A wandering poet-musician, Kshetrayya wrote for devadasis, the dancing courtesans at the courts of the 17th century Nayaka rulers. His padams became the most cherished of her songs of love. O Friend, This Waiting! reflects on the entwined fortunes of the padams and the women they were written for, from the 17th to the 20th century, while dwelling in the performance spaces of temples and courts of the Nayaka period.