Prachi Gambhir Dutta- Bringing in a cultural renaissance
During 2014-2017, Prachi worked with different institutions to organise dramas and folk music festivals for children, and started a music school called Kal-aakar collective where stalwarts such as Hameet Khan Sahab (he was Prachi’s guru too), Sharat Chandra Srivastava imparted music training to kids.
Since last September, the city has witnessed a host of cultural performances from Qawwali nights to Hindustani stage musicals and Kathak and Daastangoi renditions at a school auditorium in Sushant Lok 1. Prachi Gambhir Dutta, the co-founder of Avirbhav — an epiphany, an immersive cultural platform, is one of the key forces behind these cultural events. A trained Kathak dancer and founding member of Delhi-based theatre group Pandies’ theatre, Prachi felt a cultural vacuum when she moved to the city in 2012. What started as a quest for finding a music school for her daughter, gradually turned into a mission for creating a cultural platform in the city where residents could come and soak in the nuances and beauty of Indian classical music and performing arts.
Prachi said, “ I realised that children in the city hardly have exposure to Indian arts. It was all about Bollywood and western influences. There is nothing wrong with that, but when I was growing up, the stage was my happy place, and Indian classical music my healer. I wanted my daughter and other children in the city to at least have an opportunity to experience the indelible and inspiring effect of Indian art forms.”
During 2014-2017, Prachi worked with different institutions to organise dramas and folk music festivals for children, and started a music school called Kal-aakar collective where stalwarts such as Hameet Khan Sahab (he was Prachi’s guru too), Sharat Chandra Srivastava imparted music training to kids.
It was also during this period that Prachi realised that the city lacked a cultural platform . She wanted to bring a vibrant performing arts landscape to the city, especially because she found that people in the city had a predilection for the arts, but no avenue to experience it.
Last year, Prachi started approaching schools in the city for creating a stage where artists across genres could come and perform. She also simultaneously spoke to artists like Niazi Nizami brothers, lead guitarist of the band Indian Ocean Susmit Sen, veteran stage artists such as Sudheer Rikhari, and daastango Fouzia Dastango.
Her search for an auditorium ended with Colonel Sanjay Kumar who is the secretary of an educational society that runs the private school where Avirbhav’s events are held. Kumar said he completely supported Dutta. “I knew Avirbhav would change Gurugram. Prachi amazes me with her hard work and the amount of organisation and detailing she puts in for every event. Her enthusiasm and passion for the arts is contagious and extremely motivating,” he said.
Avirbhav’s first offering was on September 21 last year, a musical concert by renowned Hindustani classical violinist and music composer Sharat Chandra Srivastava, which was open for all. Since then, she along with the other founders, has organised five more cultural events.
But for her, the journey has just begun and she asserted that she has a long way to go, “People in Gurugram still don’t know much enough about Avirbhav, which is why even with stellar artists performing, the auditorium is only half packed. I want to take Avirbhav to every art lover and aficionado in the city and tell them that there is a cultural scene right in Gurugram now, not just an hour and a half away in Delhi. All the artists have performed here for the sheer love of art and have repeatedly said they would love to come back again to Gurugram audiences.”
Avirbhav along with cultural events will now host workshops by renowned artists such as Susmit Sen, Sudheer Rikhari, Riddhima Bagga, starting this month.