Digital Desk: Ratan Thiyam, a renowned Indian playwright, theatre director, and one of the leading figures of the "theatre of roots" movement in Indian theatre, also known as Thiyam Nemai, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday at RIMS Hospital in Imphal, Manipur.
Ratan Thiyam, born on January 20, 1948, in Imphal to a family of Manipuri dance artists, was also trained in painting, Hindustani classical music, and Manipuri dance.
He worked as the chairperson of the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD) from 2013 to 2017. He also worked as the vice-chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi before joining NSD.
He held the position of Director of NSD from 1987 to 1989. Thiyam was the founder-director of Chorus Repertory Theatre, formed on the outskirts of Imphal in 1976.
In 1987, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction. The Government of India honored him with the fourth-highest civilian award in the country, the Padma Shri, in 1989.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2012, the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. In 2013, Ratan Thiyam received honorary D.Lit from Assam University, Silchar, for his remarkable contributions to culture and theatre.
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