Raza Foundation (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: रज़ा फ़ाउंडेशन) is a Delhi-based non-profit organisation dedicated to

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and ideas. It was established in 2001 by the Indian painter Sayed Haider Raza, the foundation creates venues for diverse artistic expressions by promoting conversations through

presentations A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...

, panel discussions,

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. It has been hosting events such as

publications To publish is to make Content (media), content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

lectures A lecture (from ) is an speech, oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, backgroun ...

, concerts, recitals, and art exhibits, with a focus on the younger generation. Since 2001, Ashok Vajpeyi has been serving as the managing

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

for the Raza Foundation.

History

The Raza Foundation founded in 2001 by painter and artist Sayed Haider Raza. The foundation has intention of advancing the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, among other things. The foundation supports emerging talent in

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

, and artistic arts. The name of the foundation was dedicated to the SH Raza. In the beginning, Raza did not want his name to be used in the foundation. But Vajpeyi persuaded Raza to include his name in the foundation's title. With the foundation of this

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, Arun Vadehra (of the Vadehra Art Gallery), and poet and critic Ashok Vajpeyi and Raza were the only three trustees. The Raza Foundation has archived SH Raza's work and legacy. The cornerstone of his legacy is being adhered to by the foundation. The first is the

tangible Tangibility is the property of being able to be perceived, especially by the sense of touch. Metaphorically, something can also be said to be "cognitively tangible" if one can easily understand it. Law In criminal law, one of the elements of ...

or creative element, encompassing Raza's residence,

workplace A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of the ...

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

, and

literary works Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, th ...

. Under Ashok Vajpeyi's direction, the foundation has worked hard enough to guarantee the preservation of each of these elements. And then there was his readiness to lend a hand to others. He forbade the Foundation from spending any money on him while he was still living. By awarding

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

and providing assistance to up-and-coming artists and organisations that advance the arts across the

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

, the foundation is continuing this tradition. The Raza Foundation played a crucial role in organizing the

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in software development, popular culture, and the arts. ...

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

of SH Raza at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. They worked for more than five years to pitch and organize the show, which is the largest-ever retrospective of the artist. The foundation was also pivotal in organizing a series of shows in India in 2022, the centenary year of Raza's birth, in three Indian private

museums A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

Work and impact

The Raza Foundation under Vajpeyi guidance, has created an ecology of exploring, supporting and experiencing arts and legacy through seminars, concerts, exhibitions,

fellowships A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

, books, and journals. Additionally, it offers fellowships to young talent for rigorous study into masterworks and current cultural challenges. The Raza Foundation embraces

Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...

forms, music, literature, and

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

, and it organises several events in 20 locations every year. Foundation organises regular exhibitions of Raza's paintings, as well as those of his friends and fellow artists. The foundation works with public organisations to increase the audience for literature, art, classical dance, and music. The organisation has published 200 Hindi books on Gandhianism,

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, the arts, culture, poetry,

translations Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

, and

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

as of Raza's centenary year in 2021.

Dhrupad Vaibhav

Dhrupad Vaibhav is a festival that celebrates the history and beauty of the ''

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

'' musical form in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

. Derived from ancient ''chhand-prabandh gayan'', Dhrupad offered a compositional structure to abstract raags. It gained prominence through musicians like

Swami Haridas Swami Haridas (, also spelt ''Svāmī Haridās'') was an Indian spiritual poet and Hindustani classical music, classical musician. He was a Court musician of Man Singh Tomar, Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior and credited with a large body o ...

Tansen Rāmtanu ( – 26 April 1589), popularly referred to as Mian Tānsen (), or Sangeet Samrāt (), was a Hindustani classical musician. Born into a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family in Gwalior, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest regio ...

