Category: Alumni

Alumni

2022 – 2023

Nikhil Thok is from Sinnar Taluka (Dist. Nashik). He has been performing on stage since he was in school. He has participated in street plays, one-act plays during his pre-university years. Recently he was introduced to the style of Goshtarang performances and that is how he decided to be a part of the Fellowship.

Nikhil Pujari is from Atpadi (Dist. Sangli). When he was working in Pune, he also worked in theatre, both as an actor and as a backstage artist. He believes that a platform like Goshtarang will help him discover himself in a new way, through communicating with children.

Actor and a Puppeteer, Priyanka Kotwal is basically from Mumbai. She has worked with many prominent theatre groups such as Studio Tamasha, Backbenchers Productions etc. She conducts puppet making workshops for children. She was associated with an NGOs that uses theater as an input to build skills in children. She believes that Goshtarang will add to her skill set.

Ankush Bharti realized his passion for theatre and decided to study theatre at Pune University. Even before he joined Lalit Kala Kendra he was doing theatre activities for children under the guidance of his teachers and friends. He feels a strong connection with children. He wants to gain the Gostharang experience so that he can go back to Parbhani, where he is from, and do work with children over there.

Alumni

2019 – 2020

Pratiksha Kachare is a young theatre practitioner from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. She completed her graduation in Engineering. She loved reading and storytelling, which lead to an interest in theatre. She participated in many workshops like Creative Writing, voice modulation, Thousand Expressions Physical theatre workshop and Facilitator Training workshop. She also attended many theatre performances and play rehearsals to keep learning. She brought all this knowledge to the Goshtarang Fellowship when she was selected. She enjoyed performing stories for children in various villages and towns. Now she is trying to explore her skills and passion as a performer.

Vardhan Deshapande is from Aurangabad. While he was studying Engineering in Pune, he developed an interest in Theatre. He participated in many theatre competitions and won prizes. He worked as an Engineer for about a year. Soon, he realized that his interest in theatre was growing stronger. He left the job and opted for formal training in theatre by joining Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune and completed his Master’s degree (M.A. Theatre). After being selected as a Goshtarang Fellow, Vardhan got an experience of living and working in a rural setting. He is now based in Pune.

Mahendra Walunj lives in Pune. He has completed a Diploma in Printing Technology. However, he decided to pursue his interest in theatre after the diploma. He has acted in a few Marathi films and plays. During the Goshtarang Fellowship, he enjoyed the process of storytelling for children. He is now associated with ‘Tiny Tales’, an intiative started by Goshtarang Fellows from an earlier batch. He conducted online workshops for teachers and children.

Ram Saidpure hails from Latur. He completed his Diploma in Electronics. For the last 7 years, Ram has been working in theatre in Pune. He handles the technical aspects of theatre and has also acted in some plays. In the Gostharang Fellowship, he learnt the skills of performing stories for children. Subsequently, he is learning various aspects of storytelling.

Alumni

2018 – 2019

Urvaraj Gaikwad is a Mechanical Engineer by training. To pursue his interest in theatre, he studied Performing Arts at K K Wagh College of Performing Arts, Nashik, and moved on to writing-directing-acting in Marathi plays. He received a nomination for Zee Gaurav 2017. Then he joined Goshtarang Fellowship and learnt various aspects of storytelling for children. After the fellowship, Urvaraj was appointed as the Joint Secretary of ‘Marathi Bal Rangabhoomi Natya Parishad’, Nashik. He conducts theatre workshops for rural children for free, and works with director Chinmay Kelkar in ‘Open Box’, an initiative for using children’s theatre for education. He has recently received the ‘Yuva Kala Gaurav 2021’ award.

Ganesh Jadhav hails from Shirdi (Nashik District). As a school boy, he had a keen interest in elocution and drama. But he decided to complete his graduation in Commerce before pursuing this interest further. He joined Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune, for a formal training in performing arts. He wrote and directed a few plays while studying. He also conducted theatre workshops for children, and participated in Theatre Olympic 2018 organized by NSD, Delhi. During the Goshtarang Fellowship, Ganesh learnt new skills of storytelling
for children.

Sagar Landage is from Amravati. He completed his Masters in Theatre from Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune. He was conducting theatre workshops with children in Amravati, when he got selected for the Goshtarang Fellowship. After the training and experience received during this Fellowship, Sagar launched ‘Rang Shala’ in Amravati to work with children. He is getting a good response, and he wants to continue to explore theatre and education.

Ruchika Khot lives in Kolhapur. She studied Marathi Literature and then did her Masters in Theatre. As a Goshtarang Fellow, she enjoyed the experience of performing children’s stories in various villages. Recently, she participated in the acting reality show ‘Maharashtra cha superstar’ on Zee Marathi TV channel. She also works with ‘Tiny Tales’, an initiative by other Goshtarang Fellows to continue storytelling work for children. Ruchika wants to be involved in theatre full-time, and is also exploring other media.

