Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after India's independence. It was later renamed after its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the former ruler of Baroda State.
Rajendra Keshavlal Shah was a lyrical poet who wrote in Gujarati. Born in Kapadvanj, he authored more than 20 collections of poems and songs, mainly on the themes of the beauty of nature, and about the everyday lives of indigenous peoples and fisherfolk communities. In his poems using Sanskrit metrics, he was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. He is considered one of the giants of post Gandhi-era in Gujarati literature.
Sayajirao Gaekwad III was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat.
Kumudini Lakhia is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.
Ramanlal C. Mehta was an Indian musician and musicologist. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour.
Shashi Sankhla,, is an exponent of the Jaipur gharana of Kathak dance in India. She is a Senior Disciple of Guru Pt. Kundan Lal Gangani Ji. She has been awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2008 in Kathak dance. She was the principal of Jaipur Kathak Kendra. She founded Geetanjali music Society an institute devoted to Kathak.
Alarmel Valli is a leading Indian classical dancer and choreographer and the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style in the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam. She is widely acclaimed for her ability to turn traditional grammar into deeply internalized, personal dance poetry.
Balwantray Kalyanray Thakore, popularly known as B. K. Thakore, was a poetry teacher and one of the great pioneers of the Pandit yug, during the turn of the twentieth century period in Gujarati literature. Known as 'Ballukaka' in his intimate circle, he played a key role in the development of modern Gujarati poetry.
Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta, popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
Sucheta Bhide Chapekar is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She is an exponent of Bharatnatyam. She is the founder of "Kalavardhini", a trust supporting the teaching and propagation activities in classical dance, where she also teaches Bharatnatyam. She has been a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2007).
Prathibha Prahlad is a Bharata Natyam dancer, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, and author. She was the founder director of the Delhi International Arts Festival.
Markand Jashbhai Bhatt was an Indian Gujarati theatre actor and director. Born and studied in Vadodara, he taught theatre for more than thirty years at M. S. University. He acted in and directed several Gujarati plays.
Vasubahen, born Vasubahen Ramprasad Bhatt, was Gujarati language story writer and novelist from Gujarat, India. She was a director of various All India Radio stations in Gujarat as well as a Chairman of the Gujarat State Social Welfare Board.
Kishore Kalidas Jadav was a novelist, critic, and short story writer from India. He wrote in Gujarati and was primarily responsible for the development of surreal and experimental Gujarati fiction.
Rasiklal Chhotalal Parikh (1897–1982) was a 20th-century Gujarati poet, playwright, literary critic, Indologist, historian, and editor from Gujarat, India. He was the president of Gujarat Sahitya Sabha and was appointed the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1964. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960 for his play Sharvilak. He is also a recipient of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak.
Mafat Jivram Oza was a Gujarati poet, novelist, short story writer, literary critic, and editor from Gujarat, India. In addition to his own literary output, he founded a literary organisation, a publication house, and Tadarthya, a literary magazine.
Mahesh Champaklal is an Indian dramatist, stage actor and director from Gujarat, India. After working for some years in the commercial Gujarati theatre, he joined and taught dramatics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
Puru Dadheech is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed in 1956 at Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Public University located in Khairagarh, Puru Dadheech instated the first Kathak syllabus in 1961. He is the holder of the first Doctorate in Kathak Classical Dance and emphasizes the relevance of Shastras in the Kathak repertoire. He was awarded Padma Shri, the 4th highest civilian award of India He is currently serving as the Director of the world’s first dedicated Kathak research Centre at the Sri Sri University, Cuttack called Sri Sri Centre for Advanced Research in Kathak.
Pandit Shivkumar Shukla was an Indian classical vocalist of the Bhendibazaar gharana. A recipient of the 1992 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, he was known for his works in Khayal form of Hindustani classical music. He was a disciple of Indian classical vocalist and composer Ustad Aman Ali Khan. Shukla was known as "Sangeet Rasraj", a title which was given to him by Pandit Omkarnath Thakur.
Anjali Mehr was an Indian classical dancer (Bharatnatyam), choreographer and educator. "Anjaliben", as she was called was known for her bold experiments and innovations in Bharatnatyam. As one of the earliest disciples of the legendary Rukmini Devi, and among the first students of the Kalakshetra, she played a vital role in building and strengthening dance-education in India. She was the first Principal of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's Sangeet Nartan Shikshapeeth. In 1951, she became one of the two people to be featured from India in Magnum Photos' global project 'Generation X'. Anjali Mehr is counted amongst the first few post-Independence dance scholars of India.
