| Donate For A Cause | | | | Become A Life Member
| Donate For A Cause | | | | Become A Life Member
Shri Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi established the Ahmedabad Kendra of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
With the above strong fundamental and Indian values of Ahmedabd Kendra was established on a plot of land on the River bank of Sabarmati. The land was allotted by Gujarat Government on 18th July 1964. Shri Morarji Desai performed the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ ceremony of Jethalal Amrutlal Auditorium for Bhavan’s Gujarat Kendra on this plot of land. Bhavan’s started Ranchodlal Acharatlal College of Arts & Science in a new building near the Auditorium in the year 1965. On the generous donation given by Shri Navnitlal Ranchodlal Parikh. Following colleges and institutions were added to the Kendra –
| a) | Sugam Sangeet Vibhag | 1967 |
| b) | Commerce College | 1968 |
| c) | H.B. Institute of Printing and Journalism | 1969 |
The construction of JA Auditorium was completed by 1977 and inaugurated by His Excellency Jaisukhlal Hathi, the Governor of Punjab Haryana and also an ex-president of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
In the early sixties there was an urgency to add additional Science and Arts College in Ahmedabad. Gujarat State was carved out of Bombay State and development in the education field was felt necessary. At this juncture the great freedom fighter, an educationist lawyer a staunch Gandhian and son of the soil, Shri Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi came forward and established the Ahmedabad Kendra of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Shri K. M. Munshi and Committee Members persuaded the Gujarat Govt. Authorities to allot land for this education purpose. On his request 5083 sq. meters of land was allotted on revenue free basis on the bank of river Sabarmati on Lady Vidyagauri Nilkanth Marg, Khanpur area on 18th July, 1964.
NEWS & EVENTS
Eminent Ramkathakar Sant Shri Moraribapu unveiled a statue of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s founder Shri Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi at Bhavan’s Ahmedabad campus on the day of Ramnavami, March 30, 2023.
Moraribapu also inaugurated a digitised as well as physical archives containing over 16,000 articles written by the highly popular Gujarati columnist, journalist, editor and author of over 50 books, the late Kanti Bhatt. Bhavan’s, with the support of eminent journalist and editor Sheela Bhatt has set up a memorial and a reading room dedicated to the late Bhatt.
The archives have been hosted by Bhavan’s Harilal Bhagwati Institute of Communication and Management (HBICM) and is open to all for access. The digitised archives can be visited on www.hbicm.in and can be accessed in person at Bhavan’s campus in Ahmedabad.
Speaking on the occasion, Moraribapu appreciated the first such memorial dedicated to a Gujarati writer-journalist. “Kanti Bhatt was one person who considered me a friend. He was always fearless in his writing, because he was on the side of the truth. He had nothing to fear. I am delighted that Bhavan’s has decided to keep his legacy alive,” he said.
He also recollected some of the exchanges he had had with Kanti Bhatt regarding his library. “He had asked me to take its possession. But I refused as this should be best done by an institute. So I am really happy that Bhavan’s has taken an initiative and hosted this. I am sure this will inspire youngsters.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mukesh Patel, Chairman, spoke about the importance of keeping the legacy of Munshi alive for the youth today. He expressed the hope that the statue will keep inspiring youngsters when they visit the campus.
Prakash Bhagwati, Secretary, talked about the manifold activities of Bhavan’s Ahmedabad Kendra, which has over 3,500 students, spread over two colleges and multiple institutes. Gaurav Shah, Treasurer, requested Bapu to felicitate two achievers from Bhavan’s – Miss Elavenil Valarivan, a Bhavan’s student who participated in the Tokyo Olympics and who is a recipient of the Arjuna Award, and Dr Neerja Gupta, the former principal of Sheth
R A College of Arts and Commerce who has been appointed vice-chancellor of Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies at Bhopal.
Veteran journalist and editor Sheela Bhatt appreciated the commitment that Bhavan’s showed in hosting this collection. She said she hoped that this project would inspire similar memorials for other writers and journalists.
Memorial curator Shyam Parekh, who is also director of Rajendra Prasad Institute of Communication and Management (RPICM), spoke about the purpose of the Memorial and how it has been curated.
A fabric and canvas painting workshop was organised between February 20 and February 25, 2023. The workshop was organised for a total of five days and on the last day a competition was conducted for the participants.
A total of 32 people participated in this workshop and they made beautiful paintings.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ahmedabad, in collaboration with Infosys Foundation, Bangalore, conducted various outreach cultural programmes.
A drama/play titled ‘Ek Mulakat — Tagore sang Meghani’ was put up on February 26, 2023, in the J.A. Auditorium. It was a musical play showing a meeting between two legendary poets, Rabindranath Tagore and Zaverchand Meghani. It was written by Mr. Brijesh Panchal, directed by Mr. Praful Panchal and was successfully staged by the students of Earthing Group, a theatre school which is constantly working in the field of dramatics.
The play showcased a combination of folklore and folk music of Bengal and Gujarat, thus displaying the talent of Rabindranath Tagore and Zaverchand Meghani.
Ms. Elavenil Valarivan, the famous Tokyo Olympic 2020 participant in 10 metre air rifle shooting, is a student of Bhavan’s Sheth R.A. College of Arts and Commerce, Ahmedabad. She has been awarded the highest and the most prestigious award by the Government of India in sports —the Arjuna Award. She received the award from the honourable President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu on November 30, 2022, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The entire Bhavan’s Family congratulates her for this exceptional achievement.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ahmedabad in collaboration with Infosys Foundation, Bangalore is organising a series of cultural events throughout the year under the Cultural Outreach Programme. The Kendra organises several activities with the sole purpose of promoting Indian arts and culture.
Bhavan’s Cultural Academy & Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad Kendra organised Ras Garba with Divyang (Physically Challenged people) in Bhavan’s Campus.
This programme was organised with the PHA International team. The team of differently abled people enjoyed the programme. Though each one had a disability of some kind, they really enjoyed themselves. The energy and enthusiasm was stupendous.
More than 600 people participated in the Ras Garba programme.