Testimonials
"Here's what practitioners had to say about UsPaar"
A space like this is not merely a thing of brick and mortar. It is already shaped by its scenic environment and imbued with the spirits of those whose vision it reflects. And those who have believed in the vision enough to help it to be realized and those who have executed that vision with their hands and their skills. That spirit will acquire substance when directors, actors, dancers and musicians meet here and create work."
- Shanta Gokhale
Writer, Translator, Journalist, Theatre Critic
It's a very comforting feeling as a co- traveler in the Arts when you come to a place like this knowing that the people behind it have been in the arts for as long as they have been. We were absolutely relaxed here and were conscious that we were in a safe and nurturing place. There was no pressure or anxiety about having to complete so much in a particular day to make it worthwhile. It was totally led by the work, the compositions, and the pace was decided by the musicians and the artists.”
- Devina Dutt
Curator, Archivist, Director Kishima Arts Foundation
This is a big piece of the jigsaw. A space like UsPaar gives not just facilities like the workspace and the dorms but also has a huge element of care both for the art that visitors practice, as well as for the visitors themselves.”
- Vivek Madan
Director, Bhasha Centre
It’s kind of an oasis in the middle of nowhere and more so an artistic oasis and that's what makes it so beautiful. So even in the workshop where we were trying to help two writers flesh out their ideas, we had space, which is beautiful, and the other amazing thing which we don't get anywhere else is that we had time. We could just sit and talk, and then break for tea, and talk some more and then come back … and you heard from people of all kinds. Some of the actors in the workshop are as young as 26, and some of the people who are the mentors are in their 80s, you get a range of experiences across theatre makers talking about someone's text.”
- Quasar Padamsee
Theatre Director
There's something absolutely beautiful about this place. Yes, at some level it’s away from the city but at another level it is producing a certain solitude of its own which is not just about getting away from somewhere because we know that many times in a tourist destination we get away from the city but we again get into a hustle bustle, which is a kind of a replication of the city life. But what is happening here is that it is shaping as a learning space. A space where there is leisure, a space where one could introspect, a space where one could collectively deliberate but also relax and I think that relaxation is very crucial for any creative process.”
- Vaibhav Abnave
Filmmaker and Scholar
Many places have provoked us to do theatre like the Chhabildas and the Prithvi. Some places just have theatre in them. It's very lucky that you've built up a place which has theatre in it and I don't know how else to put it.”
- Rajiv Naik
Playwright, scholar, Poet
Heritage is not just about saving our old Monuments or saving our old traditions, crafts and arts but it's also holding on to a shared value system. A system of which community is a very vital part and that's something that has really moved me about UsPaar, bringing the community back to the centre and turning this whole self-centered society upside down.”
- Deepa Ganesh
Author, Translator, Columnist
I feel like all of us are held in this space. The hills behind, the sea close and just nature. The workspace itself is so inviting, so warm and I feel it really holds all of us to be vulnerable enough to take that step into creating something where you can take risks and you can try, explore, fail, and come back.”
- Anitha Santhanam
Director, Choreographer
It’s important we have a space that supports, that protects, because the creative process is always fragile. So we need those kinds of spaces- and not just commercial spaces - but spaces where we can come, share, and rest.”
- Michel Casanovas
Choreographer
I really want to thank the team at UsPaar and The Tamaasha Studio Foundation for everything you have done to hold space for our community. I know personally that you've helped many of our DSM alumni find their voices, their self-expression and their personal agency over the last many years. I think they would have been thrown into a void after graduation had you not been there.”
- Jehan Manekshaw
Founder, Drama School Mumbai & Theatre Professionals
One only realizes after one spends a little bit of time at UsPaar that actually to engage with an idea across an entire day is also become a challenge for us, and the fact that you don't have to arrive at answers very quickly … that's what the space allows you to do … that slowness allows you to have that.”
- Chanakya Vyas
Playwright, Director