May in Delhi brings a blend of cultural richness, creativity, and live performances to keep you engaged throughout the month. Whether you’re looking to explore the life of Mahatma Gandhi through art, indulge in an interactive Shakespearean experience, or witness a soulful concert by Shankar Mahadevan, the city is buzzing with unique events. This is your guide to everything from thought-provoking theatre to hands-on workshops and unforgettable musical performances.
Far from occupying an artistic limbo, “Company painting” marks the pivotal moment when court-trained Indian artists first stepped beyond royal patronage. In this compelling exhibition, historian Dr. Giles Tillotson showcases how these artisans (1790-1835) adapted European techniques while retaining their distinctive vision.
Date: 12th April – 5th July
Venue: Delhi Art Gallery, 22A Windsor Place, Janpath
Neville Tuli’s new exhibition explores Gandhi’s life and ideas through art, photos, and rare objects. The fifth part of the “Rediscovering India” series shows how Gandhi’s peaceful methods shaped India’s freedom movement. Featuring modern artwork alongside historical items, the exhibition includes conversations between Tuli and four experts. It offers a fresh look at why Gandhi still matters today through a mix of visuals and stories that bring his journey to life.
Date: 26th April – 5th May
Venue: Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC)
This interactive talk-performance by theatre-maker Rudy Nair strips away Shakespeare’s academic armour to reveal the hustling playwright beneath. The session plunges you into the messy, vibrant world of Elizabethan theatre – where plays were cranked out for demanding crowds, not future English classes.
See how the actual spaces shaped the stories, why the language flows as it does, and how actors tackled these texts with minimal prep. Through performance snippets and insider stories, Nair resurrects Shakespeare as he truly was: not some marble genius, but a savvy artist navigating the chaotic, thrilling constraints of live theatre.
Date: 4th May
Venue: 9, Dhan Mill
There are artists, and then there are storytellers. Lifafa is both. Suryakant Sawhney (of Peter Cat Recording Co.) merges past and present, the digital and the deeply personal, into a sonic world that’s as much about memory as it is about music. It’s not just electronic—it’s raw, reflective, and intricately tied to cultural identity. Expect a banger concert that feels devotional without the dogma, nostalgic without the cliché.
Date: 7th May
Venue: Thanks & Beyond, Nehru Place
This raw solo performance tracks one woman’s pleasure-seeking odyssey through the messy landscape of her own desires. Blending movement with monologue, the piece fractures time as the protagonist confronts her younger self in an intimate reckoning with memory and consent.
The performance navigates between biting humor and meditative stillness, revealing how our bodies archive every touch, every boundary crossed or respected. As personal histories collide with present hunger, what unfolds is a vulnerable excavation of female pleasure—the kind rarely spoken of openly. A visceral, tender confrontation that invites audiences to witness a journey both profoundly private and universally resonant.
Date: 10th May – 11th May
Venue: 9, Dhan Mill
Sign up for a hands-on pizza workshop where your culinary canvas awaits. No experience necessary—just bring your appetite for creation as veteran pizza chefs guide you through the art of authentic Neapolitan pie-making.
You’ll get elbow-deep in dough-stretching techniques before customising your masterpiece with premium toppings. Watch your creation bubble and char to perfection in blazing wood-fired ovens while sipping your welcome drink. Every station comes fully equipped with ingredients, tools, and personalised instruction, ensuring even first-timers craft Instagram-worthy pizzas.
Date: 11th May – 25th May
Venue: Le Cantine – European Kitchen & Bar, DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj
Immerse yourself in myth and motif at the Ramayana: Traditional Indian Art Workshop in Delhi’s Pitampura. Guided by artist Simi Anand, this four-hour session reimagines episodes from the epic through the intricate rhythms of Indian folk art. No experience necessary—just a willingness to slow down, paint, and let ancient stories speak through line and colour.
Date: 12th April – 5th July
Venue: Delhi Art Gallery, 22A Windsor Place, Janpath
What happens when Agatha Christie meets chaotic felt? Orange Juice reimagines And Then There Were None as a comic glove-puppet thriller—part murder mystery, part existential circus. Guilt, justice, and judgment unravel as the suspects (and puppets) begin to fall, one by one. It’s sharp, strange, and strangely profound. Expect classic whodunnit tropes turned inside-out, stitched together with foam, farce, and a dash of dread. No one’s innocent, everyone’s a suspect—and the punchlines land just as hard as the twists.
Date: 16th May – 18th May
Venue: Theatre, 9, Dhan Mill
Shankar Mahadevan takes the stage in a performance that transcends music—a soulful tribute to Lord Krishna and a call to contribute to the creation of the world’s tallest temple, the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir. Expect an evening woven with devotion, emotion, and a sense of spiritual grandeur that’s as transformative as it is transcendent.
Date: 17th May
Venue: Indira Gandhi Sports Complex
