— SHIVAAKRITI FOUNDATION —

Where art and culture
become the language of personal,
environmental, and social change.

An NGO founded by Aparna Mishra. Funded entirely by the profits of her practice. Serving the underserved through art, culture, and dignity.
— THE FUNDING MODEL —
She doesn't raise funds. She earns them.
Every training, workshop, scholarship, and event is funded from Aparna's own pocket — not one rupee accepted as charity or donation since the Foundation began.
— THE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS —
It began in a backyard.
She was thirteen.
ARCHIVAL
[ Backyard classroom — early 1990s ]
In the early 1990s, in the backyard of her family's home, Aparna Mishra began teaching the children of her household helps. They could not afford school. So she taught them what she knew — Kathak, music, and through that, the alphabet, the numbers, the language of becoming.
What began as a tender act became a calling. From it grew Kala Saadhna — Indian Art and Wellbeing Centre. And from the profits of Kala Saadhna, slowly, came the foundation that would carry her vision forward.
In 2015 — the year her second daughter was born — she gave the work a name: Shivaakriti. Drawn from her two daughters, Shivanshi and Kritika.
— THE FOUR VERTICALS —
Where the work flows.
01
Social
Education, dignity, and opportunity for the underprivileged. Confronting taboos around gender, caste, and class through art.
02
Environmental
Sustainability advocacy, water conservation, and the eco-artivist work that places earth-care at the centre of cultural conversation.
03
Mental & Emotional Health
Free counselling, emotional resilience programmes for juvenile centres, and the rebuilding of inner life for those society overlooks.
04
Indian Art & Culture
Preservation of classical dance, music, and traditional crafts as living disciplines — accessible to the children, women, and youth who would otherwise never meet them.
— THE PROJECTS —
A glimpse of the work.
One vision, in many forms.
PROJECT 01
[ Susanskrit —
students learning,
dignified ]
— EDUCATION —
Susanskrit
Education through dance.
A government-approved degree and certification programme in Indian classical dance and music, delivered through Guru-Shishya parampara. For underprivileged youth, women, and children — turning art into a livelihood, a discipline, and a return to inheritance.
PROJECT 02
[ Kshamta —
differently abled,
finding strength ]
— DIFFERENTLY ABLED —
Kshamta
Where ability is found, not measured.
A program for the differently abled — using classical dance, music, and art to develop motor function, identify unique strengths, build self-esteem, and create the felt sense that they are needed, loved, and equally important to the world.
PROJECT 03
[ Sa-Shakt —
women crafting,
quiet power ]
— THE EMPOWERED WOMAN —
Sa-Shakt
She is already empowered. We help her remember it.
Engaging women across socio-economic backgrounds — particularly from rural India — to realise the dreams they carry quietly while fulfilling their many roles. Crafts, paintings, sculptures, knitting, handicrafts, and pottery emerge through this work, presented through exhibitions and the online store.
PROJECT 04
[ Kaushal —
youth in workshop,
discovery ]
— SKILL DEVELOPMENT —
Kaushal
Personality, confidence, and possibility.
Workshops in dance, music, stage performance, event management, painting, and creative production. For underprivileged youth and children — exposing talent, building confidence, and revealing how many possibilities exist beyond what they had been told.
PROJECT 05
[ Shashakt —
juvenile centre,
quiet repair ]
— EMOTIONAL REPAIR —
Shashakt
Where children are rebuilt, not punished.
Emotional wellbeing and mental reprogramming workshops at juvenile centres and homes. Through Kathak, conversation, and presence — addressing the wounds beneath behaviour, and offering the dignity these children rarely receive elsewhere.
"I do not raise funds. I earn them — and the children, the elders, and the trees are paid first."
— APARNA
— ENGAGE THE FOUNDATION —
The most powerful way
to support the work.
Every salon, keynote, and performance you book is itself an act of philanthropy. Aparna's profits become the children's education, the women's livelihoods, the elders' care.
For institutional partnerships, collaborations, or to learn more about the work — begin a conversation.
CONNECT TO EXPLORE
Connects via WhatsApp · Or write to [email protected]
— FREQUENTLY ASKED —
About the Foundation
What is Shivaakriti Foundation?
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Shivaakriti Foundation is a registered NGO founded by Aparna Mishra. The Foundation uses art and culture as the language of personal, environmental, and social change — working across four verticals: Social, Environmental, Mental and Emotional Health, and Indian Art and Culture. Named after Aparna's two daughters, Shivanshi and Kritika.
How is Shivaakriti Foundation funded?
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Entirely by the profits of Aparna Mishra's practice — her salons, keynotes, and performances. No external donations, grants, or corporate funds are accepted. Every booking with Aparna is itself a contribution to the Foundation's work.
What projects does the Foundation run?
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Five flagship programs: Susanskrit (education through dance), Kshamta (for the differently abled), Sa-Shakt (women's empowerment), Kaushal (skill development), and Shashakt (emotional repair at juvenile centres). All delivered through classical Indian arts and the Guru-Shishya parampara.
When was the Foundation established?
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The work began in the early 1990s when Aparna, then thirteen, started teaching the children of her household helps in her family's backyard. Kala Saadhna (Indian Art and Wellbeing Centre) was founded in 1999. The work was formally named Shivaakriti Foundation in 2015, after the birth of Aparna's second daughter.
How can I engage with the Foundation?
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The Foundation does not accept monetary donations. The most direct way to support the work is to engage Aparna's practice — book a salon, host a keynote, or commission a performance. For institutional partnerships, collaborations on cultural programming, or other engagement enquiries, contact through WhatsApp or [email protected].