Delhi’s second week of May starts slow and ends at a sprint — and honestly, that is exactly the right speed for a city running on chai and controlled chaos. Whether you want to sculpt a human face from clay in the soft evening light of Mandi House, watch someone get hit in the face with a tomato in Gurugram, or sit cross-legged in a candlelit mehfil listening to a Sufi master who traces his lineage to the 14th century — this week has built something for every version of you.
Here is everything worth knowing.
Triveni Summer Portraiture Workshop — May 11-16
If you have ever wanted to make something with your hands and actually meant it, this is the week. Indian sculptor Kosal Kumar leads six consecutive evenings of live portrait sculpting at Triveni Kala Sangam in Mandi House — one of Delhi’s most quietly beautiful cultural spaces. The workshop runs Monday through Saturday, 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm, with a live model, and is open to both beginners and experienced artists. You bring yourself. The studio provides the rest.
This is the kind of event that sounds calm until you are three hours in and realise you have not checked your phone once. Worth every rupee of the ₹9,600 ticket for the full six-session run.
When: May 11-16, 5.30-7.30 pm | Where: Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House | Tickets: ₹9,600
The Future of Nostalgia — Last week at Nature Morte
Before Friday swallows the week whole, make time for this. Murari Jha’s art show at Nature Morte closes on May 17 — this is your final window. The title alone earns the visit.
La Tomatina, Gurugram — May 16
A Spanish tomato-throwing festival, transplanted to an Indian summer in Gurgaon with — and this must be acknowledged — remarkable commitment to the bit. Tomatoes. A DJ. Food stalls. The full sensory experience of something you absolutely did not need and will absolutely not regret. The organisers have capped numbers to keep it from becoming a stampede, which means the window to grab a spot is narrow. Wear something old. Wear something you would not mind burying.
When: May 16, 11 am | Where: Sikkim Resort, Gurugram | Tickets: ₹3,000
Three comedians, one Friday night
Delhi’s comedy scene delivers a logistical problem this Friday — three excellent shows happening simultaneously across the city, forcing you to choose a lane.
Gurleen Pannu: Monster — The Chandigarh-based comic brings her 2026 tour to Bipin Chandra Pal Bhavan Auditorium with a fresh hour drawn from family pressure, gendered expectations, dating, and the general turbulence of becoming an adult. Warm, sharp, and clearly lived-in material. ₹500. 6.30 pm.
Sharon Verma: Weak Independent Woman — Born in Bihar, raised in Mumbai, now performing material that feels less like stand-up and more like a conversation with the funniest person you know. Two shows — 5 pm and 9.30 pm — at The Laugh Store, DLF Cyberhub, Gurugram. ₹800. Pick the slot that works.
Prashasti Singh: Divine Feminine — A set that has toured internationally and sold out in Delhi twice already. Confidence, modern dating, feminism, and one very specific mission: finding the right man. At The Laugh Casa, Rcube Monade Mall, Noida. 8.30 pm. ₹600.
If you are in Gurugram, Sharon at 5 pm and then Sufi Baithak at 6.30 pm is an efficient but spiritually jarring double. If you are staying central, Gurleen at 6.30 pm into the Asha Bhosle tribute at 8 pm is a more coherent evening arc.
Sufi Baithak with Shaheen Salmani — May 16
Curated by Once Upon India at DLF Club 5, Gurugram — this is an evening of baithak-style seating, soft lighting, and three hours of Sufi kalaams, ghazals, and folk-inspired compositions performed by Shaheen Salmani. The old-world mehfil format, done correctly, in a city that does not do this often enough. ₹6,000.
When: May 16, 6.30 pm | Where: DLF Club 5, Gurugram
Nizami Bandhu: NAAD — The Universal Sound — May 16
This is the one you tell people about afterwards. Shadab and Sohrab Nizami trace their lineage to 1350 and are trained in the tradition of Amir Khusro at the Nizamuddin Dargah — two of the most significant custodians of Sufi qawwali performing today. Their NAAD composition at the Amphitheatre, Bharat Mandapam feels, by all accounts, like it is drawn from somewhere beneath the city itself. At ₹500, this is the most underpriced event of the week by a considerable margin.
When: May 16, 7 pm | Where: Amphitheatre, Bharat Mandapam | Tickets: ₹500
Asha Bhosle Candlelight Tribute — May 16
An open-sky, candlelight concert honouring one of the greatest voices in the history of Indian music. The Anirudh Varma Trio performs on sarod, tabla, and keyboard, moving through the unforgettable classics of Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi — from O Haseena Zulfonwale to Chura Liya Hai Tumne to Khoya Khoya Chand. The setting is Le Méridien. The mood is nostalgia, done with precision.
When: May 16, 8 pm | Where: Le Méridien | Tickets: ₹9,000 onwards
Abhijit Ganguly Live — May 17
Ganguly has never been on Tinder. He also intends, one day, to have six-pack abs. If this sounds like every person you know, the difference is that Ganguly makes it funny without being insufferable — dry, deadpan, and genuinely observational. A good Sunday-evening reset before the week begins again.
When: May 17, 6 pm | Where: The Comedy Theatre, Hauz Khas | Tickets: ₹700
Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals — May 17
IPL 2026 comes to the capital. Delhi Capitals host Rajasthan Royals at Arun Jaitley Stadium for a Sunday evening face-off that gives you something to do with your post-weekend restlessness. 7.30 pm start.
When: May 17, 7.30 pm | Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium
All event details are as provided by organisers and are subject to change. Readers are advised to confirm timings and ticket availability directly with venues before attending.