Chancellor

Padma Bhushan Dr. Mallika Sarabhai

Mallika Sarabhai has been one of India’s leading choreographers and dancers for over four decades. A sought after artiste and a highly accomplished soloist, she has been creating and performing both classical and contemporary works through ‘Darpana’, the dance company of her own. She has produced over 3000 hours of television work talking about issues of the environment, women, communal harmony and violence, using the most popular genres of television media. Alumna of IIM Ahmedabad (1974), she has her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Gujarat University (1976).

She has been the honorary Director of Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad for the last 40 years.

She first came to international notice with her portrayal of Draupadi in Peter Brook’s magnum opus ‘The Mahabharata’ (1985) that performed globally including France, North America, Australia, Japan and Scotland.

An activist for societal education and women’s empowerment, Mallika began using her work for social change. Her first work was the hard-hitting solo ‘Shakti: The Power of Women’ that she created in 1989. Since then she has created numerous stage productions that raised awareness, highlighted crucial issues and advocated change. Several of them have extensively travelled nationally and internationally. Her creations are unique in vocabulary, treatment of the core theme and versatility of choreographic idiom.

She is one of the few Indian contemporary performers who has successfully used Indian classical dance practices to position them meaningfully in contemporary discourse and practice.

Over the years, her webinars, interviews, TV shows and talks through numerous platforms including ‘TED Talks’ have been motivational to many. Through Darpana’s ‘Nritya Parichay’ project, she trains thousands of marginalized youngsters to gain mental health and self-esteem.

The Government of India bestowed her with the coveted Padma Bhushan (2010), the third highest civilian award of India, in recognition of her invaluable contribution to the arts. She is honored to receive second and third highest French civilian awards: Chevalier des Palmes Academiques, French Government (1999). French Government coffered also ‘l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters) on her in the year 2002.

The Govt. of Kerala has appointed Dr. Mallika Sarabhai as the Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed to be University for Art and Culture on 06 December 2022.