About
To preserve and promote India's classical performing arts through training, production and public presentation.
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is India's pre-eminent training institution for classical performing arts, founded on the midnight of Independence (15 August 1947) by Sumitra Charat Ram as the Jhankar Music Circle. Formally registered in 1952, it operates from a campus in Mandi House, New Delhi (Copernicus Marg) comprising a teaching block, hostel, open-air amphitheatre and the Kamani Auditorium. The College of Music and Dance offers structured training in Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mayurbhanj Chhau, Hindustani vocal and instrumental music (tabla, sitar, sarod). The Performing Arts Section produces and tours dance-dramas. The Kendra stages the Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival -- one of India's oldest and most prestigious classical music festivals -- and the flagship Shri Ram dance drama, produced annually without interruption since 1957.
The Kendra's founding moment is both symbolic and biographical: Sumitra Charat Ram organised an all-night musical soirée at Shriram House on the midnight of Independence, bringing together musicians including Baba Allaudin Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan. This gathering became the Jhankar Music Circle and eventually SBKK. The founding circle also included the Nawab of Pataudi. The institution has since shaped the development of multiple classical forms in North India. It played a foundational role in establishing Odissi as a classical dance form through training under Mayadhar Raut. It brought Bharatanatyam to North India under Leela Samson and other gurus. It introduced Mayurbhanj Chhau to Delhi audiences. It also established modern puppetry in Delhi through a dedicated puppet section. The Shri Ram dance drama, first staged in 1957 (inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with sets by Tapas Sen) and broadcast on Doordarshan as one of its earliest dance programmes, has been produced every year since without interruption -- making it one of the longest continuously running cultural productions in India.
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Founding & Leadership
Sumitra Charat Ram (1924-2013) was a philanthropist and arts patron who founded SBKK on the eve of India's Independence. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan for her contribution to Indian culture. Her founding vision -- that classical performing arts required systematic institutional support -- shaped a generation of practitioners.
Initiatives & Portfolio
Structured training in Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mayurbhanj Chhau, Hindustani vocal and instrumental music. Over 45 faculty members including Gurus, teachers and accompanists.
Flagship annual dance-drama on the Ramayana. Produced continuously since 1957. First staged by PM Nehru; sets by Tapas Sen. Incorporates Bharatanatyam, Kalarippayattu, Chhau and North Indian folk traditions.
One of India's oldest classical music festivals, staged annually for several decades. Presents both established maestros and emerging talent.
Dance company -- the largest professional residential dance company in India -- producing and touring dance-dramas nationally.
SBKK's significance is foundational. Founded at the moment of Independence, it was the first major post-colonial institution to assert that India's classical performing arts required systematic training, professional production and public presentation. Its 70+ year record of continuous operation, its role in establishing classical forms in North India that had not previously had institutional homes, and its production of the Shri Ram dance drama across seven decades make it the most historically significant performing arts training institution in independent India. The Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival, one of the oldest classical music festivals in India, has provided a platform for both established maestros and emerging talent across its entire run.
[Atlas Perspective] CultureAtlas rates Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra as one of the highest-importance institutions in its corpus -- a founding cultural institution of independent India whose longevity, training legacy, production record and historical significance are unmatched in the performing arts sector. Its association with the Kamani Auditorium (one of Delhi's most important classical music venues) and with Mandi House (Delhi's cultural hub) makes it a central node in the capital's performing arts geography. CultureAtlas notes that the Kendra's public profile has not always matched its historical importance -- an opportunity for the institution to use platforms like Culture Atlas to assert its story more actively.