Architect of Culture Krutika Shah is engineering India’s FOLK RENAISSANCE

Blitz Bureau

NEW DELHI: In the lexicon of urban development, Surat is often synonymous with the hard edges of diamonds and the rapid whir of textile looms. Yet, beneath this industrial grit, a different kind of architecture is being drafted – one made of rhythm, intangible heritage, and the collec- t i v e memory of a nation. At the drafting table is Krutika Shah, a woman whose career defies the traditional silos of professional life.

As the Founder-Director of TAAL Group, Shah is not merely teaching dance; she is performing a sophisticated ‘structural audit’ of Indian folk traditions, ensuring they remain resilient in the face of a homogenising global culture. Architect’s precision Shah’s profile is a study in dualities. A practicing architect and interior designer by day, she approaches cultural preservation with the same rigour required for blueprints. Her appointment to the Philatelic Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Communications is a testament to this; it is a role that demands an eye for detail and a deep understanding of how a nation represents its soul on a canvas as small as a postage stamp.

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Equally remarkable is her journey as a dancer and c h o r e o g r a p h e r. She began learning Bharatanatyam at the age of four, and later earned formal qualifications in classical dance, including Visharad (BA) and Alankar (MA) from Brunhad Gujarat Sangit Samiti, Ahmedabad. Her artistic journey reached a significant milestone with her Arangetram, followed by performances on prestigious classical platforms, establishing her as a disciplined performer with deep cultural roots.

Shah possesses the technical vocabulary of classical dance, but her vision has always been broader. She recognised early on that while classical forms are preserved in the ‘temples’ of high art, folk traditions – the heartbeat of the masses – require a different kind of guardianship.

A social infrastructure Founded in 2005, TAAL Group Surat is less a dance academy and more a women-led cultural collective. In a society where women’s participation in the performing arts often tapers off after marriage or motherhood, Shah has built a ‘multigenerational bridge’. Her ensemble features performers ranging from 8 to 65-year-old. By reclaiming the stage for women of all ages, TAAL Group has transformed folk dance from a decorative performance into an act of cultural agency. This is ‘soft power’ in its most authentic form – local, inclusive, and fiercely protected.

Shah’s impact reached a global crescendo in January 2020. Just before the world retreated into lockdown, she orchestrated the International Folklore Dance Festival in Surat. Another festival was organised in 2023. In collaboration with CIOFF India (an official partner of Unesco), with Pawan Kapoor as its President, the festivals turned a commercial hub into a global village, hosting delegations from Romania, Indonesia, Poland, and Slovakia.

Cultural diplomacy Folk culture is not a museum piece to be dusted off for holidays; it is a living, breathing identity that must be integrated into our modern urban psyche, Shah’s work suggests. The festival was a masterclass in cultural diplomacy. Beyond the stage, international artists engaged in yoga, heritage walks, and environmental initiatives, creating a holistic exchange that bypassed political friction in favour of shared human expression.

When Covid-19 threatened to silence the stage, Shah moved the TAAL online. By engaging with CIOFF chapters in Brazil and Israel, she ensured that India’s folk narrative remained part of the global digital discourse. Today, initiatives like Nayika, a festival celebrating womanhood, and the Rangini Youth Folk Art Festival serve as her ‘blueprints for the future’. These programmes are designed to solve the ‘relevance gap’, making folk art aspirational for a Generation Z that is increasingly searching for authentic roots in a digital world. Krutika Shah stands out because she understands that a nation’s ‘smart cities’ are hollow without a ‘smart culture’. By applying the discipline of an architect to the fluidity of folk heritage, she has ensured that Surat – and by extension, India – remains a vibrant, loud, and proud stakeholder on the Unesco global stage. She hasn’t just built a group; she has built a legacy that is, by every definition, ready for the future.