Shanta Kalidas Gandhi (20 December 1917 – 6 May 2002) was an Indian theatre director, dancer and playwright who was closely associated with IPTA, the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India. She studied with Indira Gandhi at a residential school in the early 1930s, and remained close to the prime minister in later life. She received many government awards and sinecures under the Indira Gandhi administration, including the Padma Shri (1984) and being made chairperson of the National School of Drama (1982–84).
She was a founder-member of the central ballet troupe of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and toured the country widely through the 1950s. As a playwright she is remembered as an early pioneer in reviving ancient Indian drama especially Sanskrit drama and folk theatre to modern Indian theatre and amongst her most noted plays are Razia Sultan[1] and Jasma Odan based on a Gujarati legend on the practice of suttee, her own production of the play in Gujarati Bhavai style, became a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre,[2] and along with 'Maina Gurjari' by her sister Deena Gandhi (later Pathak), it is one of the most popular Bhavais today.[3]
She joined Pupil's Own School, an experimental residential school in Pune in 1932, where she became friends with classmate Indira Nehru.[6] She later moved to Bombay, when her engineer father found her becoming too involved in the left-wing student movement in the 1930s and sent her to England to study medicine.[citation needed] In London she stayed at a Fairfax Road boarding house across the hallway from Indira. Feroze Gandhi lived nearby, and the three of them would go out on the town together.[7] When Indira and Feroze secretly became engaged in 1936, Shanta was the only other person to know about it.[8] Soon she started frequenting India House, meeting up with Krishna Menon and his young 'Free India' associates, and even joined a dance troupe to raise funds for the Spanish Civil War. But before long her father called her back, as the World War II in Europe was starting, thus ending a possible medical career.
Career
She joined Uday Shankar's 'Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre', at Simtola, 3 km from Almora, in Uttarakhand, and studied Bharata Muni's Natyasastra from one of the teachers. She stayed there till it closed down in 1942.[9] Soon after, she became a full-time member of the Little Ballet Troupe, the dance wing of the Indian People's Theatre Association in Bombay (now Mumbai), here along with her young sisters Dina Pathaknée Gandhi (1922–2002) and Tarla Gandhi. The ballet troupe created India, Immortal, Man and Machine and the numerous legendary ballets that travelled India in 1950s with Ravi Shankar, Shanti Bardhan and many other performers and artists who later became famous on their own in modern Indian dance theatre and music. The sisters were also involved several years in the revival of Gujarati theatre in Bombay.[10]
In 1952, she started working with a group of children in the village Nikora, on the banks of the Narmada River, in South Gujarat with an informal curriculum. Later, an experimental school attached to the B.M. Institute of Child Psychology and Development, Ahmedabad, adopted this format and in the 1970s at the Bal Bhavan, Delhi took it as well, eventual Avehi was formed in 1981 and in 1990 when AVEHI took up the programme, and named it ABACUS with Shanta Gandhi as Director.[11]
In 1958, Shanta Gandhi was called to Delhi as Asian Theatre Institute was being set up, she joined a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama, in the following year when it merged with the National School of Drama, she continued teaching and in the coming years revived ancient Indian plays starting with Sanskrit drama masters, Kalidasa, Bhasa, Vishakhadatta and Bhavabhuti. She was first to revive 4th century BC, Sanskrit playwright, Bhasa's through her productions of Madhyamavyayoga (1966) (The Middle One) and Urubhanga (The Broken Thigh), a decade before Pannikar and Ratan Thiyam began working with them.[12] She later directed Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa, Virkam Varman's Bhagavadajjukam (1967) all in Hindi.[12] In 1967, she wrote Jasma Odan in Gujarati based on a folk tale, subsequently she translated it in Malavi Hindi with Dr. Shyam Parmar, the result was her most noted production of the Bhavai-based musical Jasma Odhan in 1968, with NSD Repertory Company featuring actors like Manohar Singh and Uttara Baokar. She also did the design for the play, and it resurrected the Bhavai folk theatre from Gujarat. Jasma Odhan remains an integral part of Bhavai repertoire to date[13] and ran successfully in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi for many years[14] and was also performed in London, Poland and GDR.[15] It was later revived by Nadira Babbar's group Ek jute, which is now performing it for several years now.[16] She also wrote historical play, Razia Sultan which was quite popular[1] and used Nautanki folk theatre style from Uttar Pradesh choreographing her production, Amar Singh Rathor, which she also wrote. She revived interest in Jaishankar Prasad's plays, which though appreciated for literary content were deemed un-stagable by scholars, by successfully staging his 1928 historical play Skanda Gupta, with little changes to the original script.[17] She remained its Chairperson, 1982–1984. She also remained Director, Bal Bhavan, Delhi and National Children's Museum.
