Table Of ContentContributorsofPapers
inthe DramaSeminar
P.\'. Rajamannar(J901-80).ChiefJusticeoftheMadrasHighCourtinthe19505.wasadramatistin
Telugu and3 promoterof literature,music. and dance through hiswork inbehalfof institutions.A
founder-memberofKalakshetra,Madras,heservedSangeetNatakAkademiasitsfirstChairmanfrom
1953to 1961.Hewas electedFellowoftheAkademiin1964.
S.Radbakrishnan(1888-1975),philosopherand statesman,wasVice-PresidentofIndiafrom 1952
to 1962and,afterIndia's firstPresident Rajendra Prasad,PresidentofIndiafrom 1962upto 1967.
SachindranathSengupta(189:!-1961), whowaschosenDirectorofthe 1956DramaSeminar, was
aplaywrightinBengaliwhoworkedwithanumberofprofessionaltheatresinCalcutta between1929
and 1961. Politically active since his school days in east Bengal, he was President of the Indian
People'sTheatreAssociation([PTA)inthe 1950s.Hewasajournalistin the Bengalinationalistpress
before heenteredtheworldoftheatre.
\:Ragha"an(1908-79)wasaSanskritscholar,aplaywrightinSanskrit,andaninterpretiveauthorin
Englishinthefieldofmusic,dance,anddrama.ProfessorofSanskrit attheUniversityofMadras,he
was a founder-member ofthe MusicAcademy, Madras, and worked closely with Sangeet Natak
Akadcmiinadvisorycapacitiesinitsearlyyears.Hewaselected Fellowofthe Akademiin1964.
CbandraKantPhookJ.n (1911-71)was anactorinthe Assamese theatrewho,togetherwithfellow
workersoftheNowgongNatyaMandir(establishedin1896),advancedthepracticeofmodemtheatre
inAssam'sNowgongdistrict.(HiscolleaguesinthisenterprisewereSaradakantaBordclci,Jugal Das,
and DwijenMohanGoswami.}He isbest rememberedforhis leadrole inPyoliPhookan,and inthe
AssamesefilmsBiplabi(directedbyAsitSen)andParghat,Healsowrote aplay,SUa,and abookof
poems, Cbondmmallika.
~I. BinSingh (1916-78) was a playwright, director, and actor inthe new theatre ofManipur.In
1951, he produced and acted inthe popular play Bir Tikendrajit, which was also written by bim.
RupmahalTheatre,withwhichBiraSinghwasassociated.hasannualawards inhisnameforartistsin
Manipur's theatre.
H.RomoniSingh(b.1921)· hasbeenlongassociatedwiththe RupmahalTheatreofImphaland has
also worked as theGeneralSecretary ofthe Theatre Centre, Manipur.He is the sonofManipcr's
honouredpoetH.Angahal Singh,authorofthe 'KhambaThoibiSeireng',apoem familiarto most
Manipuris.
"The namewas erroneouslyrendered as 'R.Romain Singh' inthe recordsof Sangeet Natak Akademiand
hence in RomoniSingh's published paper inSOfJgeet NalakNo.2,2004.-Ed.
S'Ulgrd ,vII/lit Vol.XXXVIIl. No.4, 2004
CONTRIBUTORSOFPAPERS INTHEDRAMASEMINAR
III
Amar,Mukerji(b.J921)hastaughtEnglishattheUniversityofAllahabad. Hehascontributedtoa
collectionofStudiesintheDranu:sofIagare(1952),publishedananthologytitledEnglishProseStyle
andThought(1953),andhaswrittenanovelinBengali,HarakanterWill(1941).
.Lila~ay (n~~iceVirginia,1910;d.1992)wasatranslatorofBengaliliteratureintoEnglish,anda
poet10herownn~tShewasIndia'sdelegatetotheP.E.N.ConferenceontranslationinRome{I963).
andwas~aterPresidentofthefirstAll-IndiaTranslators"Conference,Calcutta.DomAmerican,she
wasmarriedtotheBengalilitterateurAnnadashankarRay(1904-2002).
AbiodraCbowdburi(1895-1974)wasanactoroftheBengaliprofessionalstagewhoworkedfor
various theatres in Calcuttabetween 1924 and 1954. Besidesstellarperformancesin fifty-odd
plays,heactedinanumberofBengalifilms.Towardstheendofhiscareer,heheadedthedrama
department atRabindra Bharati University, Calcutta. HereceivedtheSangeetNatakAkademis'
Awardforactingin1958.
