By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe
Dr. Jamshed Jehangir Bhabha was an avid reader, and his knowledge of many subjects was encyclopaedic. The story of his illustrious life is preserved in the collection of artefacts, rare photographs and family heirlooms that are part of the Dr. Jamshed J. Bhabha Memorial Exhibition at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), which was inaugurated in 2018 to honour his legacy.
On his 106th birth anniversary on August 21, India’s premier cultural institution pays tribute to this great visionary and his extraordinary contribution to the world of culture, as the NCPA owes its existence to the vision of Dr. Bhabha.
A passionate connoisseur of art, Dr. Bhabha worked with single-minded dedication to set up a fine institution in India that could be a custodian of culture.
As Chairman of the NCPA, he ensured that quality remained the hallmark of every initiative that was undertaken here — from performances across the genres of Indian and Western classical music, jazz, dance and theatre, to educational activities and the project of archiving India’s great cultural heritage, particularly its rich oral traditions.
Today, the NCPA is a powerhouse of vivid programming and facilities such as reference and music libraries with a listening room for archival recordings, five theatres designed to suit the needs of different performing art forms and an art gallery.
N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe
