Kalaa Dhari

Our Collective

Kalaa Dhari holds deep appreciation for the power of connection and collective action. Our organisation is made up of individuals who are not only highly creative and dedicated, but also deeply compassionate. We firmly believe in the transformative power of creativity to drive positive social change.

At Kalaa Dhari as an organisation is nurtured and guided by the Collective. We come together online at regular intervals to connect, engage in theatre based & other activities, take a moment to breathe, and move forward in unity and love.

If you feel drawn to be a part of our collective, it’s likely because we are calling out to you as well! Feel free to get in touch with us at reach.kalaadhari@gmail.com, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to connect with you!

To Vaishnavi (she/her), the world seemed fair & fine until she wore the lens of justice. She began to notice how a separate plate was kept for her domestic help, how ‘women’ were treated differently in the name of love & protection & the way her friends called her a ‘slum dweller’. 

She completed her under-graduation in journalism & pursued a Masters in Social Work. Her journey has been guided by ideologies of Ambedkar, Periyar & Nammalvar. She fell in love with the narratives of different communities & their stories made her cry, laugh, lean & most importantly made her work with love, hope and strength. 

She has worked with the Madras Institute of Development Studies with evicted & resettled communities who live by the railway lines, with domestic workers to facilitate trade union organization, done research & training with Centre for Worker’s Management & has been a part of Thozhilalar Koodam, an online platform that reports on issues of working class. Currently she is working independently on issues of labor rights, as a journalist & trainer. She can be reached at ps.vaish45@gmail.com 

Tania Devaiah (she/her) is a campaigner & a social work practitioner. Her work focuses on environmental governance and social justice.

She has a Master’s degree in Social work, with a specialization in Criminology and Correctional Justice, from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Her main areas of interest are at the intersection of environmental justice, gender, digital rights and conservation issues. She is passionate about enabling citizen engagement in democratic decision making processes. She is committed to creating spaces to enable reflection and growth for those interested in social justice issues.

In the past, she has worked with various organisations like Prerana Anti Trafficking Center, Biocon Foundation, Video Volunteers, Jhatkaa.org and Centre for Policy Research.

Ragini (she/her) is exploring what it means to create critical learning spaces for children and young adults, in a way that centers hope and compassion.She is particularly interested in the use of literature and performing arts in educational spaces, and in its power for personal and political transformation.

Ragini holds a postgraduate degree in education and has been working as a teacher and facilitator in government schools, community learning centers, alternative learning spaces and residential schools for the past few years. She dabbles in music, dance and theatre and loves it when people come together with their hands, hearts and heads to create something. 

She can be reached at ragini.lalit06@gmail.com.

After having worked in the sector of Social Work & Education for over 14 years and traveled extensively to explore the world, Arundhati Samudra (she/her) founded Kalaa Dhari.

Arundhati works with people in their pursuit of reclaiming the utter joy of connecting with and being their authentic & integrated selves. With collectives, her focus is on nurturing safe & playful spaces, filled with love & driven by solidarity, to embark on collective transformative journeys. She is a trained Theatre of the Oppressed Facilitator, the only CRM practitioner in India & a breath-work facilitator.

Arundhati currently lives in a mud house by a forest on the mountainside in Himachal Pradesh, India. 

She can be reached at reach.kalaadhari@gmail.com