Showcase
All for art
India’s rich cultural heritage sets the stage for the support the Tata Trusts extends to those engaged in performing, visual, literary and other art forms. Featured here are examples of institutions and initiatives that have benefitted from such backing.
Students of the Sri Nilakanteshwara Natyaseva Samgha (Ninasam), based in Heggodu village in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, perform at the annual festival of the institution. Ninasam was founded in 1949 by a group of theatre enthusiasts that included the late KV Subbanna, the renowned dramatist and Magsaysay Award winner.
A guitarist performs at an event organised by the Brahmaputra Raga Jazz project in New Delhi. The project, presented by Banyan Tree, aims to nurture young musical talent from the Northeastern states of India. It provides exposure for musicians, encourages experimentation and the blending of Indian classical music with indie and folk forms.
Budding musicians in Mumbai receive training as part of Project Inspire India, an initiative of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy. The project endeavours to make music a “household conversation” while giving expression to the artistic talents of children and young people from marginalised backgrounds.
Students from the Bhopal-based Dhrupad Sansthan perform the Dhrupad, the oldest form of Hindustani classical music to have survived in its original form. The Sansthan documents, archives and researches this exquisite stream of music and the Tata Trusts support the institution by giving fellowships to 20 of its students every year.
Kattaikuttu performers from the Kattaikuttu Sangam (above) render the ‘Draupadi vastraharan’, a scene from the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic. Kattaikuttu, traditionally performed by males, is a form of rural theatre that is widespread in the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. A young performer (right) readies for a performance at the Kattaikuttu Gurukulam, a school run by the Sangam in Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. The Gurukulam, started by P Rajagopal and his wife, Hanne De Bruin, provides artistic training in theatre, instrumental music and make up.
