Will the Bulbul Sing to the Flowers Again?
Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Will the Bulbul Sing to the Flowers Again? by Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo draws its title from a nazm (poem) by Kashmiri poet Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor, which beautifully eulogizes Kashmir`s landscape.
The work explores the profound connection between a landscape and one`s identity. It prompts us to consider whether the violent and troubled history of Kashmir can be separated from its magnificent landscapes, or if this painful fragmentation is an endless burden. The work delves into how continuous oppression can drive people inward, severing their ties to essential anchors of self, the landscape, literature, language, and personal stories.
Drawing from family albums, literary culture and familial ties, the artists bring together archival photographs and staged portraits made in Verzasca, Switzerland, whose landscape echoes that of Kashmir. Through these images, the work reflects on displacement, fractured identities and the longing for home, challenging notions of `ideal family` portrait and memory. Yet, amid themes of lament and longing, they also offer a glimmer of hope, the promise of a future, a new spring.
Programming
Preview and Opening
Will the Bulbul Sing to the Flowers Again?
Date: 6 November 2026
Time: 5:00-8:00 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
Artist Walkthrough - With Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Date: 6 November 2026
Time: 5:00 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
Artist Walkthrough - With Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Date: 14 November 2026
Time: 4:00 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
Artist Talk - Manan Shah in conversation with Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Date: 14 November 2026
Time: 5:30 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
Artist Walkthrough - With Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Date: 12 December 2026
Time: 4:00 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
Artist Talk - Sabeena Gadihoke in conversation with Anita Khemka and Imran Kokiloo
Date: 12 December 2026
Time: 5:30 pm
Venue: Dilip Piramal Art Gallery
TIME
Exhibition
Dates: 7 November - 20 December 2026
Time: 12 noon - 8:00 pm
Please note: Gallery will be closed between the 8th of November - 11th of November 2026.
Extended Hours:
* Art Night - Tuesday, 10 November 2026: Extended hours until 9:00 pm
* Art Night - Thursday, 10 December 2026: Extended hours until 9:00 pm
An NCPA Presentation
Entry Free
Event venue
Dilip Piramal Art Gallery: NCPA, National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021, India
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