Sri Vamsi Matta, or simply Vamsi, is a Bangalore-based interdisciplinary theatre artist whose work is deeply informed by his Dalit identity, experiences, and the socio-political context of his location. As a member of a community historically marginalised and labeled "untouchable" within the Hindu caste system, Vamsi critically engages with oppressive structures and narratives affecting his community.

His recent work includes Star in the Sky, a play that poignantly captures the struggles and resilience of Dalit students in Indian universities, exploring themes of pain, identity, and systemic discrimination. Developed under Indian Ensemble's Idea Development Lab-First Draft program, the play was a runner-up for the Tata Lit Fest’s Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Award. The play opened on 26th April 2025.

Another notable project, Come Eat with Me, is a critically acclaimed performance piece that examines the intricate and often fraught relationship between caste and food. Through the shared act of cooking Dalit cuisine, Vamsi interweaves personal storytelling to challenge caste-based stigma and prejudice. Following a successful U.S. tour, the piece returned to India after Vamsi completed his 2023-24 residency as the Interdisciplinary Artist in Residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Vamsi co-founded OffStream, a Bangalore based arts collective supporting artists with an anti-caste lens, and building community around anti-caste histories and imaginations. He also co-founded Perishable Goods Collective, a transdisciplinary artist collective using food and art to challenge caste oppression and reclaim marginalized cultural narratives.

Come Eat With Me is an intimate performance where food becomes both memory and metaphor. Moving through stories, literature, and lived experience, it reflects on how caste is written into what we eat, how we eat, and with whom we share a meal. As dishes are served and tasted, food becomes testimony, and memory becomes dialogue. The performance blends storytelling, song, and collective dining to ask: What does it mean to eat together? To refuse? To remember? To belong? At its heart, it is an invitation to build community through food, memory, and solidarity. A key intention of this work is to bring the conversation of caste and food into spaces that have historically excluded Dalit artists and communities. These are also the spaces where caste realities are most often erased. By centering Dalit cuisine, the performance disrupts this silence and creates space for reflection. But what is Dalit food? Unlike other celebrated culinary traditions, Dalit food is not a single cuisine. It is a history shaped by exclusion, survival, and creativity. Too often, discourse on caste overlooks joy, yet Dalit food also carries joy: of eating, sharing, and celebrating resilience.
Come Eat With Me asks audiences to sit with both joy and pain, and to taste history, memory, and imagination together.

- Sri Vamsi Matta

Writer, Director, Producer and Performer: Sri Vamsi Matta