Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra finds its origin in a
Jhankar, a society founded in 1947 for an appreciation of
Indian classical music and dance, gradually it started offering training in music and dance and came to be known as Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Eventually it moved to Copernicus Marg where it was renamed Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, later it was registered under the same name in 1952, under the Societies' Registration Act XXI of 1860. It now has two sections, the College of Music and Dance, and the Performing Arts Section. Noted classical singer Nilina Ripjit Singh, later known as
Naina Devi was its director. Noted musicians, singer and dance guru of the era worked at the Kendra, including
Siddheshwari DeviShambhu Maharaj,
Birju Maharaj,
Munna Shukla and
Leela Samson.
Kathak Kendra was originally established as the Kathak wing of the Shriram Bharitya Kala Kendra, in 1955, through the efforts of Nirmala Joshi, the first secretary of the
Sangeet Natak Akademi, under the patronage of Sumitra Charat Ram, wife of industrialist, Lala Charat Ram of Shriram Group. here noted Kathak guru,
Shambhu Maharaj, taught and his nephew
Birju Maharaj. It was later taken over by
Sangeet Natak Akademi and shifted to nearby Mandi House to become the
National Institute of Kathak Dance. Founder Director, Sumitra Charat Ram was later awarded the
Padma Shri by
Government of India in 1966, while her daughter and present Director, Shobha Deepak Singh in 1999. The Kendra had its own puppet troupe for many years, which was run by Rahi and Keshav Kothari, while the Puppet Section of the Kendra staged several important productions over the years, including
Dhola Maru,
Jhansi Ki Rani and
Prithiviraj-Sanjukta, which even won the first at Puppet festival in Udaipur. This played an important role in establishing modern puppetry in Delhi. The Kendra also houses an art gallery at the ground level and its library has a large and rare collection of books, audio and visual recordings and extensive archives. Founder Sumitra Charat Ram died on 8 August 2011 in New Delhi, at the age of 96. ==Courses==