House of Mohali

The House

A home for people shaped by more than one place.

House of Mohali is a portable cultural house. It begins with the South Asian diaspora, opens into exchange with other cultures, and comes to life wherever people gather.

The name

Mo
More
Ha
Happiness
Li
and Life

MoHaLi means More Happiness and Life. We call it HOM, a name that feels like home.

It describes what we want to make: a home built by its people rather than by permanent walls.

A house is made by the people who walk into it.

Why the House exists

Identity is layered. Many people carry more than one home: the place they live, the places their families came from, and the music, food and languages that travel between them.

Cultural spaces do not always make room for that. Too often, identity is flattened into nostalgia, a stereotype or a borrowed aesthetic.

House of Mohali creates contemporary gatherings where people can bring different parts of themselves into the same room, and take part rather than watch.

A handmade ceramic bowl, a brass tumbler, a worn cloth-bound book and a folded linen cloth on a dark wooden table in soft window light.

Heritage, in the present tense

The House begins with the South Asian diaspora: its music and poetry, its crafts and kitchens, and its habit of long, generous conversation.

We treat that heritage as something living. Migration and memory shape it, and so do the artists, designers, writers and cooks making new work today.

From there, the House opens into exchange. Other cultures, cities and diasporas bring their own stories, and belonging becomes possible across more than one place.

How the House works

Five principles guide every gathering, collaboration and piece of writing.

  1. Attention

    We notice people, places, sounds and materials, especially the details that are easy to overlook. Attention also means noticing who is missing from the room and making space for them.

  2. Origin

    We create from genuine cultural and personal sources. That rules out borrowed symbolism, generic aesthetics and references without context. The people and histories behind the work matter.

  3. Expression

    Artists, makers and guests shape contemporary cultural forms together. Culture is something people create, interpret and exchange, not something placed in a display case.

  4. Belonging

    We help people feel connected across distance, identity, language and generation. Belonging grows from taking part and from relationships, never from exclusivity.

  5. Stewardship

    We look after our collaborators, their creative ownership, and the materials and stories they share. Value returns to the people who make the House possible.

What we are building

The House has no permanent walls. It comes to life wherever people gather, and it is just getting started.

  1. Now

    Shaping the first gatherings

    SONA, RIYAZ and VIRSA are in development. The Journal, Mehsoos, M Sound and Zarf are taking shape alongside them.

  2. Next

    Gathering in Dubai

    Dubai is where the House begins gathering, in a city where people from many cultures and histories already meet. Dates will be announced here and on Instagram.

  3. In time

    A house that travels

    VIRSA will take the House from city to city. Between gatherings, it continues through writing, creative objects and collaborations.

Help shape the House.

If you have a story to tell, a practice to share or a gathering in mind, write to us.