Spring Song

The arrival of spring is a festival; a spirited beating of the heart between sleep and waking of the worlds we share. Spring Song is an attempt to engage deeply with the gifts of the earth as it stretches, preens, and reawakens.

Spring Song is an open-ended project. The series of events invites artists, thinkers, and good Samaritans from every discipline to contribute their voices to the season. The experience is woven together through:

  • Performance: Storytelling and spoken word interlaced with live music and SFX, paired with the fluid expressions of movement artists. Together, we retell Pahadi folklore in conversation with stories and melodies from across the world.
  • The “Springworks” Chapbook: A tangible keepsake of the season, this publication gathers a diverse collection of letters, poems, paintings, photographs, and graphic designs. They capture the fleeting essence of spring and fossilize the intimate connection of people with their time and surroundings.
  • Communal Participation: Interactive workshops and activities designed to foster an immediate, tactile relationship with the environment and an active participation in the making of local culture.
  • Curated Flavors: In collaboration with venues, spring-inspired foods and beverages are developed to promote culinary engagement with local, seasonal produce, honoring the specific cultural and ecological landscape.

This project is an invitation for artists and audiences alike to shed the dormancy of winter and participate in an unforgettable and ephemeral experience of the now.

Dear Friend of my Heart

Spring is a soft occasion for the heart’s transformation. Take a moment to pause and put pen to paper, or tap the keys with passion, capturing what you feel in the midst of this flux. We invite you to write a letter and share these reflections with others, so we may all witness the beauty of our collective experience.
Your letter may find a home in the Springworks 2026 Chapbook, our website, or you might even receive a heartfelt reply.

People of Spring Song 2026

Prashant Nawani

creative director, storyteller, guitarist

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A poet from Dehradun, Prashant spends his time in the company of seasons as people and people as seasons. Other than being the founder and principal storyteller at Story of the Footloose, he serves as the vocalist of the progressive rock band Rivermind, while also performing solo as a singer-poet and fingerstyle guitarist, blending influences from diverse musical traditions into his own voice.

His poetry often circles around nature, love, loss, and longing, carrying a contemplative warmth that lives both in his notebooks and in performance.

Beyond music and poetry, Prashant is currently working on his debut novel, now under editing—a project that seeks to breathe life into a story of intellectual ambition and unknown inheritance in the contemporary world.

Swati Negi

architect, concept lead

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Swati is the principal architect of Sans Studio, based in Dehradun. Her work focuses on reviving vernacular construction principles, blending traditional wisdom with contemporary relevance. She designs self-sustaining ecosystems that help users reduce their carbon footprint.

Much of her work is rooted in the Himalayan bioregion, with a strong emphasis on promoting earth- and lime-based construction techniques.

She graduated from Pune University in 2012, after which she worked with renowned earth construction practitioners such as Satprem of the Auroville Earth Institute and Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh.

Her journeys through remote Himalayan regions laid the groundwork for Sans Studio, which was founded in 2018.

Srishti Malaviya

editor, writer

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Srishti Malaviya is a theorist and writer currently based in Prague. She holds a PhD in international politics from JNU, where she first discovered her love for rambling, romanticising, and conceptualising.

She is committed to a fascination with possible and impossible worlds that breathe and seethe in our midst—the ones steaming out of invisible cracks in the boundaries of the visible.

In her theoretical work, she maps these worlds into concepts; in her literary dreams, she lives them.

Abhyudai Dhawan

dramaturge, writer

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Abhyudai is an interdisciplinary communications specialist with a background in social science, who occasionally writes.

Feruza Abdullaeva

artist and concept

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Feruza Abdullaeva, also known as Azeema Nur, is a Central Asian artist from Bukhara, who currently lives in South California, working as a muralist and fine artist in the language of magical realism. Her work centers women and the divine feminine, drawing from travel, family history, and lived experience.

She practices Abru Bahor (abru — cloud, bahor — spring), an ancient Sufi art form from Bukhara rooted in humility and devotion. Traditionally understood as a way of receiving and interpreting messages from God, Abrubahar is a selfless, meditative practice in which the artist becomes a vessel rather than an author.

Deeply connected to India and its mythological traditions, Feruza’s work weaves spiritual inquiry with contemporary storytelling, using symbolism and intuition to explore transformation, femininity, and the sacred.

Mallika

artist and stagecraft

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My practice is deeply rooted in nature, personal experiences, dreams, and emotions. I believe in capturing the essence of these elements and translating them onto my chosen medium, whether it’s canvas, sculpture, or other artistic forms. For me, color and texture play a pivotal role in conveying my vision. When it comes to my artistic process, I rely on my intuitive instincts for strokes, shades, shape, and color choices.

Studying sculpture at Chandigarh Arts College and embarking on a journey across India has profoundly influenced my artistic concerns and interests. Immersing myself in different cultures, landscapes, and interactions has provided valuable insights that shape my creative path. I am driven by a desire to encapsulate the emotions and interactions that surround me.

