Jasmine garlands and candles softened the dimly lit hall at Adarsh Palm Retreat (APR). Guests in ethnic wear left their footwear outside and were welcomed with haldi-kumkum as they settled into the low seating for a baithak-style musical evening. Reality show finalist Koyel Mukherjee sang soulful songs and ghazals, drawing the 135-member audience into the per formance. Many sang along.Across Bengaluru, some residents are bringing music and theatre into homes and apartment communities. For them, smaller performances offer a chance to pause, meet neighbours and enjoy art close to home. “These intimate musical events recreate the nostalgia of community terrace gatherings during power cuts while offering an alternative to compulsive phone scrolling,” says an APR resident.Resident Kiran Harjani, who attended with family and friends, said the music revived childhood memories of humming songs with her father. “My favourite was the Sufi song ‘Dama Dum Mast Qalandar’,” she says.Kiran Grover Adlakha, co-founder of Marasim Entertainment, who is also a resident of APR, says music will remain central to their next few events, with theatre potentially added later.Adlakha and her friends now plan to replicate the model in apartment communities such as Prestige Lakeside Habitat, Prestige Shantiniketan, and Sobha Meadows.“The idea is to bring intimate music or art experiences closer to people in residential communities, right in their backyard, to reduce travel, avoid big crowds, and create a sense of belonging,” says Adlakha, who works with Apple.Musician Manasi Prasad notes that in big concerts, lighting and distance can sometimes make the audience feel anonymous and hence home performances are more fulfilling.‘Art In The Living Room’Vatsala Shrivastava invites known artists to perform for 40-60 people at her home in Purva Seasons in CV Raman Nagar, aiming to bring art to her community and recreate the ‘art in the living room’ ecosystem. She provides the venue, arranges tea and snacks, but neither charges nor earns from these events. Attendees pay ticket costs directly to the artist. “The idea is to nurture art and make theatre accessible to people who find travelling to venues difficult,” she says.The curated artistic events —mainly interactive solo plays and performances — are inspired by her childhood in Patna, where her writer father, who worked with All India Radio, would hold creative discussions in their drawing room.A narrative architect and communication consultant, she sends out curated invitations rather than opening them to all. She invites people from her apartment community, her children’s school, professional circles, and artist friends. Attendance has consistently been full.In Nov, she will host a musical evening at her home featuring Anuradha Sivarajan, an artist trained in classical music, who will perform ghazals, Bollywood, folk, classical, Bengali and Western songs.“Interactive, minimalist productions with small casts work best for home performances, where large casts or props can be overwhelming,” says Shrivastava, an actor herself, who enjoys English and Hindi plays that spark contemporary conversation and reflect lived reality, regardless of language.Guests typically mingle before and after the performance. Many stay back to talk with the artists and each other, and friendships are often formed through these gatherings.Coffee & ConversationsWhat Rashmi Sharma likes the most about home-based theatre performances is that they allow one to mingle with neighbours and other attendees before the show over snacks and coffee, and have “reflective, thought-provoking discussions after the performance”. She emphasises theatre’s ability to make strong statements and leave audiences with ideas to discuss, calling the overall experience “immersive and enriching”.Sharma, who is from Rishikesh and now an engineering director in Bengaluru, says such community events allow her to watch plays without having to navigate the traffic, while her 11-year-old daughter can play with her friends nearby. Watching a play just a few floors away feels like a dream come true for her.Some, like Mansee Shah, a Bengaluru-based artist, are making the most of these settings. A curator who previously ran a well-known art space, Shah now builds art communities and performs in small spaces. Her shows are interactive and often use a ‘playback theatre’ format where audience members share real stories that performers immediately reenact.As a section of residents aims to demystify art and cultivate a sense of belonging among the attendees, Bengaluru’s cultural scene is witnessing a heartwarming shift that’s showcasing a collective longing for authentic social engagement.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..In small settings, performers can build a close rapport, interact directly with the audience, explain pieces, and even experiment with new material. This creates a stronger emotional connection and allows musicians to gauge audience reactions in real timeManasi Prasad | MUSICIANStaging performances at home does not diminish the experience. I select highly interactive formats designed to ‘bloom’ in small spaces. Artists engage directly with audiences, sometimes involving them in the narrativeVatsala Shrivastava HOSTS PLAYS AT HER HOME IN CV RAMAN NAGARWe are trying to help residents pause, reconnect, and revive older forms of community bonding. We want people to mingle and form ongoing connections, not just attend a show and leaveKiran Grover Adlakha | CO-FOUNDER, MARASIMPeople don’t just sit and listen. They sing together. They sway together. They clap together. They create rhythm together. They respond to the artist, and the artist responds to them. At that moment, it stops being just a performance and becomes a shared experienceSutirth Mukherjee aka M Tirtho | SINGER AND MUSIC ENTHUSIASTIt is amazing to see how a person standing next to you and having chai transforms the space magically in the next moment, just through his or her music.Sudarshan Gopalan | STARTUP FOUNDER. ATTEND HOME-BASED MUSICAL EVENTS AT PEBBLES BAY APARTMENT, DOLLAR’S COLONYIn a living room, you feel the performer’s energy up close. It feels less like a show and more like something that belongs to you. Large commercial spaces cannot offer that experience. Not to mention the post-performance discussions that turn strangers into friends.Kshitij, ART AND PERFORMANCE ENTHUSIAST