KaUndiChann Panigrabi(1901-91) wasapoet, novelist.dramatist, and critic inOriye. A
participantintheevant-gardeSabujamovementinOriyaJetters,heisknown forhisnovelMatira
Manisa(1931),anditssequelsLuharaManisa(J947)andAjira Manisa.HisplayPriyadarsiwas
publishedin 1933.
Mayadhar Manslnha (1905-78) wasapoet,playwright, andcrilic inOriya. Rajakabi Upendra
(1928)--basedonthelifeofUpendraBhanja-NastaNida(1931),andPujarini(1932)areamonghis
best-knownplaysHewasthechiefoompileroftheOriyaJnanakashapublishedbyUtkalUniversity,
andtheauthoroftheHistoryofOrtyoLiterature(1962)publishedbySahilyaAkademi.
JagdishCbaDdraMatbur(1917-81) wasaplaywrightinHindi,aswellasanauthorontraditional
Indian theatrewritingboth inHindi and inEnglish.Theplay KonartandDramainRuralIndia
representhisworkinthetwodomains.Amemberof'theIndianCivilServiceandofthefirstExecutive
BoardofSangeerNatakAkademi,hehad workedasDirectorGeneralofAllIndiaRadio.
Suresh Awasthl(19J9-2004)wasanauthoronIndiantheatre inHindi and Englishaswellasa
policy-makerintheperformingarts. AsSecretaryofSangee!NatakAkademifrom1965to1975,he
promoted bothpublicawarenessanddocumentationoftraditionaltheatre.HewasChairmanofthe
NationalSchoolofDramafrom 1986to1988,andpublishedhislasthook,PerformanceTraditionin
India, in2001. Hewashonoured~;ththeAbdemi'sAwardthesameyear.
Sn,hIotaSanyal (n<!eNa1aa,1920;d.2(04)wasateacher,asinger,anactressandapoliticalactivist
workinginLahoreandlaterinDelhi.BeforethePartition,shetaughtEnglishatLahore'sGovernment
CollegeandperformedincampaignsoftheCommunistPartyoflndiaandforIPTA.inwhichshewas
recognizedasanexceptionallyablemterpreteroftraditicnalsongsofPunjab.InDel~SnehlataSanyal
workedprincipallywiththeDelhiArtTheatre,playingsignificantrolesinprodUCtl~nssuchasHeer
Ranjha.SheaJsoworkedwiththeHindustaniTheatre.withtheBerlinerEnsembleIn theGDR.and
wasformanyyeanateacheraltheIJelhiPublicSchool.Shewasmarriedtotheartist a.C.Sartyel
(1902-2003).
132 CONTRIBUTORS OF PAPERS INTHEDRAMA SEMINAR
SheilaBhatia(b.circa 1922)preparedforher lifeintheatreinthecompanyofSnehlataSanyalwith
theCommunist Party and IPTAinLahore.Asongwriter atthestart oCher career,she has createda
musicaldramabasedon folkloreandhistoryworkingwiththeDelhiArtTheatrewhichsheestablished
intheearly 19505. Forherworkasadirector,shewashonoured bySangeet NatakAkaderniwith its
Awardin 1982.
MohammadMujeeb(I902-85) wasVice-ChancellorofJamiaMillisIslamiainDelhi.Anauthor on
literature,society, and education, chiefly in English. he publishedavolumeofone-act plays,Dusri
Sham (1956),and acollectionofshortstoriesinUrdu. TheIndian Muslims ishisbest-knownwork.
DinaPathak(neeGandhi. 1923-2002 )wasanactressoftheGujaratistagewhoworkedwithIPTA
inthe 19405andthroughherlaterworkpromotedthe useoftheBhavaiidiom inmodemtheatre. She
also worked to promote children's theatre in Bombay, and acted in a number of films. She was
honouredbySangeet NatakAkademi withitsAward foractingin 1980.
Chandra....danC.Mehta(1901-91)regeneratedtheGujaratistagewithhisplayssuchasAagGadi
and worked at the same time as a director. His literary work encompasses-besides the plays he
wrote-s-a bibliography of stage plays (in all of India). a study ofWestern drama. poetry, andan
autobiography.Hewas elected FellowofSangeet NatakAkademi in 1984.
B.\'.(Mama) \\'arerkar(1883-1964),playwrightanddirector,wasapioneerinthe modemMarathi
theatre. His prolific literaryoutput includes novels, short stories,essays, and translations besides
almostfiftyplays.He wasnominatedtotheRajyaSahhain1956andwas electedFellowofSangeet
NatakAkademiin 1963.
