Bhadra Festival 2026, Ahmedabad: Ustad Fazal Qureshi and Ustad Shujaat Khan Headline Teen Darwaza on 19 November
The old city of Ahmedabad was built around a citadel. On 19 November, that citadel becomes a festival ground.
Bhadra Festival spreads across Bhadra Fort, Bhadra Plaza and Teen Darwaza, the triple gateway that has framed the walled city since the fifteenth century. It is conceived, curated and presented by Crraft Of Art, now in its seventeenth year, and supported by the Amdavad Municipal Corporation as part of World Heritage Week.
The main concert at Teen Darwaza, 7:15pm
Ustad Fazal Qureshi (tabla), with:
George Brooks, saxophone
Rahul Wadhwani, keyboards
Sheldon D'Silva, bass
Arun Kumar, drums
Ustad Shujaat Khan (sitar), with:
Amit Choubey, tabla
Sapan Anjaria, tabla
Hosted by Manav Gohil.
Two instincts in one evening. Qureshi's line-up, with Brooks on saxophone and a bass-and-drums rhythm section, points towards fusion. Shujaat Khan, of the Imdadkhani gharana, brings the sitar's more lyrical register. Hearing them against the stone of Teen Darwaza is the festival's central idea.
Folk and live performances
Nathulal Solanki and troupe, nagara
Vijanand Turi and troupe, ravanhatha
Sidi Goma Dance Group, Sidi dhamal
Incredible Mallakhamb, mallakhamb
Theatre and storytelling
Giant Puppet Parade by Ishara Puppet Theatre and Dadi Pudumjee
Dastan-e-Darwaza, a dastangoi, and Bhadraakhyan, traditional Gujarati storytelling, by Utopia
Natya Sangeet: Gems of Gujarati Rangbhoomi by Nisarg Trivedi and actors
Exhibitions and experiences
Rang: The Living Archives of Gujarati Theatre, curated by Manvita Baradi
Bhadra Unposed, photographs by Vinay Panjwani
Bhadra Remembers, an archival photography exhibition
Projection mapping on Bhadra Fort
A Mata ni Pachedi facade projection at Premabhai Hall, drawing on Gujarat's painted temple-cloth tradition
How to attend
Festival begins: 4pm; main concert: 7:15pm
Entry: carries no charge for all visitors
Registration: mandatory on BookMyShow for Bhadra Fort and the main concert
Seating: first come, first served, with a few seats reserved
Why it works
Heritage festivals often feel like tours with a soundtrack. Bhadra's programme is more interesting than that: it places living traditions, from the Siddi community's dhamal to Gujarati natya sangeet, in the exact spaces where the city's public life once happened. If you are in Ahmedabad that week, arrive at four and stay until the last note.
Further afield, the Jaigarh Heritage Festival takes a similar idea to a Jaipur hilltop in December.
Frequently asked questions
When is Bhadra Festival 2026?
On 19 November 2026. The festival begins at 4pm and the main concert starts at 7:15pm.
Who is performing at the main concert?
Ustad Fazal Qureshi on tabla with George Brooks, Rahul Wadhwani, Sheldon D'Silva and Arun Kumar, and Ustad Shujaat Khan on sitar with Amit Choubey and Sapan Anjaria. Manav Gohil hosts.
Is there a ticket price?
Entry carries no charge, but prior registration on BookMyShow is mandatory for Bhadra Fort and the main concert. Seating is first come, first served.
Who organises Bhadra Festival?
It is conceived, curated and presented by Crraft Of Art, supported by the Amdavad Municipal Corporation as part of World Heritage Week.
Kenneth Hopkins is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AltBollywood. Indofuturist, posthumanist and unapologetically Indocentric, he describes himself as an epimemeticist, a swaraji, a freakonomist, a lexicographer and a cartochronicler, mapping the ideas, words and quiet shifts that shape Indian entertainment. Follow him on Instagram at @kennethhopkins.
Comments