Hypokrit Theatre Company along with James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation present the first annual festival of South Asian Performing Arts in New York City. The festival, titled Tamasha, will showcase an array of Dance, Music, Spoken Word, Theatre and Comedy by South Asian Artists. Tamasha 2016 will be held from September 26th to October 2nd at the Paradise Factory in Manhattan. The festival was curated by Arpita Mukherjee, Shubhra Prakash (both former chairs of the South Asian International Performing Arts Festival), and Nikita Chaudhry to provide opportunities for up-and-coming artists of South Asian origin to connect and collaborate.
“Tamasha’s inaugural year happens to be one where it is imperative for minority communities, first, second generation immigrants, to speak up. The festival includes over 50 South Asian artists from around the world and other artists of color as well. Each individual voice is unique, but we speak collectively” says Arpita Mukherjee, Festival Co-Chair of Tamasha and Co-Founder of Hypokrit Theatre Company.
Tamasha, which means “to walk together” in Persian, travelled to Maharashtra and Deccan through the Mughal dynasty. The word then evolved as the name for a popular folk theatre form, which melded dance, poetry, music, comedy and theatre, and drew from Hindu and Muslim culture. In contemporary Hindi, Tamasha means a grand show or performance, a fun-filled play, or simply entertainment.
