The year was 1949. And a small seed was planted. A seed that was but the birth of a dream. A few dancers and some performances. The dream grew, took the shape of a school. The school grew. It took wing and traversed the seven seas and the world. Mirroring the virtues, the facets of Indian Classical dance. Struck by the profoundity, the discipline, the beauty of the classical form, people reached out to the reflection. Allowed it to touch their lives. And the dream? It continued to grow. Adding several hues and dimensions to itself. It picked up new insights... the nuances of a troubled society… new choreography evolved.

A drama group came into being, and classical and contemporary plays were produced. And then came puppetry. The shadow puppets of Andhra Pradesh were brought to life again by skilled practitioners. Ahmedabad’s first Kathakali appreciation club, Kathakali Darshan was born. Darshita, the first film society followed. Soon after a club to support and nurture experimental theatre, Shatak, was established. Darpana grew. Dance, drama, music, puppetry, classical, folk, contemporary, experimental, research, publications, films, and later, videos. Intercultural, interdisciplinary, international and inter-regional collaborations grew. The dream grew and grew. And continues to grow.

Today Darpana is a centre of excellence, a workshop for the arts, where art and life meet and the horizon of language is broadened. Committed to the contemporary symbiosis of art and life, affirming the role of creativity in culture, researching into origins, reaching out to the unsaid or unthought with a language that is universal.

That’s Darpana. Where once a seed with love and care was planted in the soil…a mighty forest of a thousand trees stands, stretched out wide and tall.

Mrinalini Sarabhai
A Legend in Her Lifetime

All of us dream, but not all of us dare to follow our dreams. But Mrinalini Sarabhai not only followed her dreams but also mastered her dreams. Dancer, choreographer, writer, poet, environmentalist, humanist and teacher, she has lived her life with tremendous fortitude and courage. Her reputation the world over as India’s most celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer is unquestioned. Her technical perfection and creative genius has given birth to an original and versatile language of the body which is simple, eloquent and visually inspiring.

Trained in the Pandanallur tradition by Sri Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, Mrinalini has today retained the purity of Bharatanatyam and yet invested it with her creative and stylish fragrance. Her guru for Kathakali was the great artisan Asan Kunja Kurup and for Mohiniattam, Kalyanikutty Amma, the doyen of this ancient tradition. Using the alphabet of tradition she is the first Indian dancer to have turned to choreography and to give birth to what is now considered the contemporary Indian dance idiom. Much of her world-view and philosophy has retained the essence of humanist values, honed at Shantiniketan where she spent her youth under the inspiration of Rabindranath Tagore. Today the only truth she knows and values is that of freedom, held together by the invisible but strong bonds of equality and peace.

Mallika Sarabhai
A Legend in The Making

If her mother dared to dream, Mallika is not far behind. She helped her mother nurture this dream and added several hues to it. Mallika is a performer and creator of many talents. Her career has developed from being a young, internationally acclaimed, classical dancer and film personality, to being an activist and commentator on social issues.

Now an established artist she celebrates positive reaffirmation of images of womanhood through dance, theatre and writing. Following the rich and inspiring model of her mother, Mrinalini, Mallika has placed herself firmly at the cutting edge of Indian dance and dance theatre. As dancer, actress, choreographer, writer and instigator of community projects she challenges audiences to sit up and think, to realign themselves to questions of ecology, the role of women, gender awareness, cultural atrophy and the very place of the arts in society.

Deeply rooted in Indian culture but open to the influences of her collaborations around the world she has synthesized her experiences to become one of the most exciting creative influences in India today. Dynamic, charming and dry witted; she is a rare creature in the arts.