The late 19th century was a period when the Mahajans of Ahmedabad had developed a taste for theatre and other entertainment. But visiting and local artists had nowhere to perform. Sheth Maganlal Karamchand threw open his vadi as the venue for them, giving citizens their first taste of modern entertainment. People were enthralled, but the artists were looking for a more convenient venue. In 1898 the Mahajans gave the city its first indoor theatre, Anand Bhuvan. As demand for the arts grew, other theatres followed, funded by the leading Mahajans including the Premabhai Hall and the Town Hall.
In 1942 Ahmedabad welcomed it’s first professional classical artist, Mrinalini Sarabhai. She needed to introduce citizens to the spiritual dance form of Bharatanatyam. Her father in law, Sheth Ambalal Sarabhai, created a space for her to perform, in his family haveli in the walled city.
By the 1960s the arts were flourishing all over India and national and international companies were entertaining audiences wherever they found well equipped theatres.
Ahmedabad city was by-passed, regularly.
The birth of Natarani in 1994 changed that forever.
Built as a state of the arts venue to provide Ahmedabad’s citizens a world class performance venue, over the next 22 years,
curated programmes at Natarani brought to Amdavadis 1500 events across all genres of the arts from 42 countries.
It also helped develop a new, young breed of theatre writers and directors, by offering the best at minimal rates.
