Lecture/ Interactive Talk/ Presentation
Language: English
Duration: 90 min including Q & A
Venue: Centre d’Art, Auroville
Date: 26 November
Time: 5pm

Synopsis:
Step into the fascinating world of Lavani — a bold, beautiful, and deeply misunderstood art form rooted in matriarchal traditions.
In this interactive session, writer-researcher Bhushan Korgaonkar takes you into the lives of Lavani women — artists who “marry their ghungroos” and live by rhythms that defy easy categorization. Are these practices empowering or exploitative? What lies between performance and personal freedom?
Through rare anecdotes, stories, and songs, Bhushan unravels the creative and social worlds of Lavani — from the making of a song to the dynamics of performance. You’ll discover what a Baithakichi Lavani truly is, how women collaborate in this form, and the complex reality that exists beyond glamour and judgment.
Join us for an hour-long journey through stories, songs, and reflections — followed by a 30-minute Q&A with the audience. Discover Lavani as you’ve never seen it before.

About the speaker:
Bhushan Korgaonkar is a multilingual writer, theatre director, lyricist and translator. He has been engaging with Lavani artists since 2002, which led him to write his award-winning book ‘Sangeet Bari’ in 2014. Based on this book, he created the much-acclaimed shows ‘Sangeet Bari’, ‘Lavani Ke Rang’, ‘Love & Lavani’ and also curated and directed many other shows through his company B Spot Productions. He has written Lavani and other songs for music videos produced by ‘Agents of Ishq’. Bhushan also writes fiction that primarily deals with sexuality and crime. His erotic stories on the ‘Storytel’ app are widely popular, as are his periodic features in ‘Loksatta’ and ‘Mint Lounge’ chronicling his relationship with unique cuisines. He has also translated Shahu Patole’s Marathi book ‘Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada’ by Harper Collins.
In this session:
Dive into the unknown world of matriarchal communities of Sangeet Bari with an Audio Visual presentation including clips of live private performances and shows
Understand basics of the form, brief history and current status
Analyse lyrics and understand the raw expression.