Shobha Deepak Singh was born in October 1943; had her schooling at Modern School and graduated from Delhi University in 1963 (Eco Hons).
She joined DCM as a Management Trainee in 1964 and was involved in marketing and advertising of the company’s leading product lines .She was married in 1967.
She joined Bhartiya Kala Kendra in 1968 and was the first Manager of Kamani Auditorium. Shobha went on to specialise in designing of costumes and ornaments- a field in which she become a trailblazer. Later on, she took over the task of script writing and directing of the Kendra’s ballets. During the past four decades she has for over thirty ballets/dance dramas of the Kendra.
During this period, in 1977, she also completed her degree in “Bachelor of Performing Arts”. She received her diploma in theatre direction in 1996.
In 1992, she joined the Direction Course of Living Theatre under the tutelage of Mar. E. Alkazi During this tenure, she was responsible for the music of several plays. She was Assistant Director to Mr Alkazi, for four of his eight lays.
Shobha has a natural flair for photography and has actually been shooting for four decades.
She has had several solo photography shows.
Her Photographs have been used extensively in leading newspapers and magazines.
Many a time , her images have been used to make a book.
Analogue photography is her forte.
She is self taught, never used a flash and has a bank of 300000 negatives.
Her mentor is E Alkazi and she believes that she would like to capture movement in dance and emotion in theatre.
I was fortunate to meet Shobha Deepak Singh and to see her pictures on a recent trip to India. Her work takes you directly to the heart of dance, and reveals the beauty and poetry of the performers as they execute their art. Her photos are a window into the world of dance, and they
A photograph is not merely a factual record of outward appearances. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, the camera can provide revealing insights into situation and character, and the subtle interplay in human relationships. The theatre is a fugitive and an ephemeral art. The dramatic performance disappears into thin air after its brief two-and-a-half
I was very touched when dear Shobha Deepak Singh asked me to write something on the occasion of the publication of her book on photographs of dance. I wondered ‘why me?’ I did not ask her that question because there was no question of asking her this question. Why? My mind went back to Shobha’s
..As for photography, I don’t know the first thing about it. As I set about launching my first book on photographs of dance and the exhibition; this quote by Henri Cartier Bresson sums up exactly how I feel- knowing little of photography but possessing a fortitude to achieve. What write is to qualify that I
Shobha Deepak Singh
1 Copernicus Marg,
New Delhi – 110 001
Tel: 23387132, 23386428 / 29
Fax : 23387132
E-mail: sbkk@thekendra.com