As the calendar edges toward the final months of 2025, Kochi stands poised at the heart of a cultural resurgence, its streets and venues buzzing with a creative energy that’s impossible to ignore. This November and beyond, the city is hosting a trio of events and spaces that are not only drawing crowds but also redefining what it means to be an artistic hub in South India. From the thumping beats of underground hip-hop to the quiet intimacy of indie literature, and the sweeping vision of an international art biennale, Kochi’s cultural landscape is more vibrant than ever.
At the center of this movement is the Karupp Cypher, South India’s largest underground hip-hop gathering, which is set to return on November 16, 2025, at SD Scapes in North Kalamassery, Kochi. According to Homegrown, the event will bring together over 500 rappers, beat-makers, and filmmakers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Bangalore. What began as an informal gathering in a modest rehearsal space in 2019—where young rappers traded lines in Tamil and Malayalam, and beat-makers swapped USB sticks—has blossomed into a full-fledged movement. The Cypher, curated by Karupp Records (an imprint co-founded by the creative collective ALTPLUS), has become a network, a podcast, and a live-event ecosystem all rolled into one.
Karupp Cypher’s format is deliberately non-hierarchical: there are no headliners, and the emphasis is on collaboration rather than competition. This approach, as Homegrown describes, “produces three things that matter for culture building.” First, it offers practice—live encounters that sharpen craft in ways studio time alone cannot. Second, it provides distribution—aftermovies, podcasts, and social edits that turn fleeting performances into shareable artifacts, carrying the movement’s energy far beyond Kochi’s borders. Third, it builds infrastructure—relationships forged in the Cypher become the seeds for new crews, labels, and production teams, sustaining creative careers over the long haul.
This year’s venue, SD Scapes, is itself a testament to the city’s growing infrastructure for the arts. Launched in 2025 by musician Stephen Devassy, the space positions Kochi as a regional hub for content and live production. It’s precisely the kind of place that a movement like Karupp Cypher needs, showing that regional hip-hop can build its own rituals and momentum. As the Cypher grows in scale and ambition, it faces pressing questions: Can it retain its democratic spirit and multilingual energy as it attracts larger audiences and sponsorship? If it can, Kochi may well witness a milestone—an entire region taking ownership of its creative voice, together.
But hip-hop isn’t the only scene thriving in Kochi. For lovers of independent literature, the Mehrab Bookshop on Kaloor Kadavanthra Road has quickly become a must-visit destination. According to The New Indian Express, the cozy store, managed by Bilal Javeed, Easwari Krishnadas, and Misbah Shihab, houses more than 400 books and publications, offering a reading space and creative corner for the city’s bibliophiles. The shop’s mission is clear: to bring people closer to independent books and publications from India and abroad, many of which are nearly impossible to find in larger chains.
Mehrab’s collection is as diverse as the city itself. Translated works from Russian, Yiddish, Czech, Norwegian, Polish, German, Arabic, French, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese line the shelves, alongside Indian languages such as Tamil, Mizo, Gujarati, Marathi, and Urdu. “We prefer keeping the space open and alive,” says Easwari Krishnadas. Rather than overwhelming visitors with stacks of the same book, the team keeps the collection limited, constantly bringing in new indie publishers and authors. Among the independent publishers that Mehrab collaborates with, 22 are national and 11 are international, making it a truly global literary outpost in Kochi. Their best-selling book so far? ‘Pandu’ by Studio Niyet. And the top-selling publisher is Blaft Publications.
Mehrab’s unique offerings don’t stop at books. The shop also hosts community events that blend words and art, such as a spoken word poetry night scheduled for November 8, 2025, and an art exhibition featuring Mira Dayal and Poonam Jain running from mid-December through March 2026. The space is open from 11am to 7pm every day except Mondays and Tuesdays, inviting visitors to linger, browse, and connect. As The New Indian Express notes, Mehrab has “indeed become a hub for literature” in a remarkably short time.
And then there’s the grand spectacle of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), which returns for its sixth edition from December 12, 2025, to March 31, 2026. Spanning 109 days, this international art event is set to transform the city with a dazzling array of exhibitions, conversations, workshops, films, theatre, food, music, and choreographies. The programming, led by Mario D’Souza, director of programmes at the Kochi Biennale Foundation, is designed to “enliven interest among global audiences” and foster resilience and community in what D’Souza calls a “fractured, polarised” world, according to The New Indian Express.
The Biennale Pavilion, named ‘Primordial’ and built by architect Senthil Kumar Doss, will serve as the event’s beating heart—hosting gatherings, performances, and discussions. Artworks are curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, Goa, ensuring a rich tapestry of perspectives and practices. One standout feature is the ‘Invitations’ section, which continues from its 2022 inception. This initiative highlights independent, artist-run initiatives and public exhibitions from the “southern, majoritarian world,” providing a platform for voices often left out of the mainstream.
Among the anticipated events are a lecture-performance by Noor Abed and Haig Aivazian titled ‘Nothing will remain other than the thorn lodged in the throat of this world’, a presentation of Somnath Waghmare’s documentary practice, and a conversation called ‘Imagining Zomia’, which brings together filmmakers, historians, and artists to re-examine the highlands of central, south, and southeast Asia. There’s also a deep dive into the history of long durational performances, promising to stretch the boundaries of what art can be.
What ties all these initiatives together—whether it’s the collaborative energy of the Karupp Cypher, the literary curiosity of Mehrab Bookshop, or the international ambition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale—is a shared commitment to community, diversity, and creative autonomy. Each, in its own way, is building infrastructure for the arts, nurturing talent, and inviting audiences to participate in something larger than themselves. Kochi, it seems, is not just hosting events; it’s cultivating a culture—one that’s open, plural, and defiantly alive.
With these events and spaces flourishing, Kochi is setting a standard for what a regional arts scene can achieve when independence, collaboration, and bold vision come together. The city’s creative pulse is stronger than ever, and for anyone seeking inspiration, there’s no better time—or place—to be.