By embracing spontaneity and allowing the paint to flow naturally, I aim to mirror the ever-changing nature of human emotions. This technique allows me to create authentic and dynamic representations of my daily experiences, offering a glimpse into the intricacies of human feelings.

Active collaboration has been an integral part of my artistic journey. I take pride in showcasing my work in various settings, sharing my unique perspective, and captivating audiences with my evocative creations.

Currently, I work as a freelance artist and scenographer, continuously refining my artistic expression and exploring new avenues of creativity. While exploring a wide range of mediums, I have developed a particular interest in incorporating textures into my artwork, experimenting with various materials and techniques. This has allowed me to bring vivid visions to life, especially in theatrical plays and wall murals—collaborating with various performing artists and musicians in India.

I also like to breathe new life into what was once considered waste, transforming it into thought-provoking sculptures. Through this method, I aim not only to showcase my artistic talent but also to remind others of the importance of responsible consumption and creative solutions for a more sustainable future.

B Ajay Sharma

painter, performance artist

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B Ajay Sharma (b. 1986, Deoghar, Jharkhand) is a multidisciplinary artist who, over the past fifteen years, has developed a rich and diverse practice spanning Photo Performance, alternative photography prints, painting, drawing, performance, sculpture, video, and site-specific installation.

His work is deeply influenced by explorations of time and landscape, examined through themes of memory, migration, mortality, and identity in a state of continuous displacement and transformation. Positioning himself as a witness to the passage of time, Sharma captures multilayered histories and the remnants of performative acts within time and space.

His artistic practice is characterised by a dynamic interplay between subjective experience and collective narrative, engaging deeply with the temporal and spatial dimensions of human existence. His work extends the identities of objects, intertwining them with belonging and temporality, and reflects a multifaceted exploration of the Anthropocene, socio-political realities, labour dynamics within personal and familial narratives, geopolitical identities, and everyday life phenomena.

Sharma earned his BFA from Banaras Hindu University in 2007 and an MFA in Painting from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, in 2009. He is currently pursuing a PhD in South Asian Performance Art Practice in Public Space.

He has exhibited widely in India and internationally, including at Limited Edition Art Fair (Brussels, 2024), Asia Panorama at ACC Gwangju (2023), Wind H Art Center and Ten Art Space, Shanghai (2023), Art On Paper Belgium (2023), Eunam Museum Gwangju, and India Art Fair, among others. His work has been shown across Europe, South Korea, China, Australia, and the USA.

Sharma is the co-founder of in-process live art practice, a platform for collective and collaborative performance art. He has performed at Theertha Performance Platform (Sri Lanka), PAN Asia Performance Festivals, INVERSE Performance Festival (USA), Flesh Crisis at Charlotte Street Foundation (USA), and several international performance platforms.

His work is held in several public and private collections in India and abroad, including Spain, Belgium, South Korea, the USA, the UK, France, Singapore, Mumbai, and Bangalore.

Shivani Joshi

maskmaker and designer

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Shivani is a multidisciplinary beauty and visual artist working across fashion and performance. She explores the body as a living form through masks and headwear. Curious by nature, she learns through hands-on making and photography, inspired by culture and everyday life.

Prabhav Sharma

bassist

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Prabhav Sharma began his musical journey as a bassist and guitarist during his time at JNU, alongside pursuing German studies. After spending several years working in Europe, he returned to India in 2023 and re-immersed himself in the music scene, collaborating with musicians across diverse genres.

Known for his groove-oriented and rhythm-centric style, he has continually explored percussion and experimental soundscapes, always seeking new sonic possibilities and pushing the expressive limits of instruments.

Currently, he is actively collaborating with several Dehradun-based musicians, contributing his bass expertise to a range of ongoing musical projects.

Dipesh Manral

percussion and sfx

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Dipesh Manral is a self-taught musician and multidisciplinary artist who learns by doing, observing, and listening. He primarily works as a director of photography and naturally gravitated toward music through rhythm and creative flow, starting out by making music with friends.

With their encouragement, he continues exploring music as a percussionist, bringing together sound and visual storytelling in his work.

Palash Krishna Mehrotra

writer

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Footloose

Spirit

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HOW IT BEGAN

Born as the sister counterpart to Autumn Air, this performance series explores the cycles of the seasons through a multidisciplinary lens. The debut of this series, the inaugural Spring Song, took place on February 22nd, 2025, at Brew Casa, Dehradun. Created in a soulful collaboration with Prakriyaa, the evening was designed as a communal ritual of renewal. It was conceptualised and performed by Prashant Nawani in collaboration with Harshita Srivastava (permaculturist and designer), Feruza Abdullaeva (artist and thinker), and Srinjoy Ghosh (educator and psychologist).

spring song 2025 gallery

SPRING SONG 2025 Chapbook Preview

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