Balanand aims to represent and encourage the creativity in school children from all over the country by providing an opportunity to participate in a fun art competition based on a theme. This year's theme is 'Ahimsa’ in line with 150 years of celebrating Mahatma Gandhi. In collaboration with the Inner Wheel Club Association and Kalanand artists, Balanand patrons fund the workshops.
The Balanand contests were held in a 150 schools across India. View the gallery for more.
Balanand aims to represent and encourage the creativity in school children from all over the country by providing an opportunity to participate in a fun art competition based on a theme. This year's theme is 'Ahimsa’ in line with 150 years of celebrating Mahatma Gandhi. In collaboration with the Inner Wheel Club Association and Kalanand artists, Balanand patrons fund the workshops.
The Balanand contests were held in a 150 schools across India. View the gallery for more.
ABOUT the PRAFULLA DAHANUKAR ART FOUNDATION
Pictured above: Prafulla at the
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute - 1961
To honour his beloved wife, Prafulla Dahanukar, Late Dilip Dahanukar, together with Late artist Ravindra Salvi, established the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation in 2014. Prafulla Dahanukar was one of India’s eminent modern artists during the Progressive movement in post-independence India.
She was widely respected not only for her artistic achievements, but also for her generosity, warmth, and unwavering encouragement of young artists and musicians who showed talent and promise. Her ability to nurture creative individuals and bring people together through the arts made her a true patron of the artistic community. Inspired by her spirit and legacy, Dilip Dahanukar founded the Foundation in her name and devoted himself to carrying forward her vision of supporting the arts and creating meaningful opportunities for emerging artists across India.
Through his dedication, leadership, and collaborative spirit, the Foundation evolved from an idea into a nationally recognised platform that connects artists, educators, institutions, and communities across the Indian subcontinent. The Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation is committed to supporting creativity as a catalyst for cultural dialogue, education, inclusion, and social transformation. By fostering artistic expression and creating accessible spaces for engagement with the arts, the Foundation continues to encourage connection, innovation, and community building across diverse social and cultural contexts.
At its core, the Foundation believes in the transformative power of the arts to inspire individuals, strengthen communities, and nurture empathy, imagination, and human connection. The Foundation is generously supported by artists, collaborators, institutions, corporations, friends, family members, and well-wishers, whose continued encouragement and contribution make this vision possible.
Prafulla & Dilip Dahanukar
ABOUT PRAFULLA 1934 - 2014
An artist devoted to her craft, and to everyone who shared it.
Prafulla at the Bhulabhai Institute - 1961
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In 1953, the Bhulabhai Memorial Institute was a fountain of creativity that brought in artists in the visual arts, music, theatre, dance, film, and literature. Prafulla shared a studio with V.S.Gaitonde at the Bhulabhai Desai Institute during the progressive movement and the emergence of modern art in India. Many of the artists who shared space there would go on to become the greatest artistic talent of that era. The exchange between all these diverse talents gave rise to an unprecedented explosion of new ideas and directions, including the progressive arts movement.
Prafulla Joshi, a gold medalist from the JJ School of Art gained a scholarship to go to Ecole de Beaux Arts Paris. She had a prolific career of over 50 shows in India and several in other countries in Europe and the Middle East. Her works are in collections all over the world.
Prafulla was a patron of the arts, a voice for artists and was the former Chairperson of the Bombay Arts Society, President of the Arts Society of India, Trustee and Board member of the Kala Academy in Goa, Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi, and mentor to many contemporary artists of today. She helped secure the land and played a major role in getting an independent building in Bandra, Mumbai for the Bombay Arts Society.
In her life, she not only helped artists, but all artisans including folk artists, weavers and traditional jewellers, and flower garland makers. Being a connoisseur and ardent lover of music, she led the famed Bade Gulam Ali Yadgar Sabha and hosted and organised many concerts. She once organised a polyaesthetic event of music and art at the NCPA, with M F Hussein painting while listening to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi performing on the same stage. She saw all arts as connected with a purpose to enrich and elevate the human mind to be in communion with the immeasurable presence.
PDAF is now carried forward by Gauri Mehta and Gopika Dahanukar, daughters of Prafulla and Dilip, along with Prafulla's niece Rukmini Dahanukar. The team is supported by Hemant Vichare and Ganesh Thale.
