History · Austin, 2024
Where it began
The first Wonderful India Festival, April 5 to 28, 2024
Before it was a movement, Wonderful India was a festival: a month in a Central Austin hall filled with paintings, concerts, dance, talks, yoga and long conversations after. This is the record of that first month, and of the people who made it.
- Dates
- April 5 to 28, 2024
- Place
- Artly World HQ, Austin, TX
- Organized by
- Artly World
One hall, one month, counted
- days of art, music and dance
- 24
- speakers and presenters
- 19
- artists, dancers, musicians and groups
- 116
- concerts, workshops and talks
- 25
The program
Four weeks, four ideas
- Week 1
Uplift & Celebration
April 4 to 7- Opening Night Reception
- Carnatic Classical Concert
- Indian Dance Performances
- Week 2
Healing & Meditation
April 8 to 14- Introduction to Natya Yoga
- Breathe Well, Live Well
- Rajasthani Folk Dance
- Week 3
Transmission & the Next Generation
April 15 to 21- Panchakoshiya Vikas
- India’s Educational Heritage
- Indian Classical Performers Youth Showcase
- Week 4
Transcendence
April 22 to 28- Triveni
- Tantra: Myth vs. Reality
- Spirituality & Wellbeing Through the Arts
In pictures
The hall, April 2024
The people
Everyone who took the stage
Speakers & presenters
Scholars, teachers, swamis and teens who brought India’s ideas into the room, from mathematics in Carnatic music to the science of ancient civilizations.
Meet all 19Artists & performers
Dancers, singers, instrumentalists and painters from across Austin, in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Mohiniyattam, Carnatic, Hindustani, folk and more.
Meet all 54Quick answers
The 2024 festival, in short
When was the first Wonderful India Festival?
April 5 to 28, 2024. It ran for 24 days.
Where was it held?
At Artly World HQ in Austin, Texas.
What happened at the festival?
Concerts, dance, talks, yoga, workshops and an art exhibition, arranged in four themed weeks. 116 artists, dancers and musicians and 19 speakers took part.
Is Wonderful India happening again?
Yes, and this time it is much bigger. Wonderful India is now a 14-month movement in Austin that runs to the end of 2027. It started on October 18, 2026, with smaller gatherings between five major festivals: Lights on November 14, 2026, then Colors, Yoga and Wisdom through 2027, and Illumination on November 13, 2027 to close the year.
What happened to wonderfulindiafestival.com?
The old festival site has moved here. This archive keeps its program, speakers and artists.
What came next
One month was not enough.
The hall emptied on April 28, 2024. The idea stayed. In November 2026 Wonderful India comes back as a movement: five festivals over fourteen months, each in its own season around Austin, all leading to one closing night on November 13, 2027.
- Then, 2024
- 1 festival
- 24 days
- 1 hall
- Now, 2026 and 2027
- 5 festivals
- 14 months
- Coming soon Sign up for early updates
- April 2024 2024 The first festival One month in one hall. The page you are reading.
- Nov 14, 2026 01 Lights The season opens with a celebration of light over darkness. Up next
- Mar 13, 2027 02 Colors Celebrating the coming of spring with a season full of colors. Up next
- Jun 12, 2027 03 Yoga Breath, stillness and the long light of early summer. Up next
- Sep 11, 2027 04 Wisdom Teachers, scholars and storytellers pass on what they know. Up next
- Nov 13, 2027 05 Illumination The wheel comes full circle, and the light we began with returns. Up next