Peer Group Performance Company ~ Mentors & Friends VIDYA

Ms. Manisha Mehta is the Artistic Director, Managing Trustee, and Co-founder of VIDYA.  

With over 1000 productions & performances and over 500 workshops to her credit, Ms. Mehta continues to work at the grassroots level in both urban and rural areas of Asia and Canada.  She has over 15 years of experience in the theatre for community development and is considered an expert on Forum Theatre (Theatre for Development) and Community Project Planning and Design.  One of her most recent presentations was by invitation to the Earth Symposium in Vancouver, Canada to present VIDYA’s achievement and Forum Theatre to an international audience of over 500 people.  Ms. Mehta was featured on Doordarshan’s (Indian’s National Channel) “Survive to Success” cover story which focused on women who have raised the benchmark in their chosen fields.

Some of her most recent projects includes collaborating with Amader Shonglap, A Center for Communication Development, in Bangladesh to work with Males who have sex with Males (MSM), Male Sex Workers (MSW) and the Gay community of Bangladesh to craft a bridge of tolerance between the heterosexual society and the MSM, MSW and Gay community in order to harbour acceptance of sexual diversity.  In addition, Ms. Mehta is writing a book about VIDYA under the UK Arts and Humanities Research Board program and conducting a research project on renowned artists, such as Mr. Chimanbhai Nayak, of Gujarat. 

Ms. Mehta is a founder member and currently remains on the Advisory Board of Chandni, a folk dance troupe that has won several National and State-level awards.  She has personally performed the Bhavai-Garbi at various folk festivals and for Doordarshan.  Some of her past experience includes working with the Nehru Youth Centre, Lucknow specifically for the National Integration Camp as a National Artistic Programme Coordinator.  She has also done collaborative work with Shakshi, an NGO based in Delhi where she acted in the Shiva-Parvati Documentary Drama in addition to being the coordinator. Ms. Mehta has also performed in many women’s empowerment films for the Ministry of Human Resources Department (MHRD). 

Ms. Mehta previously worked as a Programme Coordinator for Darpana for Development on several projects, including collaborative ventures with UNICEF on Women’s Empowerment, Gujarat AIDS Control Society, the Ministry of Human Resources Development, New Delhi and the MacArthur Foundation before starting VIDYA. 

Ms. Mehta was trained in Forum Theatre by International and Intercultural Forum Theatre Experts: John Martin and Mojisola Adibayo.

Mr. N.D. Solanki, IPS is VIDYA’s Legal Advisor. He holds the following academic degrees- M.Com, LLB and CS. He belongs to the 1992 batch of the Indian Police Services. Currently, he is the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ahmedabad) in addition to being the Superintendent of Police (State Crime), Government of Gujarat. He is the Founder President of Jaycees Club, Sports Promotion Committee and Traffic Awareness Committee, Gujarat. Mr. Solanki is also the President of Lion's Club - Kapadwanj, Gujarat, India as well as an honorary lecturer at the Law College, Gujarat University.  Mr. Solanki strongly believes that the poorest and those marginalized in society deserve justice and equality.

Krishma Dave is the administrator of VIDYA. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Information Technology Management from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. She volunteered for Amnesty International and worked in the natural gas industry before joining VIDYA.

PEER GROUP PERFORMANCE COMPANY

Bharti Rathod is the youngest member of VIDYA. Bharti is a very good actress and was only sixteen years old when she joined VIDYA and struggled within her family and her community to join a theatre group performing in front of large members of the community.

Bhikhiben Thakor is a leader in her community, who single-handedly removed bootleggers from her community and a single parent of three daughters. Although she is a powerful woman in her community, she too had to fight for her rights, especially when she would wear different theatre costumes on stage and perform in her community. She was also a researcher at the intial stage of VIDYA Project.

Dipti Makwana had tuberculosis when she joined VIDYA in 2001. She had to struggle to get people to talk to her because of her sickness, today she is a mother of two healthy children, a good actress and workshop leader. She helps people deal with health and hygiene issues.

Kalu Rathod is an innate drummer and a very good actor.

Mehmudan Bibi Sheikh is the sole provider and mother of five daughters. She has previously worked with another NGO but after joining VIDYA has seen the impact that theatre can make in making people realize what they are doing and how it is harming their world.

Raniben Rathod is a single mother of two boys, including a disable child. She worked in a ceramic factory and was completely illiterate before joining VIDYA in 2001. She has powerful dialogue delivery and firmly believes that theatre is the most effective way of reaching out to people like her who did not know what options were available and how they could make positive changes. Today, Raniben can read and write after joining VIDYA and is great role model for her family and her community.

Rekha Rathod is one of the most academic person in the company. She has obtained a Bachelors of Commerce and a Masters in Social Welfare at VIDYA. She is one of the good workshop leaders.

Savita Solanki worked for another NGO prior to joining VIDYA in 2001. She is an excellent children workshop leader and a good actor. She has a Bachelor of Arts and helps with day to day documentation and administration at VIDYA.

Suresh Bhatti his right arm as a child. His community has high HIV/Aids population and through working at VIDYA and doing performances on HIV/aids he has been able to help his community members understand how the disease is transmitted and how the community can help the person deal with the disease and how sanitation of the community is very important. He is also a musician and has seen how theatre can reach out and help give people correct information on issues like it did in his own community.

Vijay Prajapati is joined VIDYA in 2004 and is the newest member of the peer group. He is a highly skilled craftsperson and is actively taking theatre training.

FRIENDS OF VIDYA

John Martin is the founder and artisitic director of Pan Centre for Intercultural Arts, UK’s foremost company in this field.  He trained at the famous Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris after gaining a degree in drama from Bristol University.  He spent three years performing with companies such as La Mama ETC in New York, Stockholm City Theatre and the Arts Theatre in London before starting his career as director, writer, teacher and activist.

With over 50 productions to his credit in countries as widespread as Sweden, Germany, France, Nigeria, Kenya, USA, South Africa and India.  His knowledge of world performance traditions is unique in this country.

Mojisola Adebayo is a freelance theatre practitioner (director, writer, performer, researcher) whose practice encompasses physical theatre, theatre of the oppressed/theatre for liberation carnival and celebratory arts.

Trained at Goldsmith College, and with experience of working with Cardboard Citizens (London theatre group), London Bubble, Pan Centre for Intercultural Arts, she has gone on to teach theatre for social change to community workers in Cape Town, theater workshops for asylum seekers in Dublin, and devising and directing forum theatre performances for Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah Palestine (Abu Shaker’s Affairs).

She is a lecturer in theatre at the University of Surrey and a founder member of VIDYA.

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