Ratan Thiyam
Indian theatre director · India · On the map · Writers · Lived 1948 to 2025 · aged 77
Ratan Thiyam was an Indian playwright, theatre director and teacher from Manipur. He was a leading figure of the post-independence "Theatre of Roots" movement of decolonisation in Indian theatre, along with stalwarts like KN Panikkar, BV Karanth, Habib Tanvir, Bansi Kaul, and Jabbar Patel.
Ratan Thiyam is read about 30 times a day, in 7 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 June 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
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About this person
In a career spanning over five decades, he is best known for amalgamating traditional Manipuri performance styles with contemporary theatrical forms to create a new language with plays like Uru Bhangam, Karnabharam, Chakravyuha, Ritusamhara, and Uttar Priyadarshi. This won him critical acclaim in India as well as internationally, through his theatre company, Chorus Repertory Theatre, which was formed in Imphal, Manipur in 1976. it soon became a "national hub for experimental, visually rich, and socially responsible theatre". Also known as Thiyam Nemai and Oja, Ratan Thiyam was known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context. A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam was often considered one of the leading contemporary theatre gurus.