Adya Rangacharya(1904-84),whose numerous playswere written underthepen name:Shriranga,
wasamongthe leadersofthemodem Kannadatheatre.HewasalsoascholarofSanskrittheatre who
renderedaccessibletheNatyashastrotoreadersinbothKannadaandEnglish.HewaselectedFellowof
SangeetNatakAkademiin1967.
K~bavNarayan Kale(1904--74) wasaplaywright in Marathi,a directorand actorin the Marathi
theatre,aswell asaproducerandactorinfilms from thePrahhatStudioofPune.A studentofIndian
andWesterndrama, hetranslatedStanislavski'sAnActorPrepares (astitledinEnglish)intoMarathi.
He was alsoawriterofshort fiction, poetry.and criticism.
K.l\l. George (1914-2002) was a scholar of Malayalam literature who as a teacherandauthor
contributedtothewiderrecognitionofMalayalamliteratureoutsideKerala,HewasAssistantSecretary
inSahityaAkademiin the 1950sandwas Vice-PresidentoftheKeralaSahityaAkademi from 1981
up to 1984.
T.K.Sbanmugam(1912-72)wasanactoroftheTamilprofessionalstagewhowascelebrated for his
renderingoftheroleofthe femaleTamilsaintpoetAvvaiyyarinhispopularTamilplaybasedon the
saint'slife.Alsoadirectorandproducerof'theatre,•Avvaiyyar"Shanmugam wasbestowedtheAward
ofSangeetNatale:Akademiforactingin 1962.
COl'oTRlBUTORS OFPAPERSINTHEDRAMASEMINAR
133
Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao (1907--68) was an actor ofthe Telugustage who inthe 1930$
establishedaprofessionaltheatrecompany,thePrabhatTheatres,andalsoaCollegeofDramaticsat
EJuru(1939)where hetrainednewaspirantsintheatre.An influentialfigureintheatreinsouthern
India,hewashonouredwith theAwardofSangeetNatakAkademiinJ963.
Nataraj Ramakrishna (b. 1933)hasbeenaperformer andteacherofdancewhoisknown forhis
pion~eringresearchintotheolderdanceformsoftheAndhracountry.AnauthorondanceinTeluguand
English,hewasbestowedtheSangeetNatakAkademiAwardforhisworkinKuchipucli danceand
Bharatanatyamin 1983.
MulkRajAnand(1905-2004)wasamongtheearlyIndiannovelistsof!hetwentiethcenturywriting
inEnglish.Authorofoverfortyworks.hemadeacontributionalsointhefieldofvisualartsaseditor
oftheartjournal Margforthirty-fiveyears.HewasChairmanofLalitKalaAkademifrom1965to
1970.
Balraj Sabol(1913-73).best knownas anactorinBombay's realistcinema,had beenactivein
theatretooinLahoreandBombay duringthe1940sand'50s,whenhehothactedandwrotefor!PTA
andtheJuhuArtTheatre.BalrajSahnialsowroteandpublishedpoetry,shortstories,andatravelogue
inPunjabi.
SombbuMitra(1915-97),actor,director,andthinkerinthemodernBengalitheatre,wasthefounder
of Calcutta's Bohurupee, the'company whichproducedclassicssuch as RabindranathTagore's
Raktakarabiunderhisdirection.SombbuMitraalsolaunchedBohurupee'stheatrejournalofthesame
nameandwroteconsistentlyonhistheatrepractice.HewaselectedFellowof'SangeeeNatakAbdemi
in1966.
1.1..(lnderLal)Dan(1911-2004)promotedtheamateurtheatreinDelhiandearlierinLahorethrough
hislittleTheatreGroup(LTG)establishedin1945.InDelhi,LTGpresentedarangeofWesterndrama
inthe 1950. ineluding Brecht andShakespeare(producedbyGeoffreyKendal).An engineerhy
profession,I.L.DasshadservedasVice-PresidentoftheBharatiyaNaryaS811ghaffiliatedfaUnesco.
PrabbakarMaebw.(1917-91)wasacriticandpoetinHindiwhoworkedwithSahityaAbdemi
fromitsinceptionin1954upto1975,thelastfouryearsasitsSecretary, BesidesHindi,he"TOteIIJ
hisnativeMarathiaswellasEnglish.
II.V.(HemchandraVishnu)Gup" (1916-95),alieutenantColonelintheIndianArmy,wasappointed
DirectoroftheSongandDramaDivisionoftheGovernmentofIndiawhenitwasestablishedin1954.
