What is Sankalp?
Sankalp is tradition; a way of life for theatre-enthusiasts at MICA. It has given communication students a new canvas for expression and performance. Students await that time of the year when communications bibles are exchanged for costumes, branding strategies for histrionics, classrooms for the stage, professors for directors, and PowerPoint for the microphone.
Sankalp is an attempt at acknowledging the importance of theatre as an effective medium of communication and entertainment, while at the same time exposing students to the nuances of creative conceptualisation and execution. The entire event is managed by the students of MICA.
Someone rightly said that Sankalp is not just another theatre society but a pledge born out of the amalgamation of spirited minds ignited by creativity, woven together by individual brilliance and given form through the strength of collective will.
Sunil Vishnu and Karthik Kumar met as classmates in MICA and shared a common interest in theatre. This led them to starting ‘Sankalp’ in 1999. Slowly and steadily Sankalp has become MICA’s main interface and cultural connect with its home city - Ahmedabad. In turn it has earned immense loyalty and respect from the local audience.
What does Sankalp do?
Sankalp, during its eleven years of existence, has maintained a firm belief in how theatre can be used to influence social change. This is evident in almost any activity it has initiated, from its annual feature plays at Natrani Theatre which are normally based on contemporary social issues to its street play event Rangmanch which brings to light key issues concerning the common man.
Also, after completion of the annual Sankalp festival, the balance sponsorship money is donated as ‘Girl Child Education Fund’ to a needy and deserving student. This is thus an added motivation for corporate sponsors, apart from the numerous branding opportunities that this festival provides.
The Annual Production
Apart from innumerable in-house plays, there’s one grand play every year performed at the Natarani auditorium in Ahmedabad, for the local public. Over the past years, it has been running to packed houses. Renowned plays such as Girish Karnad's ‘Tuglaq’, ‘Hayavadana’, Vijay Tendulkar's ‘Encounter in Umbugland’, Mahesh Dattani’s ‘30 Days in September’, Vijay Tendulkar’s ‘Silence, the court is in session’ and Woody Allen's ‘Death’ have been staged at this amphitheatre by Sankalp in the past.
Sankalp – The celebration of theatre
In 2010, Sankalp organized a full-fledged theatre festival on campus, which ran along with the three-day grand annual production at the Natrani Amphitheatre in Ahmedabad. The festival saw participation from colleges across the country, a panel discussion among eminent theatre and film personalities, several workshops, and many informal and fun events.
Rangmanch
Sankalp partners with various NGOs and government schools to facilitate change. Rangmanch is our way of reaching out to the world around us – to cheer up the forgotten elderly, to sensitize educated minds on issues they tend to overlook, to encourage the spread of education. And what better way to mobilize opinion than by imitating life itself – through street plays!
Khula Aasman
Sankalp is an initiative for, of and by the students of MICA. While the final play showcases the best of MICAn talent, Khula Aasmaan has been introduced to the Sankalp calendar to encourage all members of the MICA family to explore their theatrical skills. Khula Aasman is a series of short plays put up in MICA’s open air theatre.