, and Raja Mansingh Tomar in the 15th and 16th centuries. Despite a decline in popularity, Dhrupad remains an epitome of classicism. Institutions like the Dhrupad Kendra at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal have revived its contemporary relevance. The Dhrupad Vaibhav festival, organized by the Raza Foundation, celebrates the unhurried and immersive style of Dhrupad. The recent third edition of the festival was held in Delhi in collaboration with the India International Centre and Naad-Chakra Trust of Pt. Nirmalya De. The festival features performances by renowned artists, including

rudra veena The ''rudra veena'' () (also spelled ''rudraveena'' or ''rudra vīnā'') — also called the ''bīn'' in North India — is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the major types of '' vee ...

recitals and renditions of rare ragas like Adbhut Kalyan.

Annual Memorial Lectures

Seven yearly memorial lectures honouring the following masters: Daya Krishna (philosophy), Kumar Gandharva (music),

Kelucharan Mohapatra Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century. He is ...

(dancing), Agyeya (poetry), Habib Tanvir (theatre), and V. S. Gaitonde (visual arts). Speakers from the performing arts, visual arts, literature, and other fields will be included in Art Dialogue, another series of panel discussions.

Art Matters

The Raza Foundation and the India International Centre collaborated on the 'Art Matters' program. It is a platform for all kinds of art, such as performing, visual, and literary arts. To create an atmosphere where

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and

audiences An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

may have meaningful debates about art and culture, the programme is the intersection of

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, poetry, and the arts. The programme includes a number of presentations, panel discussions, performances, and concerts. By offering a forum for both established and arising artists to present their work and ideas, Art Matters pursues to foster

creative thinking Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physical object (e.g. a ...

and innovativeness through these events. Under 'Art Matter', Gandhi Matters is a series presented by the Raza Foundation. It features unique programs like 'Singing Gandhi', which was held at the India International Centre. This particular event included Kalapini Komkali, who spoke about and performed 'Gandhi Malhar', a raga created by her father, Pt. Kumar Gandharva, to honour

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

on his birth centenary. The series aims to explore and celebrate Gandhi's legacy through various artistic and cultural expressions.

Aaj ki Kavita

In July 2017, a new poetry reading series called Aaj Kavita was launched. The purpose of the Raza Foundation's poetry reading sessions is to honour the literary arts. By bringing poets and listeners together, these gatherings provide a forum for exchanging and appreciating poetry. The readings during the sessions frequently include readings by well-known poets and young talent, which encourage a lively literary community and the sharing of thoughts and artistic expression.

Bharat Bhushan Agarwal Samman

The "Bharat Bhushan Agarwal Samman" is given by the Raza Foundation in honour of the late poet Bharat Bhushan Agarwal. It is a highly esteemed accolade bestowed upon Hindi poetry. This award was once granted for a single poem, but it is currently presented for a collection of poems. The honoured poet receives Rs 21,000 as part of this award. Among the distinguished recipients are: Geet Chaturvedi, Saumya Malviya, Devesh Path.

Raza Fellowships

The Raza Foundation offers 'Sayed Haider Raza Fellowship' fellowship to scholars, writers, artists, and poets based on the calibre of their proposed projects. The recipients of the Raza fellowship are Geet Chaturvedi, Prof Madhav Hada, Manisha Kulshreshtha, Prof. R. Siva Kumar, Pankaj Chaturvedi, Irfan Zuberi, Aashish Tripathi and Anamika Anu.

Publication

Raza Foundation has supported scholars and artists for their creative and academic publication through finance and publication. There are many publications on personalities and artistic affairs that have come out with the collaboration of respected publication houses. Pustak Mala is a series of 65 such books which includes important books from different languages as well as books based on literature. The Hindi biography of Pt. Kumar Gandharva, '''Va Ghar Sabse Nyara - Jeevan Charit: Pt. Kumar Gandharva, was penned by poet and litterateur Dhruv Shukla and co-published by Setu Prakashan and Raza Foundation in April 2023. The latest book on SH Raza is by Mapin publication and Raza Foundation. The book name is ''Raza: The Other Modern''.

References

{{Reflist Arts organisations based in Delhi Arts organizations established in 2001 National academies of arts and humanities 2001 establishments in India

History

Work and impact

Dhrupad Vaibhav

Annual Memorial Lectures

Art Matters

Aaj ki Kavita

Bharat Bhushan Agarwal Samman

Raza Fellowships

Publication

See also

References