Workinginthatcapacityuntil1976,hecreatedagenreofpopulardramainsupportofGovemmer:t
policy and formassentertaimnentwhichwasperformedwidelyinnorthernIndiabytheDivisions
repertorycompany.H.V.GuptehimselfdirectedandactedinproductionssuchasNefakiEkShamand
ac:on
KohinoorkaLutera,andproducedsound-and-lightshowswithlive atI~onssuch.asJalianwalla
Bagh, PuranaQila,andintheKashmirvalley.Helater workedforeducationaltrusts tnKamaIand
Pilaniandeventuallydiedasaresultofastageinjuzywhileteachingdramatoyoungpeople.
134 CONTRIBUTORSOF PAPERS INTHE ORAMA SEMINAR
E..Alkali(b.192S).theatre director. teacher.andadministrator.hasmoulded ageneration oftheatre
practitioners and influencedthe tastes ofnew audiencesthroughhiswork atthe NationalSchoolof
DramainDelhiandearlierattheTheatreUnits'sSchoolofDramaticArtsinBombay.Hewaselected
FellowofSangeetNatakAkademi in1967.
Adi~Iarzban(l914-87)wasadirector.playwright,andscenicdesignerintheParsi-Gujaratitheatre,
and wasknownespecially forhis comedies and farcesin the popularmould. A broadcasterand
journalist, hehad worked as editor oftheJam-eJamshedweekly. In 1970, hewas honoured with
SangeetNatakAkademi's Awardfordirection.
P.Sambamoorthy (I90J-73)was amusicologistand ateacherofmusic who headedthe FineArts
facultyintheUniversityofMadras.Hewasalsoontheboardsofstudiesofseveralotheruniversities.
andwasa trilingualauthor onmusicwritinginEnglish,Tamil,andTelugu.HewaselectedFellowof
SangeetNatakAkademiin1963.
ShrimatiTagore (nee Hutheesing)was trainedindanceatSantiniketan,whereshe hadenrolled in
1921 to study painting. There she worked closelywith Rabindranatb Tagore, dancing to his Jive
recitation ofpoemssuch as 'Jhoolan'and 'Duhsamay', and participated in productions ofTagore's
dance-dramas.Sbemarriedthepoet'sgrandsonSournendranath in1937,andafterwardsconductedthe
affairsofthe musicand danceschoolBaitanik inCalcutta.
SamarChatterjee(1908-86) workedcomprehensively for thecauseofchildren'stheatre,founding
in1952theChildren'sLittleTheatre(CLDinCalcutta.Hewroteandproducedlong-runningplaysfor
childreninBengalisuchasAbanParua,Mithua,andSalBhaiChampa.composedsongs,andbuiltan
auditorium that has served the needs of producers ofhuman theatre as wen as puppeteers. By
profession,hewasanofficialin thePostsand Telegraph DepartmentoftheGovernmentofIndia.
RomeshCbander(b.1915).whoismorewidelyknownasatheatrecritic.hadbeenactiveinchildren's
theatreinearlieryears.Hehas publishedavolume ofchildren'splaysinUrdutitledBhaloo,andhas
representedIndiainthefir>!WorldChildren'sTheatreConferenceorganized byUnescoin1980.Like
someothercontributorsfrom PunjabintheDrama Seminar. RomeshChanderwasanactivistofthe
CommunistPartyofIndiaworkinginLahoreatthestartofhiscareer,wherehehadsetupashortlived
workers"theatreperfonningat factorygates.Henow livesinDelhi,andbasbeenhonouredwiththe
SangeetNatakAkademiAwardin2002.
Note:ShrimatiTagore's dates ofbirth anddeath are not available to us as we go 10 press. They will be
published inSangeet Natak when we receive ananswer to inquiriesmade,together with any correction of
published information received from readers. The namesof some contributors appear here in slightly
different forms from those usedinthe lasttwo issues. for reasons mentionedin the ecre00 the insideback
cover.
Persons wellknowninIndia.orthose workers intheatre about whompublished biographical information
isreadilyavailable. receive asmaller share ofspace inthese notes than thoseless favoured insuchrespects.
Acknowledgement for information used is gratefully made to Servashri Nemichandra Jain, Dulal Roy,
Lokendra Arambam, Upendra Sarma, Swapan Majumdar, Susmita Des, Biswajit Sinha.Ashok.Choudhuri,
Amba Sanyal. J.P.Beagen, S. Padmanabhan., Kumar Roy, Reoti Saran Sbanna. M.Vijayalakshmi, Suresh
Kohli, Bharati Ohri (nee Gupte), PremMetiyanl,P.M.George,Keshav Kothari.,K.S. Rajendran. and Kajal
Das.-Ed.
