Mallika Sarabhai is an activist and Indian classical dancer and actress from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Daughter of a classical dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer and performer who has specialized in using the arts for social change and transformation.
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai Jain was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India.
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.
The Sarabhai family was a prominent Indian family active in several fields. The patriarch, Ambalal Sarabhai, was a leading industrialist. While he created significant wealth, his children interested themselves in a wide variety of other endeavours, and the family is better known for those activities, rather than for industrial enterprise, which is now all but defunct.
Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, drama, music and puppetry, in the city of Ahmedabad. She received Padma Bhushan in 1992 and Padma Shri in 1965. She also received many other citations in recognition of her contribution to art.
Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyalaya is a school and the Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyavihar is a group of educational institutes located within a campus in the Ambawadi area of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Gujarat established in 1912.
Darpana Academy of Performing Arts is a school for performing arts in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, established by Mrinalini Sarabhai and Vikram Sarabhai in 1949, it has been directed by their daughter Mallika Sarabhai for the last three decades. The school organises a three-day Interart, the "Vikram Sarabhai International Arts Festival" at Ahmedabad, every year. It celebrated its golden jubilee on 28 December 1998, with the announcement of the annual "Mrinalini Sarabhai Award for Classical Excellence", in the field of classical dance.
Madhu Rye is a Gujarati playwright, novelist and story writer. Born in Gujarat and educated at Calcutta, he started writing in the 1960s and became known for his stories and plays. His experience at the University of Hawaii introduced him to experimental writing and improvisations as writing aid, which later led to a movement against absurd theatre. He moved to the US in 1974 and has lived there since. He chiefly wrote novels, short stories and plays. His plays were successful and have been adapted into several languages and media. He has adapted his novels into plays and some plays into novels. The most notable is Kimball Ravenswood, which was loosely adapted into a Hindi TV series Mr. Yogi (1989), and a Hindi film, What's Your Rashee? (2009).
Kavungal Chathunni Panicker (1922-2007) was an Indian classical dancer, known for his proficiency in Kathakali, the traditional dance form of Kerala. He was an exponent of the Kavungal School of Kathakali, noted for its rigorous training methods and overt physical interpretation of abhinaya. He is known to have brought innovations to the dance form, especially in the decorative movements (kalasam) and his contributions are reported in the development of grammar and costumes for the Kavungal School. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1973, Panicker was honored again by the Government of India, in 2006, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Abhinay Banker is an actor, director, and writer who works in Gujarati cinema and theatre. After several theatre performances in his early career, he received recognition for his performance in Gujarati play Welcome Zindagi (2010), written and directed by Saumya Joshi, which has been performed over 650 times worldwide. He acted in Gujarati film Kevi Rite Jaish (2012).
Kailash Pandya was an Indian theatre artist and winner of several national awards in India.
Raam Mori is a Gujarati language short story writer, Screenwriter and columnist from Gujarat, India, primarily known for his short stories depicting the rural life of Saurashtra. Mahotu is an anthology of his short stories, which received Sahitya Akademi's Yuva Puraskar (2017).
Jonathan Hollander is an American dancer, choreographer, educator, and artistic director. He founded the Battery Dance Company in New York City in 1976, opening the Battery Dance Studio that same year. He also founded the Downtown Dance Festival, held annually in New York City since 1982. Since 2008, the Downtown Dance Festival has included the Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance. As a dance educator, Hollander has been active in bringing dance into the public schools; and is known for the award-winning "Dancing to Connect" program. He is also known for his ties to India, and for presenting and promoting Indian dancers in New York. He is a co-founder of the Indo-American Arts Council.
Vyoma Nandi is an Indian Canadian actor and model who works primarily in the Gujarati film Industry. She made acting debut in 2016 with Telugu film Marala Telupana Priya as the lead actress. In 2017, she made her Gujarati film debut with crime thriller Cash on Delivery opposite Malhar Thakar. She went on to appear in several commercially successful Gujarati films, including Gujjubhai-Most wanted (2018), Oxygen (2018), Luv Ni Love Storys (2020). She won Best Debut award at the Gujarati Iconic Film Awards for her performance in Cash on Delivery.
Mara Pappa Superhero is a 2021 Indian Gujarati-language film directed by Darshan Ashwin Trivedi. Written by Raam Mori, the film stars Abhinay Banker, Shraddha Dangar, Revanta Sarabhai and Bhushan Bhatt in lead roles. The film also stars Bhavya Sirohi, Bharat Thakkar, Priyanka Raja, and Janushi Oza in supporting role. The plot follows the relationship of daughter with her parents. Produced under Saiffron Entertainment, Mara Pappa Superhero is the second film of Trivedi after Mrugtrushna.
Koi Pan Ek Phool Nu Naam Bolo To is a 1967 Indian psychological-thriller play by Gujarati writer Madhu Rye.
Geeta Sarabhai Mayor was an Indian musician, well known for her patronage in music. She was among the first women to play the pakhavaj, a traditional barrel-shaped, two-headed drum. She promoted exchanges between Indian and Western music, particularly for bringing Ahmedabad to New York City. During a study stay in New York, she taught Indian music and philosophy to the experimental composer John Cage, in exchange for a course on the theory of Western music. The course included the twelve-tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg. In 1949, Geeta Sarabhai founded the Sangeet Kendra in Ahmedabad, whose mission is to document and promote classical and popular Indian musical traditions. Gita was a part-time faculty of music at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
Darshan Ashwin Trivedi is an Indian film director and academician best known for his contribution for Gujarati cinema. He is known for his movies Mrugtrushna, Mara Pappa Superhero, Lakiro and Keri. He is Adjunct faculty at MICA.
Bharat Balkrishna Dave was an Indian drama director, dramatist and television producer from Gujarat, India. He was honored with the Gaurav Puraskar (1991) by Gujarat Government, the Kumar Suvarna Chandrak (2016) and the Narmad Suvarna Chandrak (2016).