Literary career
Apart from plays, she wrote a short story collection Ugata Chhod (1951) and a novel Avinash (1952) in Gujarati. Her Gujaratan ne Pagale Pagale (1948) includes sketches of ancient and modern women.[18]
Personal life
She was married to Marxist historian Victor Kiernan in 1938 in Bombay (now Mumbai), but the couple divorced in 1946 before Kiernan left India.[19]
Further reading
Baumer, Rachel Van M.; James R. Brandon (1993). "A Sanskrit Play in Performance: The Vision of Vasavadatta, by Shanta Gandhi". Sanskrit drama in performance. Vol. 2. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 110–140. ISBN81-208-0772-3.
^"Victor Kiernan: Marxist historian, writer and linguist ." The Independent. 20 February 2009.
References
Brandon, James R.; Martin Banham (1997). The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-58822-7.
Subramanyam, Lakshmi (2002). Muffled voices: women in modern Indian theatre. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN81-241-0870-6.
Frank, Katherine (2002). Indira: the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 118. ISBN0-395-73097-X. Shanta Gandhi.
Sinha, Biswajit (2004). Folk theatre, Volume 1 Volume 6 of Encyclopaedia of Indian theatre. Raj Publications. ISBN81-86208-35-6.
Dharwadker, Aparna Bhargava (2005). Theatres of independence: drama, theory, and urban performance in India since 1947. University of Iowa Press. ISBN0-87745-961-4.
External links
The vanishing Indian (Memoriam) Indian Seminar
January 24, 2023
shanta, gandhi, this, article, need, reorganization, comply, with, wikipedia, layout, guidelines, please, help, editing, article, make, improvements, overall, structure, march, 2019, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, shanta, kalidas, gandhi, decemb. This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia s layout guidelines Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure March 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Shanta Kalidas Gandhi 20 December 1917 6 May 2002 was an Indian theatre director dancer and playwright who was closely associated with IPTA the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India She studied with Indira Gandhi at a residential school in the early 1930s and remained close to the prime minister in later life She received many government awards and sinecures under the Indira Gandhi administration including the Padma Shri 1984 and being made chairperson of the National School of Drama 1982 84 Shanta GandhiBorn 1917 12 20 20 December 1917NashikDied6 May 2002 2002 05 06 aged 84 MumbaiNationalityIndianOccupation s Dancer theatre director playwrightKnown forJasma Odan play SpouseVictor Kiernan m 1938 div 1946 wbr RelativesDina Pathak sister She was the sister of actress Dina Pathak nee Gandhi and Tarla Gandhi also a stage performer Contents 1 Background 2 Early life and education 3 Career 4 Literary career 5 Personal life 6 Further reading 7 Works 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksBackground EditShe was a founder member of the central ballet troupe of the Indian People s Theatre Association IPTA and toured the country widely through the 1950s As a playwright she is remembered as an early pioneer in reviving ancient Indian drama especially Sanskrit drama and folk theatre to modern Indian theatre and amongst her most noted plays are Razia Sultan 1 and Jasma Odan based on a Gujarati legend on the practice of suttee her own production of the play in Gujarati Bhavai style became a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre 2 and along with Maina Gurjari by her sister Deena Gandhi later Pathak it is one of the most popular Bhavais today 3 She was a founder member of Avehi an education resource centre established in 1981 and also remained Chairperson of National School of Drama 1982 1984 4 She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984 by Government of India and the 2001 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction given by Sangeet Natak Akademi India s National Academy of Music Dance and Drama 5 Early life and education EditShe joined Pupil s Own School an experimental residential school in Pune in 1932 where she became friends with classmate Indira Nehru 6 She later moved to Bombay when her engineer father found her becoming too involved in the left wing student movement in the 1930s and sent her to England to study medicine citation needed In London she stayed at a Fairfax Road boarding house across the hallway from Indira Feroze Gandhi lived nearby and the three of them would go out on the town together 7 When Indira and Feroze secretly became engaged in 1936 Shanta was the only other person to know about it 8 Soon she started frequenting India House meeting up with Krishna Menon and his young Free India associates and even joined a dance troupe to raise funds for the Spanish Civil War But before long her father called her back as the World War II in Europe was starting thus ending a possible medical career Career EditShe joined Uday Shankar s Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre at Simtola 3 km from Almora in Uttarakhand and studied Bharata Muni s Natyasastra from one of the teachers She stayed there till it closed down in 1942 9 Soon after she became a full time member of the Little Ballet Troupe the dance wing of the Indian People s Theatre Association in Bombay now Mumbai here along with her young sisters Dina Pathak nee Gandhi 1922 2002 and Tarla Gandhi The ballet troupe created India Immortal Man and Machine and the numerous legendary ballets that travelled India