Kalakshetra Foundation

Kalakshetra, as the name suggests, is a centre for artistic endeavour. Founded in 1936 by the vibrant visionary Rukmini Devi Arundale, the institution stands testimony to her dream of creating a space where the essence of Indian thought would find expression through artistic education, an institution she established with the vision “of imparting to the young the true spirit of Art, devoid of vulgarity and commercialism.” Spread over almost 100 acres by the seashore in Chennai, the Kalakshetra Foundation, as it is known today, is a vital centre for the study and performance of fine arts. There are three libraries on the campus: 1. Rukmini Devi Library: The library has a collection of 5219 books from Smt. Rukmini Devi’s private collection. It is not open to the public. 2. Sankara Menon Library: This is the library attached with the Rukmini College of Fine Arts, the flagship unit of Kalakshetra Foundation. It was started in March 1958. At present, there are 10830 books related to dance, music and fine arts. These books are available in various languages like English, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi, Malayalam and Grantham. 3. Research Library: It was started in March 2006. It has a collection of 9380 books for reference. Books on painting, music, dance, and religion, as well as manuscripts of Rukmini Devi’s dance-dramas, are also available. It is open only to staff and students of Kalakshetra Foundation and to scholars with prior permission.

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