Arriving in Panaji for the 9th edition of Serendipity Arts Festival, I was greeted by the kind of tropical humidity that clings to your skin, as if Goa itself was reaching out for a welcome. This annual gathering of art, culture, and what I like to call “festival enthusiasm” sprawls across the city’s most picturesque corners. From the Mandovi riverbanks to heritage buildings with fading pastel walls, Serendipity is, as its tagline promises, “not just a festival”—it’s a world unto itself, filled with creativity and contradictions.

Walking into The Arena at Nagalli Hills Ground, the first performance, Rangla Punjab, swept me into a whirlwind of colour and rhythm. The bhangra troupe, with their infectious energy, seemed to bring the heart of Punjab to Goa. Their performance of Jhoomar and Luddi was impossible to resist—soon enough, the audience joined in, clapping, dancing, and moving to the infectious beats of the dhol. Later that evening, the festival shifted gears with Laxmikant-Pyarelal: A Tribute and Beyond. Curated by Bickram Ghosh, this homage to Bollywood’s golden era left the audience swaying to timeless melodies. It was a fitting start to what promised to be an immersive festival experience.

Here comes the ART!

Exhibit View, Abundance In Scarcity: Exploring Ladakh’s Sustainable Ingenuity, Curated by Sandeep Sangaru

The following day, I attempted to approach the festival with a clearer agenda. My first stop: Abundance in Scarcity at the Samba Square curated by Sandeep Sangaru, where Ladakh’s sustainable ingenuity mixed with mechanical components took centre stage through objects and installations that felt like they were floating. Natural plant elements, cloth, material, block prints, all told us a story of people in Ladakh living in one of the harshest environments. What drew me in? His storytelling of a world of quiet survival.

Exhibit View, Multiplay, Curated by Thukral and Tagra

Moving along, at the ground floor of the Old GMC Building, Multiplay curated by Thukral & Tagra turned spaces into an interactive playground, hazing the line between artist, observer, and participant. Bringing together multiple artists, they created a space where you could completely immerse and get lost. The exhibit Indigo Flower urged the visitors to participate and leave their prints by walking across a canvas after dipping their soles in indigo, talking about the long-lasting nature of the material. Nafrat/Parvah offered a therapeutic chance for all to share their story and leave a piece (Literally) of their hate and receive the care they deserved. But the highlight for me was the exhibit Chainpreet’s Sofa, by Sarnath Banerjee, an Indian graphic novelist who presented satirical posters and an animated video playing on loop bringing humour, wit, and our everyday frustrations with a solution of 2 possible ointments to cure them! 

Exhibit View, Indigo Flower, Himanshu Shani, Serendipity Arts Festival 2024

In an interview with us, Sumir Tagra from Thukral & Tagra shared, “Multiplay transcends these boundaries between the host, curator, artist, volunteer and audiences, and then we are bringing in an interlocutor who’s actually also seeing three to four of these stakeholders to work around a new knitting of sorts. This knitting can be a form, it can be linear, it can be paradoxical, it can also be a compartment or it can be a very fragmented state of knowledge processes.” 

This idea of knitting roles together was reflected in the space itself, where conversations began where exhibitions ended, and the act of participation became a kind of performance.

Exhibit View, A Haptic Score, Curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki

In the same building, I found myself drawn to A Haptic Score, Curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki who along with brilliant artists interspersed touch, sound, and memory into an understated yet profoundly experiential exhibition. In conversation with her, she described Serendipity Arts Festival as a beautiful space for artists and curators to experiment and truly do as they feel. Her words added a new depth to what I’d seen, focusing on the freedom and fluidity the festival offers to its collaborators.

As sunset fell, music took over. River Raga by Ujjaini Mukherjee and Anay Gadgil on a cruise featuring a soulful bridge between classical and contemporary explaining throughout the different ragas and their renditions, followed by Blackstrat Blues back at the Arena at Nagalli Hills, And just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Thermal and a Quarter lit up the stage, their “Bangalore rock” sound all while shaking up the audience with an unexpected performance of Space Oddity by David Bowie.

