A reputed theater personality of Manipur, Ratan Thiam died in Imphal on Wednesday. He was 77 years old.
Along with other people such as Thiam, BV Karanth and KN Paneikar, one of the major figures in Theater for Roots was a freedom theater movement in which doctors embraced traditional and indigenous practices as a process of decolonization.
His plays, which were staged and also performed on international platforms, attracted from Manipur to the forms of epic, dance and movement, as well as other parts of India. From theme environmental crisis to social politics of Manipur.
He founded his group, Chorus Repertary Theater in 1976. In a statement released on Wednesday, the group wrote, “Dear Ojha, you closed us like a father’s embrace, guided us through every challenge with love and care. Although the pain of your absence is heavy, we hope that your soul is restless now.”
He was awarded the Music Natak Academy Award in direction in 1987. The first from the National School of Drama, a graduate from Manipur-Thiam later served as its director from 1987 to 1988 and then as its Chairman from 2013 to 2017. He also worked as the Vice President of the Sengeet Natak Academy.
As a condolence message for Thiam on Wednesday, Inner Manipur MP Bimol Acoizam wrote, “This is a terrible disadvantage! The great playwright Ratan Thiam has passed away in Imphal today. An alumni of the National School of Drama who later became its director and president. Khair … Khair … Khair, other than thoughts and emotions, I will never forget the pain that he is with his plays, I will never forget that pain Shared because he faces the current position of his beloved Manipur!
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