Workshop: Quijote meets the Quissa

Quijote Meets the Qissa

A Creative Writing Workshop

Saturday, 8 August 2026

2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi

Conducted primarily in English, with elements of Spanish, Punjabi and Hindi.

Free to attend with prior registration. Register HERE.

Please note registration does not guarantee a place. You will be contacted by the organizers with a confirmation to join the workshop.

About The Workshop

How can a seventeenth-century Spanish novel find new life in the literary traditions of Punjab?

Quijote Meets the Qissa is the first public workshop in Baba Quijote Singh, a year-long artistic project reimagining Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote through Punjabi storytelling, poetry and performance.

Don Quixote and the qissa tradition of Punjab hold a common inheritance: the wandering hero, the narrator who cannot be trusted, the tale that grows each time it is told, and a hero whose conviction the world reads as madness.

In the first workshop of the Baba Quijote Singh project, participants will read closely and argue openly, examining metafiction, satire and the line between madness and wisdom in Cervantes' novel, before collaboratively adapting an episode of Don Quixote into a Punjabi qissa. The texts written here contribute to the project's chapbook and to the production itself.

Baba Quijote Singh is an immersive multimedia experience in Punjabi and Spanish by Kaivalya Plays, presented in collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi and the Embassy of Spain in India, premiering in December 2026. Participants who wish to continue may join the company that develops and performs it.

Presented by Kaivalya Plays with support from the Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi and the Embassy of Spain in India, as part of Año Dual España India 2026.

Who is this workshop for?

Writers, readers, students, theatre-makers, artists, translators and anyone interested in storytelling, literature and cultural exchange.

Event Details

📍 Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi

🗓 Saturday, 8 August 2026

🕑 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Open to all. No prior experience required.

About Baba Quijote Singh

Baba Quijote Singh is a year-long multilingual theatre and community arts project that reimagines Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote through the literary, musical and storytelling traditions of Punjab. Blending creative writing, oral history, projection mapping, sound and immersive performance, the project brings together artists, students and the public to collectively create a new adaptation that speaks to contemporary India. The workshops form the foundation of a public installation and theatrical production premiering in December 2026.

About Kaivalya Plays

Kaivalya Plays is a Delhi-based multilingual arts organization founded in 2012, and led by Varoon P. Anand and Gaurav Singh Nijjer. The company creates original, immersive and interdisciplinary performances that combine theatre with emerging technologies, community participation and international collaboration. They have brought works by many Latin American authors to the Indian stage, such as Julio Cortazar (Goodbye Robinson), Jorge Luis Borges (El Aleph, Blue Tigers, The Sand Book, Funes the Memorious), Pablo Palacio (A Man Kicked To Death), Alvaro Desleal (Luz Negra) and Griselda Gambaro (Say Yes). Their work has been presented across India and internationally through partnerships with organisations including Goethe-Institut, Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Ireland, MediaFutures and the Moleskine Foundation, among others.

About Instituto Cervantes New Delhi

Instituto Cervantes New Delhi is the official Spanish cultural centre in India, dedicated to promoting the Spanish language and the cultures of Spain and the Spanish-speaking world. Alongside its language programmes, the Institute hosts a vibrant calendar of exhibitions, performances, film screenings, lectures and literary events, fostering cultural exchange between Spain and India.

About the Embassy of Spain in India

The Embassy of Spain in India works to strengthen the diplomatic, cultural, educational and economic ties between Spain and India. Through collaborations with artists, cultural institutions and educational organisations, the Embassy supports initiatives that encourage dialogue, creativity and long-term cultural exchange between the two countries.