binod takiawala
Hon’ble Minister of State, Culture & Tourism (I/C), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, former Chairman
of the National School of Drama, Shri Chandrashekhara Kambara, eminent theatre personality
and former director of National School of Drama, Shri Ratan Thiyam, and Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Culture, Ms. Nirupama Kotru were present at the convocation held at Abhimanch
auditorium.
• Acting Chairman, NSD Society, Dr. Arjun Deo Charan, Director In-charge, National School of
Drama, Shri Suresh Sharma, members of the faculty and other staff were also present.
• The students who successfully completed their 3-year diploma at NSD between 2010 and 2019
received their diploma at the convocation ceremony.
• The National School of Drama is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture,
Govt. of India and one of the topmost theatre schools in the world. Very recently, it also
ranked 14th among the best film schools in the world by CEOWORLD Magazine of the USA.
New Delhi, 5 th August, 2019: The National School of Drama (NSD) today felicitated 237 students of the
from all over India who have completed their 3-year course at NSD between 2010 and 2019 at the
convocation in the gracious presence of Hon’ble Minister of State Culture & Tourism (I/C), Shri Prahlad
Singh Patel.
Former Chairman of the National School of Drama Shri Chandrashekhara Kambara, eminent theatre
personality and former director of National School of Drama, Shri Ratan Thiyam and Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Culture, Ms. Nirupama Kotru, graced the occasion. Acting Chairman, NSD Society, Dr. Arjun
Deo Charan and Director In-charge, National School of Drama, Shri Suresh Sharma were also present
along with members of the faculty and other staff. Dr. Arjun Deo Charan and Shri Suresh Sharma
welcomed all the guests at the ceremony held at Abhimanch auditorium.
A total of 222 students were present to receive their diploma today for completing the course of
dramatic arts from the National School of Drama (NSD). NSD is foremost theatre training institutions in
the world which has been recently ranked 14th among the best film schools in the world by CEOWORLD
Magazine of the USA.
Page 2 of 3
“You are very lucky to be a student of NSD and I congratulate you all for achieving this. What you have
learnt here will certainly make you a better person in coming days. If you look into yourself today, you
will find that the person you were when you came and the person you are now are very different. When
I was in-charge of Manipur, I got a chance to know Shri Ratan Thiyam personally. His contribution to
Indian theatre is immense and he has been instrumental in taking the Indian theatre to the world. I
salute you and this esteemed organization for your acumen and dedication to your work and this
nation,” Hon’ble Minister of State Culture & Tourism (I/C), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel said to the
gathering of students and other guests.
“I congratulate you all for completing the course successfully and I hope you will make the institution
proud. The separation of drama from realism and following its cruder form created a cultural crisis. The
National School of Drama was created to create a discipline for modern drama and has been doing it
resourcefully,” says former Chairman of the National School of Drama Shri Chandrashekhara Kambara.
“I congratulate the students and the faculty members who are their biggest well-wishers. Since the
beginning, NSD has been trying to bring back the many traditions of performing arts that India has. But I
think time has come to rethink the institution as a central school of advanced theatre studies where
practitioners can carry out research and lab work. We should make efforts to bring theatre close to the
people in their own language but at the same time look at pan-Asian presence,” says former director of
National School of Drama, Shri Ratan Thiyam who is also an eminent theatre personality.
“With its rich history of 60 years, the National School of Drama is one of the largest names in the Indian
and world theatre. I feel very proud and confident in saying that more than half of the people in the
realm on performing arts in India have their links with this esteemed organization. The theatre
practitioners of look at our institution with expectations and aspirations; this increases our responsibility
towards theatre. Our graduates have been fulfilling those aspirations with flair and confidence and I am
sure their future works will make us even prouder. The Indian tradition of knowledge has a few stages
that include assimilation of the knowledge with one’s character and spreading the knowledge among
others. The institution did its part by giving knowledge to the students, now it is their turn to act and do
everything that is good for people,” says Shri Suresh Sharma, Director In-charge, National School of
Drama (NSD).
“The convocation ceremony is an acknowledgement of your professional expertise in the field of
theatre. Theatre practitioners are the conscience-keepers of the society. My best wishes to the outgoing
students,” says Dr. Arjun Deo Charan, Acting Chairman, NSD Society.
About National School of Drama (NSD)
Established in 1959, the National School of Drama is the only one of its kind in India and is an
autonomous organization, fully financed by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. One of the
foremost theatre training institution in the world, NSD was established under the aegis of the Sangeet
NatakAkademi and became an independent entity in 1975. It offers a 3-year, full-time, residential
training program in every aspect of theatre with a special focus on the practical implementation of
theories. The enviable list of alumni and faculty members have ensured that the institution remains at
the helm of performing arts – several theatre practitioners who passed from the prestigious institution,
including playwrights, actors, directors, set and light designers and music directors, have enriched the
Page 3 of 3
Indian theatre and continue to do so. Apart from theatre, the artistic manifestations of NSD alumni have
often left an indelible mark in other media as well. There are two performing wings of NSD – the
Repertory Company and Theatre-in-Education Company (TiE) that started in 1964 and 1989,
respectively. National School of Drama had been declared as deemed university by University Grant
Commission in 2005. However, National School of Drama has requested the government to declare it as
institute of national importance and therefore status of deemed university was not accepted.
Manish Yadav
Public Relations Officer
National School of Drama
