Shobha Deepak Singh is an Indian cultural impresario, photographer, writer, classical dancer and the director of

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styles ...

, a Delhi-based cultural organization which promotes music and performing arts, through its schools and stage shows. She is known for her contributions for the revival of

Mayurbhanj Chhau Chhau dance, also spelled Chhou dance, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the ''Purulia Chhau'' of West Bengal, the ''Seraikell ...

, a tribal martial dance form from

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian award of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1999, for her contributions to Arts and culture.

Biography

Shobha was born to Lala Charat Ram of DCM and

Sumitra Charat Ram Sumitra Charat Ram (17 November 1914 – 8 August 2011) was a noted Indian arts patron, impresario and the founder of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) established in 1952. She played a key role in the revival of performing arts, especially ...

, the renowned art

doyenne Doyen and doyenne (from the French word ''doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning of doyen (feminine form: doyenne) h ...

and

winner, on 21 October 1943, in the Indian capital of New Delhi. After completing her schooling at Modern School, New Delhi, she graduated in Economics with honours from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

in 1963, to start her career as a management trainee at her father's company, Delhi Cloth & General Mills, in 1964. Four years later, subsequent to her marriage to Deepak Singh in 1967, she left DCM and joined

(SBKK), a cultural organization founded by her mother, in 1952. While managing the ''Kamini Auditorium'' of the Kendra, she pursued her studies to secure the degree of Bachelor of Performing Arts and studied dance under Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj and Music under Biswajit Roy Chowdhury and Amjad Ali Khan. In 1992, she joined ''Living Theatre'' of

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was an Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them havin ...

, former director of the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

and one of the most influential figures of modern

Indian theatre Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also define ...

, and studied theatre direction, securing a diploma in 1996. She continued her association with Alkazi and worked as his assistant for four of Alkazi productions namely, ''Three Sisters'', ''Three Greek Tragedies'', ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', and ''Death of a Salesman''. After the death of

in 2011, she took over the management of SBKK as its director and runs the activities of the Kendra, aided by her husband. Singh, a recipient of the 1999

honours, lives in New Delhi with her husband, Deepak Singh, and the couple has a daughter.

Legacy

One of the more significant contributions of Singh is her activities under the aegis of SBKK which runs the ''College of Music and Dance'', offering courses in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

in Vocals and instruments, Light music vocals and dance disciplines such as Kathak, Bharatnatyam,

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Mayurbhanj ok,

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and Contemporary Dance. Several renowned artists and art teachers like

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

, Birju Maharaj, Amjad Ali Khan, Shambhu Maharaj and

Shovana Narayan Shovana Narayan is a recognised Indian Kathak dancer and a career officer with Indian Audit and Accounts Service. She performs in India and internationally, and has been awarded the Padma Shri. She trained under Birju Maharaj. Early life and ...

are associated with the organization. She is the organizer of ''Summer Ballet Festival'', an annual dance festival, conducted in New Delhi. She has also instituted an annual award, Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement, to honour excellence in Art, Birju Maharaj receiving the inaugural award in 2011 Singh is an accomplished photographer, covering many of the functions of SBKK personally. She is reported to have exposed over 40,000 films, covering dance, theatre and music. Her first solo exhibition was organized by

at Shridharani Art Gallery in 1996. Since then, she has exhibited her works at various places, including the

Triveni Kala Sangam Triveni Kala Sangam is an important cultural and arts complex and education centre in New Delhi. Founded in 1950, by Sundari K. Shridharani, who was also its Founding Director, Triveni, as it is commonly referred, contains four art galleries, a ...

, New Delhi and the

Nehru Centre, London The Nehru Centre, London is a cultural centre located at the South Audley Street, London. Its goal is to promote cultural exchange between India and the United Kingdom. The Nehru Centre was founded in 1992. Since its inception it has striven to f ...

(2011). In 2013,

Alka Pande Alka Pande is an Indian academic, author and museum curator. Background Alka Pande was born in Kolkata in 1956. She went to Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi until the 8th and then completed her class 9th to 12th in St. Mary's Conve ...

curated her exhibition, displaying 250 of Singh's works at the

India Habitat Centre The India Habitat Centre is a multipurpose building in the city of New Delhi, India. It was the brain child of the HuDCO Chairman, Santosh Sharma. The India Habitat Centre is one of India's most comprehensive convention centers that is aimed at ...

on 25 March 2013 where a book, ''Dancescapes: A Photographic Journey'', composed of 70 photographs, was released. She has also written a book on Indian theatre, under the title, ''Theatre Escapes: Experiencing Rasas''.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shobha Deepak Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 1943 births Dancers from Delhi Modern School (New Delhi) alumni Delhi University alumni Indian female dancers Indian women photographers Indian theatre directors Women writers from Delhi Living people Indian women philanthropists Indian philanthropists 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian businesspeople Indian women theatre directors Women artists from Delhi 21st-century Indian photographers 20th-century Indian photographers 20th-century Indian businesswomen Photographers from Delhi 20th-century women photographers 21st-century women photographers

Biography

Legacy

Bibliography

See also

References

External links