Shobha Deepak Singh (born 21 October 1943) is an Indian cultural

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

, 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'', also spelled ''Chhou'', 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 ''Seraikella Chh ...

, a tribal martial dance form from

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

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

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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. In ...

in 1999, for her contributions to Arts and culture.

Biography

Shobha was born to Lala Charat Ram of DCM and Sumitra Charat Ram, the renowned art

doyenne A doyen or doyenne (from the French language, French word ''wikt:doyen#French, 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 ...

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 The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

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 Pandit Shambhu Maharaj (1910 – 4 November 1970) was a Guru of the Lucknow ''Gharana'' (school) of the Indian classical dance form, Kathak..Padma Shree Award -1958 Sangeet Natak Academic Award -1967 Early life and training Shambhu Maharaj was ...

and

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 17 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj fa ...

and Music under Biswajit Roy Chowdhury and

Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family (the Bangash lineage of the Senia Gharana) and has performed ...

. In 1992, she joined ''Living Theatre'' of

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was a Saudi 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 ...

, former director of the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school 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 independent school ...

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 defin ...

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

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

Kathak ''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...

Bharatnatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jain ...

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

, 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 sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

and Shovana Narayan 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,

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, 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. It is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. The Nehru Centre was founded in 1992. S ...

(2011). In 2013,

Alka Pande Alka Pande (born 1956) 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. ...

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 Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Chairman, Santosh Sharma. The India Habitat Centre is one of India's most compr ...

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

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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 Chhau exponents Indian theatre directors Women writers from Delhi Living people Indian women philanthropists Indian philanthropists 20th-century Indian dancers 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 Indian women photographers 21st-century Indian women photographers People from Delhi

Biography

Legacy

Bibliography

See also

References

External links