Discover what's worth doing in Delhi this entire week!
Mid-July in Delhi is comedy's week to shine, with the 18th turning into an unofficial stand-up marathon: Ravi Gupta's brutal honesty, Gautham Govindan's self-aware humour, and Hideout Comedy Club's back-to-back audience-powered dating shows all jostling for your evening. And if bureaucracy amuses you more than heartbreak, Taj Mahal Ka Tender is doing satire the same night. Further beyond the punchlines, Kamani Auditorium goes big with Krishna Katha's mythological spectacle, and Indie Haat and Pulp Society keep a trinket ode running all week for anyone who likes their art to inspire them at a pace of its own.
The National Crafts Museum is already one of the city’s most engaging destinations for traditional crafts. This week, it’s upping the ante with Indie Haat: a showcase of India’s rich artisanal legacy. Expect handcrafted and handwoven products by 48 artisans and weavers, alongside creations from 12 design-led handicraft and handloom brands founded by alumni of the National Institute of Fashion Technology.
When: July 10-19
Where: National Crafts Museum
You can make half the sense of this show from the title alone. The other half dawns on you as soon as Ravi Gupta starts performing. Some identify him as an on-stage bully; others can't stop listening to him for precisely that brutally honest attitude. Come quick-witted because Gupta will be roasting the room.
When: July 18, 7.30pm
Happening at IIC in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy and the Delhi Music Society is a solo piano recital by Vikram Ranjan. The Vienna-based classical pianist trained overseas, and has performed at renowned venues such as the Vienna Musikverein and Bösendorfer Hall. He brings his ‘Bridging Cultures tour’ to India. With free entry, the event welcomes all Delhiites.
When: July 14, starting 6.30pm
Where: India International Centre
With more than thirty shows across India, Dump Him is built around modern dating; more specifically, toxic relationships. The concept draws from the creators' own experience of hosting matchmaking shows. It's an interactive comedy show where audience members literally help the performer on stage decide whether a woman should continue or end a situationship.
When: July 18, 6pm
Where: Hideout Comedy Club, Delhi
Tickets: ₹300
The musical rolls into town with a mythology-heavy script and a grand production. Produced by the Zenith Dance Group, it retells the life of Krishna in a loud, lavish, and dreamy way, from his butter-stealing toddler antics to his divine battlefield story. This features classical and contemporary dance, cinematic visuals, and original music.
When: July 18, 2pm
Where: Kamani Auditorium, Delhi
Tickets: ₹1,500
Comedy for matchmaking really does make sense when you consider the wasteland that is online dating. After more than 20 shows across six cities in India, Swipe Right arrives in Delhi. It's a one-of-a-kind matchmaking show where random audience members are pulled from the crowd to be set up with someone else. If you're looking to cast a wide net, don't miss this.
When: July 18, 8pm
Where: Hideout Comedy Club, Delhi
Tickets: ₹300
Govindan is returning with his second solo special: a tight, hour-long set in a club-style atmosphere at The Laugh Store. Much of his massive online following owes itself to his self-aware humour: joking about the process of writing jokes while actually doing it on stage.
When: July 18, 5pm
Where: The Laugh Store, DLF Cyberhub, Gurugram
Tickets: ₹600
Solanki's solo set feels like someone narrating their life while slowly realising how ridiculous it all is. He's a former maths teacher, which clearly shows in his structured storytelling. But don't mistake it for anything rigid. The set glides through first love, fatherhood, gym-life delusions, and family dynamics.
When: July 12, 4pm; July 26, 8.30pm
Where: Multiple venues
Tickets: ₹500
What if Shah Jahan tried building the Taj Mahal in today's Delhi? He'd have to deal with files, more files, and even more files. Taj Mahal Ka Tender spins that thought into a sharp satirical comedy where the emperor's dream gets stuck in the black hole of Indian bureaucracy, from CPWD to contractors, as years stretch into decades.
When: July 18, 7pm
Where: Alliance Française, Delhi
Tickets: ₹500
Pulp Society returns with the fourth edition of Pulp Bazaar, which they affectionately call their summer exhibition. They describe it as a ‘playful, slightly chaotic, and wholly affectionate ode to paper in all its many moods and forms!’ They frequently solicit zines and hold accessible workshops centred on creating art, so it’s always lovely to see one of the many culminations of this collective’s outlook. There are also communal reading tables stocked with publications on South Asian art and culture. And there’s coffee from Subko! You could chill for hours.
When: On till July 24: Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm.
Where: Pulp Society, B-247, Pocket B, Okhla Phase I, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi, Delhi 110020
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