We are leading increasingly individualistic and lonely lives in the city,” says theatremaker Tanvi Shah. We can’t deny it. This writer, like many others, has possibly seen the inside of an Internet influencer’s home on Instagram more often than their next door neighbour’s. Shah’s two new initiatives under an upcoming theatre company aim to bridge the gap by transforming rooftops and living rooms into stages. The first few sessions of Unplugged Mehfil — a safe space for musicians from varying disciplines to unwind, and Ghargatta — a home performance series, have already paved the way.

The recently concluded inaugural sessions at Shah’s Vile Parle pad could’ve easily been mistaken for a musical instrument expo of sorts. Picture this — musician Neil Khopkar’s Appalachian dulcimer playing in tandem with a forgotten age-old folk song from Karnataka sung by Gulbarga-based researcher and singer Shilpa Mudbi. Or harpist Nush Lewis’ plucks reverberating alongside a rendition of Sahir Ludhianvi’s poetry. Among these peculiar sounds, there’s another percussion instrument that is telling its own story — a musician is gently tapping away on Shah’s grandmother’s old wooden cot — a family heirloom — to keep rhythm.