Portrait of Prafulla - V.S.Gaitonde 1966
“Smt Prafulla Dahanukar was an acclaimed painter and patron of art. But much more than that she was a pillar of strength and support for the artistic fraternity in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Prafulla Dahanukar had a genuine concern for the young and upcoming artists and was ever so willing to help them. As President of the Bombay Art Society, she took various initiatives for the welfare of artists. It was her dream to create a place for the Bombay Arts Society in Mumbai. Her demise is a great loss to the world of art in Maharashtra.”
K. Sankaranarayanan
Former Governor of Maharashtra
2014
MEET OUR TEAM
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Dilip Dahanukar
Founder
GAURI DAHANUKAR MEHTA
Trustee
Late Dilip Dahanukar was an industrialist and social entrepreneur who founded the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation with Late artist Ravindra Salve. It was under his visionary leadership that the Foundation has become one of India’s foremost art foundations keeping alive his wife’s life-long work in helping young, emerging artists. An IIT Mumbai graduate, he also did post-graduate engineering studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic USA and returned to India to found several progressive organic agriculture focused enterprises in India. His Mumbai-based company Ornamental Plants has been running for over 40 years, still providing plant rental services to green up offices around the city. He was a lover of nature and actively supported folk artists of India in his last years, recognising them as an often-neglected artistic talent in India.
GOPIKA Dahanukar
Trustee
Gauri Mehta is the elder daughter of Prafulla and Dilip Dahanukar. She has an MA in Ancient Indian Culture from Mumbai University and an MA in Art History from Southern Methodist University, USA. Gauri continues to study at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, a center for Vedanta and Sanskrit studies. Taking leadership in social initiatives comes naturally to Gauri as she has built teams and organized major programs globally, in the USA and India. Her efforts have resulted in a popular course teaching Indian culture to hundreds of children and adults in the USA, volunteering and organizing programs as diverse as the Good Karma 5K run in the USA to support access to rural education in India. A year ago, she organized a two-day musical program for AIM for Seva at Gateway of India *(Mumbai) to raise awareness for supporting education for students from rural India. As a trustee of Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation, she has been leading the organization to increasingly diverse programs, successfully supporting emerging artists all over India. She is a passionate advocate for Indian culture and art. She has actively participated in various initiatives to bring awareness about India’s rich immortal heritage and deep wisdom culture.
Gopika Dahanukar is the younger daughter of Prafulla and Dilip Dahanukar. An artist, a vocalist and an International expressive arts counsellor and coach, she is also the Founder & Director of the Swahansa Expressive Arts India www.expressiveartsindia.com, a cooperating partner Institute of the European Graduate School leading Expressive Arts programes in Mumbai and in Auroville. Gopika has a MFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, USA, Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation and Change from UPEACE, Diploma in Expressive Arts Therapy, Vancouver and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from the European Graduate School, Switzerland. Gopika’s research interests are directed toward creative awareness, creativity in human evolution, collective well-being and in interactive public art.
HEMANT VICHARE
Accounts Manager
RUKMINI Dahanukar
Trustee
Rukmini Dahanukar is co-founder of ‘Nirmiti’; specialising in brand communications design & identity creation. She has her first Master’s degree in Marketing Mgmt. from the JBIMS, Univ. of Mumbai followed by an MA in Communications from California State University. She recently completed the accredited course; “Learning to Look at the Visual Arts” from the University of Oxford, Continuing Education Program. She is currently authoring a book on banknote design involving currency notes from all over the world. She is also a long-distance runner having successfully completed over 25 marathons and half marathons around the world and has to her credit an Advanced & Adventure PADI Deep Sea Diving Certification with Underwater Photography & Shipwreck diving specialisations under her belt.Her entrepreneurial and management experience coupled with her analysis and authorship in design education and evaluation alongwith her extensive travels and experiences; make her a unique contributor towards the strategic planning and future endeavours of the foundation.
Hemant Vichare is an accounts manager with 20+ years experience and has a B. Com. from Mumbai University, B. E. S. College of Commerce and Economics. Hemant Vichare is dedicated to making a positive impact on society through his involvement in social-welfare initiatives and crowd-funded projects that focus on improving the public welfare.
GANESH THALE
Office Assistant
Ganesh is experienced in providing ad-hoc services and has been technical partner to well-known brands in Mumbai. Ganesh Thale has a strong passion for sports training and dreams of becoming a gym trainer to help others build strength and resilience. He has completed his basic junior college education and has experience working with well-known brands in Mumbai as a technical partner. In addition to his love for sports, Ganesh also has a deep appreciation for art and has been involved with PDAF for the past six years.