Rajkamal Nayak

Born in 1952 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Rajkamal Nayak is a well-known writer and actor. In his formative year he honed his skills while working with Habib Tanvir from 1975-79, and with B.V. Karanth between 1985-88 in Bharat Bhavan Rangmandal, Bhopal. During this period, he worked as an actor and backstage artist in many productions, directed by leading directors like Habib Tanvir, B.V. Karanth, Peter Brooke, Fritz Bennewitz, John Martin, Kavalam Narayana Panikkar and Bansi Kaul among others. Shri Nayak's primary contribution has been the unique assimilation of other genres into theatre, like poetry. He has presented around one hundred fifty poems of twenty-five Indian poets (including Muktibodh, Tagore, Jaishankar Prasad, Ajneya, Faiz, Nagarjun, Bhavani Prasad Mishra, Radhuvir Sahay, Dhoomil, and Sarveshwardayal Saxena), and nine poets from world poetry (including Brecht, Mychovski, Neruda, and Kalbasi). He has presented modern poetry in Chhattisgarhi translation as well. He has directed many plays including Jadu-Jangal, Dularibai, Alag Muluk ka Bashinda, Badka Saheba, Bharat Durdasha, Are Mayavi Sarovar, Ek Ladki Paanch Diwane, to name a few. A recipient of the senior fellowship of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, he has conducted theatre workshops in many cities of the country organized by prominent institutions. He is the former editor of periodicals Rang Samvad and Silsila, and has contributed articles to journals and magazines such as Dharmayug, Sarika, Natarang, Natyam, Sakshatkar, Rang Samvad, Akshar Parva, etc. Shri Nayak has been felicitated by a number of institutions for his contribution to theatre including the Chakradhar Samman, the Rajya Alankaran, among others. Shri Rajkamal Nayak receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to Indian theatre as a director.