in 1950s with Ravi Shankar Shanti Bardhan and many other performers and artists who later became famous on their own in modern Indian dance theatre and music The sisters were also involved several years in the revival of Gujarati theatre in Bombay 10 In 1952 she started working with a group of children in the village Nikora on the banks of the Narmada River in South Gujarat with an informal curriculum Later an experimental school attached to the B M Institute of Child Psychology and Development Ahmedabad adopted this format and in the 1970s at the Bal Bhavan Delhi took it as well eventual Avehi was formed in 1981 and in 1990 when AVEHI took up the programme and named it ABACUS with Shanta Gandhi as Director 11 In 1958 Shanta Gandhi was called to Delhi as Asian Theatre Institute was being set up she joined a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama in the following year when it merged with the National School of Drama she continued teaching and in the coming years revived ancient Indian plays starting with Sanskrit drama masters Kalidasa Bhasa Vishakhadatta and Bhavabhuti She was first to revive 4th century BC Sanskrit playwright Bhasa s through her productions of Madhyamavyayoga 1966 The Middle One and Urubhanga The Broken Thigh a decade before Pannikar and Ratan Thiyam began working with them 12 She later directed Vishakhadatta s Mudrarakshasa Virkam Varman s Bhagavadajjukam 1967 all in Hindi 12 In 1967 she wrote Jasma Odan in Gujarati based on a folk tale subsequently she translated it in Malavi Hindi with Dr Shyam Parmar the result was her most noted production of the Bhavai based musical Jasma Odhan in 1968 with NSD Repertory Company featuring actors like Manohar Singh and Uttara Baokar She also did the design for the play and it resurrected the Bhavai folk theatre from Gujarat Jasma Odhan remains an integral part of Bhavai repertoire to date 13 and ran successfully in cities like Mumbai Ahmedabad and Delhi for many years 14 and was also performed in London Poland and GDR 15 It was later revived by Nadira Babbar s group Ek jute which is now performing it for several years now 16 She also wrote historical play Razia Sultan which was quite popular 1 and used Nautanki folk theatre style from Uttar Pradesh choreographing her production Amar Singh Rathor which she also wrote She revived interest in Jaishankar Prasad s plays which though appreciated for literary content were deemed un stagable by scholars by successfully staging his 1928 historical play Skanda Gupta with little changes to the original script 17 She remained its Chairperson 1982 1984 She also remained Director Bal Bhavan Delhi and National Children s Museum Literary career EditApart from plays she wrote a short story collection Ugata Chhod 1951 and a novel Avinash 1952 in Gujarati Her Gujaratan ne Pagale Pagale 1948 includes sketches of ancient and modern women 18 Personal life EditShe was married to Marxist historian Victor Kiernan in 1938 in Bombay now Mumbai but the couple divorced in 1946 before Kiernan left India 19 Further reading EditBaumer Rachel Van M James R Brandon 1993 A Sanskrit Play in Performance The Vision of Vasavadatta by Shanta Gandhi Sanskrit drama in performance Vol 2 Motilal Banarsidass Publ pp 110 140 ISBN 81 208 0772 3 Works EditEkalavya Publisher Bhartiya Sahakari Prakashan Society 1964 See also EditList of Gujarati language writersNotes Edit a b Profile I Was Recognised For My Genius The Outlook 18 December 1996 Shanta Gandhi dead The Hindu 10 May 2002 Archived from the original on 6 November 2012 From Gujarat with grace The Tribune 11 June 2006 NSD chairperson Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine National School of Drama website SNA List of Akademi Awardees Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website Archived from the original on 17 February 2012 Frank p 76 Frank p 118 Frank p 130 Sinha p 145 6 Veteran actress Dina Pathak passes away Archived 12 July 2004 at the Wayback Machine Indian Express 12 October 2002 About us Archived 28 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Avehi Abacus a b Dharwadker p 167 Subramanyam p 24 Brandon p 83 National School of Drama New Delhi Fifty years Archived 17 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine education nic in Stagecraft The Times of India 10 July 2003 Re discovering Dhruvaswamini The Hindu 29 October 2009 Chaudhari Raghuveer Dalal Anila eds 2005 લ ખ ક પર ચય Introduction of Women Writers વ સમ સદ ન ગ જર ત ન ર લ ખન 20 Century Women s Writings in Gujarati in Gujarati 1st ed New Delhi Sahitya Akademi p 353 ISBN 8126020350 OCLC 70200087 Victor Kiernan Marxist historian writer and linguist The Independent 20 February 2009 References EditBrandon James R Martin Banham 1997 The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 58822 7 Subramanyam Lakshmi 2002 Muffled voices women in modern Indian theatre Har Anand Publications ISBN 81 241 0870 6 Frank Katherine 2002 Indira the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi Houghton Mifflin Harcourt p 118 ISBN 0 395 73097 X Shanta Gandhi Sinha Biswajit 2004 Folk theatre Volume 1 Volume 6 of Encyclopaedia of Indian theatre Raj Publications ISBN 81 86208 35 6 Dharwadker Aparna Bhargava 2005 Theatres of independence drama theory and urban performance in India since 1947 University of Iowa Press ISBN 0 87745 961 4 External links EditThe vanishing Indian Memoriam Indian Seminar Jasma Odhan play Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shanta Gandhi amp oldid 1060700480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