Dipali Kale lives in Aurangabad. She had completed B Ed and was working on Early Childhood Education, when she got selected for Goshtarang Fellowship. During the Fellowship she was able to combine her theoretical knowledge of education with performing arts. Later she completed her Masters in Education and is now working with ‘Prakriya Vachan Katta’, Pune, telling stories online for children. She says that the Goshtarang Fellowship has boosted her confidence which will stay with her in whatever field she works in.

Alumni

2016 – 2017

Sagar Bhoir is from Wada (Palghar District). He is an alumnus of The Drama School, Mumbai. After his training, he participated in Goshtarang, performing children’s stories in schools in and around Wada. Sagar then worked with his colleagues from The Drama School on a play called ‘Krishna Sandhaan’ using Yakshagana as its base. He acted in ‘Deewar’ under prominent theatre director Sunil Shanbag. He has also acted in ‘Shakuntalam’ as a clown, directed by Mr Rupesh Tillu, supported by ‘Clowns without borders’ from Sweden. They have done 130+ shows of the same. Sagar remains connected with Goshtarang by conducting fitness workshops for Goshtarang Fellows where he trains them how to utilize physical training as a performer.

Shreeram Chaudhari is from Wada (Palghar District). After his training at The Drama School, Mumbai, he participated in Goshtarang, performing children’s stories in schools in and around Wada. Later, Shreeram worked in theatre with his colleagues from The Drama School, on a play called Krishna Sandhaan that used Yakshagana as its base. He has worked on a Hindi short film ‘Karm’ by prominent Director Shibu Sable. He has also acted in ‘Shakuntalam’ as one of three clowns, directed by Mr Rupesh Tillu, supported by ‘Clowns without borders’, an organisation based in Sweden.

Before joining Goshtarang, Chetan Patil had attended a theatre workshop by prominent director Chinmay Kelkar. He acted in the play ‘Bin Biyache Jhad’ which was created in that workshop. That experience sealed his connection with theatre. He participated in Goshtarang, performing children’s stories in schools in and around Wada. Later, he started conducting theatre workshops for young persons in Wada town. In collaboration with his local friends, Chetan has scripted and directed a few short plays, which they perform in villages around Wada. They also perform street plays for creating awareness on social issues.

Vishal Mokashi…

Bhavana Shelar

Alumni

2017 – 2018

Pratiksha Khasnis studied theatre at Lalit Kala Kendra. After her graduation, she also studied Child & Adolescent Psychology. As a Goshtarang Fellow, she enjoyed performing stories for children in villages. She decided to choose this aspect of theatre as a career path. After the fellowship, she and her colleague from Goshtarang founded ‘Tiny Tales’ to continue using theatre in the field of education. They visit various institutions and perform stories for children of different age groups. They also conduct theatre workshops for teachers. Apart from designing the performances and acting in them, Pratiksha is involved in locating and translating stories which can be performed.

Kalpesh Samel completed his graduation in theatre from Lalit Kala Kendra. After being selected for the Goshtarang Fellowship, he spent the year learning and enjoying storytelling for children. Afterwards, he also received the ‘Rang Setu’ fellowship from Maharashtra Cultural Centre. He decided to continue using theatre in the field of education and founded ‘Tiny Tales’ with his colleague from Goshtarang. For the last four years, he has performed stories through ‘Tiny Tales’ all over Maharashtra, and has also conducted theatre workshops for children and teachers. He enjoys storytelling, and likes to try out different ways of performing.

Ashwini Pande is from Risod Taluka in Washim district. She studied theatre at Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune. She was acting in TV serials and conducting/attending workshops on basics of acting for Marathi films, when she applied for the Goshtarang Fellowship. During the Fellowship, she enjoyed the process of performing stories for children. She is now interested in working with children and creating story performances with them.

Santosh Gaikwad completed his Masters in Theatre from Auragabad University. As part of his Masters, he did research on Children’s Theatre. He was writing and directing plays, and also acting in them, before joining Goshtarang. During Goshtarang, he enjoyed the process of performing stories for children. He has now joined hands with some local performers and formed ‘Touring Theatre’, a group which travels to different villages to perform stories for children and to spread the culture of reading.

Shridhar Kulkarni has completed his masrters in theatre arts from Lalit Kala Kendra Gurukul, Pune Universtiy. He is basically from a village near Pune named Talegoan Dabhade. During his masters he was introduced to the idea of Goshtarang and thus he deicded to choose this as his career. Goshtarang Fellowship came in as an opportunity for him, that enabled him as a facilitator and a performer at the same time. Apart from collaboration work he also runs an initiative in the name of NatyaKool in Pune.