Kalakriti India · Hyderabad · Est. 2002
About
Kalakriti India
A family devoted to India’s art, culture, and heritage — for over two decades, and counting.
One mission.
Many expressions.
“The idea is to take art that’s both beautiful and affordable to every household and workplace, so that you can appreciate it every day.” — Prshant Lahoti, Founder
Kalakriti India is an umbrella brand whose mission is to acquire, preserve and promote the art, craft, and culture of Indian origin — and art that features India as its subject. Formed of independent companies that each have a unique identity and purpose, yet are interconnected and working towards the common mission of the parent brand.
From a contemporary art gallery founded in 2002 to one of India’s largest private archives of historic maps and vintage photographs, from a platform making original art affordable and accessible to the ambitious heritage restoration of a Nizam-era palace near Charminar — every division of Kalakriti India is an expression of the same deeply held belief: that art belongs to everyone, and that India’s cultural heritage is worth fighting for.
How it all
began
The Lahoti family has been part of Hyderabad for 160 to 170 years — coming originally from Rajasthan and making the city their Janma Bhoomi and Karma Bhoomi. For generations, the family has been involved in philanthropy, education, and the management of cultural and charitable institutions across the erstwhile Hyderabad State.
Prshant Lahoti grew up in Hyderabad surrounded by trees and deodis — the old mansions of the city — that instilled in him an early love for art, heritage, and the built environment. After engineering and business administration, he chose to follow a different calling: the building of a platform for artists and art lovers in his home city.
His wife Rekha, a trained artist and musician from Calcutta, brought her own deep relationship with art to everything the couple built together. Their partnership — personal and professional — is the foundation on which Kalakriti India stands.
Rekha and Prshant Lahoti open Kalakriti Art Gallery in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad — the beginning of what would become one of South India’s largest private gallery institutions.
The non-profit Krishnakriti Foundation is founded in memory of Shri Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, with a mission to promote art, culture, and education across Hyderabad.
The inaugural Krishnakriti Art and Culture Festival is held in January — beginning what would become a 20-year tradition, one of Hyderabad’s oldest annual cultural celebrations.
Artcafe.in is launched as an online portal offering curated artworks at affordable prices — making original Indian art accessible to a much wider audience.
Prshant Lahoti is awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government at the Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad — in recognition of his work promoting cultural ties between France and India.
Kalakriti Archives is formally established and becomes the first private archive in India to partner with Google Arts & Culture — with over 650 Munn Survey maps digitised and made freely available to researchers worldwide.
Kalakriti India signs a tripartite agreement with the Telangana State Government and QQSUDA to restore the Nizam-era Sardar Mahal near Charminar as a living cultural destination.
Founded by a family.
Driven by purpose.
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Prshant Lahoti is a graduate in Engineering and a postgraduate in Business Administration from Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet. His passion for art led him to found Kalakriti Art Gallery in 2002 — and over the following two decades, to build one of India’s most significant private collections of antique maps and vintage photographs, formalised as Kalakriti Archives in 2015.
A member of FICCI, a charter member of TiE Hyderabad, and a founding member and chair of the American India Foundation, Prshant has spent his career at the intersection of art, culture, heritage, and community. He is also the managing trustee of the Krishnakriti Foundation and the Franco Indian Educational Trust.
Trained in fine arts and music, Rekha Lahoti grew up in a family of artists in Calcutta and brought a personal and passionate relationship with artistic practice to everything she has built at Kalakriti. Under her vision and leadership, Kalakriti Art Gallery has become one of South India’s foremost gallery institutions — a platform where immersive installations, rigorous scholarship, and community programming sit alongside world-class exhibitions.
A member of FICCI FLO since 2003, Rekha has served as chairperson of its art and culture committee and co-chairperson of the national committee. She is a trustee of the Krishnakriti Foundation and the Franco Indian Educational Trust, and has served in leadership positions within YPO for seven consecutive years including Chapter Chair and Regional Athena South Asia Head.
A graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a former national Table Tennis player, Harshvardhan Lahoti leads Kalakriti India’s affordable art and retail division — bringing original Indian art to a broader audience without compromising on quality or authenticity. He represents the next generation of a family devoted to India’s art and cultural heritage.
160 years in
Hyderabad
The Lahoti family came to the erstwhile Hyderabad State from Rajasthan 160 to 170 years ago, adopting the city as their Janma Bhoomi — the land of their birth — and Karma Bhoomi — the land of their work. For generations, the family has been deeply involved in philanthropy, education, and the management of charitable and cultural institutions across the Deccan.
This deep rootedness in Hyderabad is not incidental to what Kalakriti India does — it is foundational to it. The archives hold maps of the city from the 1840s. The gallery has championed artists from Telangana for over two decades. The Krishnakriti Festival celebrates Hyderabad’s culture every January. And the restoration of Sardar Mahal is an act of love for a city the family has called home for nearly two centuries.
Prshant Lahoti is also the managing trustee of the Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti Trust and the Rajasthani Samaj Seva Trust — family trusts that reflect the Lahoti family’s commitment to community and social welfare across the region.
The values that
drive everything we do
India’s cultural heritage is finite, fragile, and irreplaceable. Kalakriti India exists in part to ensure that what might otherwise be lost — rare maps, vintage photographs, endangered folk traditions, crumbling heritage structures — is rescued, documented, and made available to future generations.
Art is not a luxury. It belongs in every home, every office, and every public space. ArtCafe, the Krishnakriti Festival, the Google Arts & Culture partnership — each is an expression of the belief that India’s cultural heritage should be accessible to everyone, not only to collectors and institutions.
Art thrives in community. The Krishnakriti Foundation, the annual festival, the public art projects across Hyderabad, the artist residency programmes — all are expressions of the conviction that art’s highest function is to bring people together and to deepen their connection to the place they live.
Every publication, every exhibition catalogue, every Google Arts & Culture digitisation project is an act of scholarship — a commitment to rigour, accuracy, and the long-term value of documented knowledge over the transient appeal of spectacle.
Whether it is a limited edition print sold through ArtCafe, an exhibition at Kalakriti Art Gallery, or a publication produced with the National Museum and the Ministry of Culture — quality is non-negotiable. Every product, every event, every publication carries the full weight of the Kalakriti name.
Kalakriti India is a Hyderabad institution. Its archives document the city across seven centuries. Its gallery has shaped its contemporary art scene for over two decades. Its public art projects have transformed its streets and public spaces. Its festivals celebrate its culture every January. Everything begins and ends here.
“Kalakriti India is formed of independent companies that have unique identities and purpose, yet interconnected — working towards the common mission of the parent brand.”
— Kalakriti India · Hyderabad · Est. 2002
Find us in
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad — 500 034
Telangana, India
Landmark: Hyatt Place Lane