Kala Sangam was founded in 1993 by Dr Shripati Upadhyaya, a consultant Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in the creative use of arts to help people with disabilities. His dream was to establish a unique organisation that delivered high quality south Asian arts through innovative collaborations and that would be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Working alongside his wife, Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, a Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Dr Shripati first set up Kala Sangam in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 1993. In 1996, the company moved to the Carlisle Business Centre in Bradford, while they looked for a permanent home in Bradford to grow the company.