Kalapriya Foundation Center for Indian Performing Arts Inc

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Kalapriya Foundation Center for Indian Performing Arts Inc Kalapriya welcomes all to our beautiful studio on South Wabash for classes, community gatherings, and cultural celebrations. Come visit us! www.kalapriya.org

A formidable empire, a compassionate King. Learn more about Ashoka’s governance, history, and its importance this Sunday...
10/13/2026

A formidable empire, a compassionate King.

Learn more about Ashoka’s governance, history, and its importance this Sunday at the Obama Foundation

5:00-7:00PM
$10 for students, $25 for general public.

Obama Foundation

Grab your tickets on our website

📣Announcement! A new performing arts series, Salon@Kalapriya, is launching at the Kalapriya studio in the South Loop Chi...
10/06/2026

📣Announcement! A new performing arts series, Salon@Kalapriya, is launching at the Kalapriya studio in the South Loop Chicago this Fall! Save the dates for this wonderful, intimate series, for an opportunity to immerse yourself in performing arts from South Asia, interact with the artists, be a part of a post-performance discussion with scholars and performers, all followed by chai and snacks. Hope to see you there!
Sreyashi Dey
Divya Khandekar



WHO WAS THE REAL ASHOKA?For more than 2,000 years, Ashoka has been remembered as emperor, conqueror, Buddhist ruler and ...
10/02/2026

WHO WAS THE REAL ASHOKA?

For more than 2,000 years, Ashoka has been remembered as emperor, conqueror, Buddhist ruler and symbol of moral transformation.

But how do we separate the historical Ashoka from the Ashoka shaped by centuries of storytelling and interpretation?

Hear from Patrick Olivelle, one of the foremost scholars of ancient Indian texts and intellectual traditions, ahead of his appearance with Kalapriya on Sunday, October 18.

▶️ Watch the conversation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6wMkhZgOEk

Then join us in person as Olivelle turns to Ashoka’s own words and asks what they reveal about power, responsibility and the challenges of governing a diverse society.

📅 Sunday, October 18 · 5–7 PM
📍 Elie Wiesel Auditorium, Obama Presidential Center
🎟️ $25 adults · $10 students

Reserve your seat at kalapriya.org.

10/02/2026

Hey we love a good 2-for-1 deal

Beginner Bharatanatyam for Adults - Every Friday at 5:30PM
Drop in: $32
4 and 8 week class packs available!

Instructor(s): Harini • ஹரிணி swe ✩ ஸ்வேதா 🌶 Honestly 90% hair and only 10% personality.

See you tonight, maybe? 👀

DID YOU KNOW?More than 2,000 years ago, some of Emperor Ashoka’s messages were written not only in Indian languages — bu...
10/01/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

More than 2,000 years ago, some of Emperor Ashoka’s messages were written not only in Indian languages — but in Greek and Aramaic.

In Kandahar, in present-day Afghanistan, inscriptions issued under Ashoka appeared in languages connected to the Persian and Hellenistic worlds that had shaped the region before him.

It’s a striking reminder that ancient South Asia was never isolated.

Ashoka ruled within a world already shaped by the movement of people, languages, religions and ideas across South Asia, Persia and the Mediterranean world.

So what did leadership look like in an empire this culturally diverse?

On October 18, renowned scholar Patrick Olivelle joins Kalapriya at the Obama Presidential Center to explore Ashoka’s own words — and what they reveal about power, pluralism and ethical leadership.

📅 Sunday, October 18 · 5–7 PM
📍 Elie Wiesel Auditorium, Obama Presidential Center
🎟️ $25 adults · $10 students

Reserve your seat at kalapriya.org.

10/01/2026

On October 18th, join us at the Obama Presidential Center’s Elie Wiesel Auditorium to hear from renowned scholar Patrick Olivelle and explore what Ashoka’s legacy can teach us about compassion, community across differences, and modern day ethics in leadership.

📆 Sunday, October 18th
⏰ 5-7PM
📍Elie Wiesel Auditorium, Obama Presidential Center
🎟️ $25 adults | $10 students

Reserve your spot at kalapriya.org!

Can a ruler responsible for devastating violence genuinely change?More than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Ashoka ruled one of...
09/29/2026

Can a ruler responsible for devastating violence genuinely change?

More than 2,000 years ago, Emperor Ashoka ruled one of the largest empires in South Asian history. After the devastating Kalinga War, his own inscriptions would speak of remorse, restraint, compassion and responsibility.

But was Ashoka's transformation as simple as the story we often hear?

On October 18, renowned scholar Patrick Olivelle joins Kalapriya at the Obama Presidential Center to examine Ashoka through his own words — and what they reveal about power, ethics and leadership.

📅 Sunday, October 18
🕔 5–7 PM
📍 Elie Wiesel Auditorium, Obama Presidential Center
🎟️ $25 adults · $10 students

Learn more and reserve your seat at kalapriya.org.

09/27/2026

Join us for our monthly Paint and Sip with Pranali! The fat beetle 🧿
This month we will be learning about Mandalas

Sign up on our website now.

What can a ruler from more than 2,000 years ago teach us about leadership today?Emperor Ashoka confronted questions that...
09/18/2026

What can a ruler from more than 2,000 years ago teach us about leadership today?

Emperor Ashoka confronted questions that remain remarkably familiar: How should power be exercised responsibly? How can people of different beliefs coexist? And what does ethical leadership require of those entrusted with authority?

On Sunday, October 18, join Kalapriya at the Obama Presidential Library for Lessons in Ethical Leadership: Speaking Stones of Emperor Ashoka — an evening exploring Ashoka’s ideas through the words he left behind and the questions they continue to raise today.

Renowned scholar Patrick Olivelle, Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King, will lead the presentation. He will be introduced by Professor Whitney Cox of the University of Chicago, followed by a Q&A led by Dr. Shiv Subramaniam of Emory University.

📅 Sunday, October 18, 2026
🕔 5:00–7:00 PM | Doors open at 4:30 PM
📍 The Elie Wiesel Auditorium at the Obama Presidential Library
🎟️ $25 General Admission | $10 Students

Tickets are available now. Reserve your seat here: https://kalapriya.org/lessons-in-ethical-leadership

Address

2101 South Wabash Avenue, Suite 1
Chicago, IL
60616

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 9pm
Wednesday 12pm - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 6pm - 9pm
Saturday 9am - 3:15pm
Sunday 10am - 3pm

Telephone

+13124362789

Website

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