Shanta Gandhi

🪔 About

Shanta Kalidas Gandhi (1917–2002) was a prominent Indian theatre director, dancer, playwright, and educator, renowned for her significant contributions to Indian performing arts and education. Born in Nashik on December 20, 1917, she embarked on her artistic journey by joining Uday Shankar's India Cultural Centre in Almora in 1941, where she studied dance and Bharata Muni's Natyasastra until the center's closure in 1942. Following this, she became a founder-member and leading dancer of the Indian People's Theatre Association's (IPTA) Central Ballet Troupe in Bombay (now Mumbai) during the 1940s and 1950s. With IPTA, she performed in notable ballets such as "India, Immortal" and "Man and Machine," which fused Indian classical and folk forms with Western ballet techniques. Gandhi's career extended beyond dance into theatre and education. In the late 1950s, she was called to Delhi to become a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama at the newly established National School of Drama (NSD) and also helped set up the Asian Theatre Institute. She was instrumental in reviving ancient Indian drama, particularly Sanskrit drama and folk theatre forms like Bhavai, which she pioneered at NSD. Her acclaimed plays, including "Jasma Odan" and "Razia Sultan," drew heavily on Gujarati folk narratives and became landmarks in contemporary Indian theatre. In the early 1970s, she served as the Director of Bal Bhavan and the National Children's Museum in New Delhi, integrating her diverse interests in theatre, music, art, and education. She co-founded Avehi, an education resource centre, in 1981 and later served as the Chairperson of the National School of Drama from 1982 to 1984. Shanta Gandhi passed away on May 6, 2002, in Mumbai. Awards & Honours: Padma Shri (1984), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2001), Soviet Land Nehru Award.