Bhakta Prahlad (1926), and Painter’s Sati Savitri (1927).

Kaliya Mardan (1919), directed by Dadasaheb Phalke who is known as “the Father of Indian cinema”
byu/Auir2blaze insilentmoviegifs

Accompanying the screenings will be original live music score by Melbourne’s own Hari Sivanesan, composer and multi-instrumentalist, with the South Asian Music Ensemble in contemporary and classical Indian styles.

Again, sounds like a total delight. And again, we’d like to ask, why isn’t this show touring other cities?

MUSIC

Meanwhile Sydney serves up an equally innovative offering, Nazri (The Ritual). Kitchen utensils become musical instruments in this amazing artistic experience, which brings together percussion from across cultures. It is based on the idea that cooking is a ritual that goes beyond mere sustenance, becoming an expression of compassion, unity, and shared humanity. Created by Iranian composer Dr Shervin Mirzeinali, it stars Maharshi Raval on the tabla, Sohrab Kolahdooz on the tombak or Iranian goblet drum, Niki Johnson on cymbals and bass drum and contemporary dancer Dr Elnaz Sheshgelani.


From the classical Indian scene, there are events to mark Purandaradasa Aradhana in honour of the saint composer Purandaradasa, the founding father of Carnatic Music as we know it today. Indian community events in February

Staying in the south of India, a modern-day genius tours Australia this month: Vineeth Sreenivasan – actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playback singer and lyricist.

Punjabi readers will welcome their own musical stars: Juss Manak and rapper AP Dhillon.

A few worthy Indian links also at Melbourne’s Asia-Pacific arts festival Asia TOPA. Delhi artists Thukral and Tagra present Bread Circuses and Home, a public installation and performance art series that uses kushti (wrestling) to tell tales of Punjabi migration (the unique ways that cultures adapt, survive and transform). Melbourne musician Rajan Silva’s Glass Beams takes to the stage with their recent breakout EP Mahal, featuring live instrumentation and DIY electronica.

The prolific Dr Priya Srinivasan surfaces yet again with Bunyi Bunyi Bumi, in which Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Indonesian artists present a rebuke of cultural amnesia – reimagining the old narratives of trade and Empire with truth, resistance, and resilience. In The Female Pope, artist Rakini Devi is 10th-century Pope Joan and the Hindu Goddess Kali as she makes a statement on misogyny and challenges traditional gender roles in society and religion.

LITERARY

Indian events in February 2025 Australia
Pankaj Mishra (Source: Flickr / On Being)

Indian writer Pankaj Mishra brings his latest work The World After Gaza, which reflects on complex issues stemming from current global conflicts, and the historical, political and ethical forces shaping our world.

Locally, prolific writer Dr Sydney Srinivas will launch the latest book in his series of groundbreaking scientists, Marie Curie, based on the only woman to receive the Nobel Prize twice, working at a time when few women were considered fit for science.

STAND-UP

Indian community events in February 2025 Sydney
Alok Vaid-Menon (Wikimedia Commons)

There’s been a fair amount of buzz around Alok Vaid-Menon – poet, actor, writer and performance artist – who brings his Hairy Situation tour down under this month. Through their work, Alok challenges transphobia and encourages audiences to embrace otherness with empathy, curiosity, and open minds. At a time when conversations around gender and identity are more polarised than ever, Alok offers a perspective that invites reflection, dialogue, and deeper understanding.

Wonder if the other two stand-up stars visiting this month, Zakir Khan and Haseeb Khan, will present thoughts on this issue.

If you’re in Brisbane, check out BrisAsia’s exciting line-up of stand-up performances showcasing homegrown talent with Asian heritage.

ARTS

Melbourne artist Nusra Latif Qureshi’s exhibition Birds in Far Pavillions at the Art Gallery of NSW, is worth checking out for its poignant reflections on history and identity. A Pakistani–born artist whose work spans painting, miniatures, collage, photography and 3D installations, her art bridges historical influences with modern experimentation.

An equally compelling exploration of cultural heritage – this time through digital technology – can be found in the exhibition Elsewhere in India (Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne’s ACMI) where film, interactive experiences, video games, sculpture, and electro-classical dance music merge to imagine a speculative Indo-futurist world.

Indian events in February 2025 Melbourne
Elsewhere in India (Source: ACMI)

In a welcome new initiative, Powerhouse Museum’s Kylie Kwong (yes, the Kylie Kwong) joins hands with the ‘modern desi’ Bhavna Kalra Shivalkar at Harris Park hotspot Chatkazz in a sellout event Powerhouse Food, to present to diners a deep dive into Indian street food.

COMMUNITY

Adelaide’s Indian community gathers for its annual mela, called exactly that, organised by its leading Indian association IAASA. Join in to catch up with friends, and /or for the cultural activities, food stalls and markets.

In Sydney, bring out your best pink sari for Pink Sari Inc’s cancer awareness walk. The annual event is aimed at spreading awareness of cancer, cancer screening and person-centred cancer care within the health system and in the community.

AND THIS MONTH, DON’T FORGET…

… to do something special for your significant other on Valentine’s Day

… to show love to the LGBTQIA+ people in your life as we celebrate Mardi Gras

… and that the Indian calendar for February marks Basant Panchami, Guru Ravidas Jayanti, Shivaji Jayanti, Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti, Maha Shivratri, and the start of Ramadan. Indian community events in February

For more Indian events in February 2025, head to our What’s On section

Rajni Anand Luthra
Rajni Anand Luthra
Rajni is the Editor of Indian Link.

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