Exhibit View, Zarina Hashmi, Curated by Renu Modi

By Day 3, the festival’s many faces had become clear. Ghosts in Machines, curated by Damian Christinger at the Excise Building, offered a haunting meditation on memory, technology, and the passage of time. Meanwhile, Geographies of Yourself explored identity with works by artists like Ai Weiwei, who presented Water Lilies in his own interpretation, and Zarina Hashmi, whose incredible abstract and geometric forms were curated by Renu Modi. Although each was a masterpiece in its own right, I couldn’t get over Ajab Karkhana (Strange Manufactory) by Sheba Chhachhi, where she suspended a sphere constructed entirely of laboratory glassware, presenting the dual nature of scientific progress and its consequences.

Ajab Karkhana (Strange Manufactory), Sheba Chhachhi, Serendipity Arts Festival, 2024

A personal highlight was Bhupen in Goa, curated by Gulammohammed Sheikh at the Directorate of Accounts. Bhupen Khakhar’s intimate watercolours, ceramics, and drawings felt like a love letter to both his artistic vision and the world he inhabited.

Exhibit View, Bhupen In Goa, Curated by Gulammohammed Sheikh

One of the most striking performances of the evening was The Bells by 5AngryMen, supported by the Centre for Australia-India Relations and the Australian Consulate-General in Mumbai. The ensemble began an almost impossible task that had to be completed at any cost, drawing us into their world of tension, rhythm, and resolve. This theatrical display of live art combined endurance, performance, and the resonant sound of ringing bells. It was absolutely engrossing—eliciting laughter and wonder from the audience. At the end of the performance, the audience got a chance to take hold of the ropes ourselves, ringing the bells, only to realise it wasn’t as easy as it looked!  

The Bells, 5AngryMen, Serendipity Arts Festival, 2024

As the evening unfolded, music and performance took centre stage for one last time for me. Roz Angon, curated by Zubin Balaporia, led the audience on a reflective musical journey about the loss of Goan identity, a sentiment many Goans in the crowd were seen experiencing. Through melodies steeped in remembrance, it mourned the erosion of Goa’s cultural essence—its language, food, flora, and fauna—in the face of rapid change.

Roz Angon, Curated by Zubin Balaporia, Serendipity Arts Festival, 2024

As I came to the end of my festival journey, I couldn’t help but feel there was more left to uncover—after all, with a festival this extensive, it’s impossible to experience everything. For my final stop, I visited the AI Lab at the Kala Academy, which brought a futuristic lens to the festival. An interactive installation encouraged visitors to imagine how machines are shaping the future of art and creativity. With screens and iPads, the exhibit allowed everyone to think out of the box, create a world, and later animate it.

TO DA BONE, (La) Horde, Serendipity Arts Festival, 2024

The night reached its crescendo with TO DA BONE, supported by the French Institute in India and choreographed by (La) Horde. This electrifying performance explored youth rebellion and the power of social media in mobilising dissent. Through dynamic movement and raw energy, it left the audience in awe. 

If art festivals like the Venice Biennale are exclusive parties, Serendipity feels like a sprawling family picnic—messy, warm, and full of surprises. The Art Fervour Crossword was the perfect embodiment of this spirit, turning exploration into play and rewarding curiosity with collectibles. It’s these touches, small but significant, that make Serendipity not just a festival but a space for everyone.

Crossword Challenge, Art Fervour, Serendipity Arts Festival, 2024

Serendipity Arts Festival is an invitation—to think, feel, connect, and, most importantly, get a little lost. It’s not perfect, but that’s the point. In its imperfections lie its charm: an unpolished celebration of art that embraces everyone who walks through its doors. As I left Panaji, I knew I’d carry these moments with me and be back for the next edition—not just for the art, but for the serendipitous encounters that make this festival one of a kind.

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