Jayant Bhise, founder of Indore's Sanand theatre group, dies

Jayant Bhise, a senior cultural scholar who gave Indore's culture, arts and theatre a new identity, died on Thursday morning. He was the founder of the organisation Sanand. He had been battling serious illnesses for a long time and was admitted to hospital a few days ago after his health worsened. News of his death has plunged the city's cultural and social circles into mourning.

Bhise was also a former director of the Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Samaroh and the Kala Akademi. The state government had appointed him a trustee of Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, only a few months ago. His contribution to art and culture will always be remembered.

Bhise founded Sanand to promote theatre in Indore. Under his leadership, the organisation took the city's cultural activities and theatre events to new heights. Sanand held programmes on drama, art and culture throughout the year. The organisation also held the record for staging the most events in a single year.

He was active in politics as well. Bhise worked in a bank but later left the job and took an active part in politics and cultural activities. He was counted among the supporters of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. He later also had political ties with minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and MLA Usha Thakur.

His funeral procession will leave from his residence in Shalimar Township for Ramabag. He is survived by his wife and a son. Prominent citizens and people from the world of art and literature have expressed grief over his death.