Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 2: Director Natrang Balwant Thakur is being conferred ‘Prithivi Raj Kapoor Samman’ for the year 2017 by Ras Kala Manch, Haryana. This national theatre award carries Rupees 1,11,000 in addition to a excellence certificate, shawl and a citation.
Supported by Ministry of Culture, Government of India, National Academy of Music Dance and Drama, North Zone Cultural Centre, Department of Information and Public Relations, Govt of Haryana and Maharishi Dayanand University this Awards Festival also coincides with a theatre festival featuring plays by the repertory company of National School of Drama. The Award Festival will take place at the auditorium of Maharishi Dayanand University Rohtak on March 19, 2017.
Conferred with highest Indian honour in performing arts i.e, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Direction in theatre in addition with Padamshree, Balwant Thakur is the youngest theatre director who has over 300 national/international theatre festival to his credit as a theatre director.
He has also won the State Academy Award for best production in 1983 and continued this tradition of winning State Academy Awards for best productions in 1984, 1985, and till he left participating the festival in 1986. He represented Jammu & Kashmir twice in the North Zone Theatre Festival organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi and topped twice and later won top honours at the National level in 1987 and 1990.
He worked as Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages for eight years.
He lso served on the Boards of prestigious Institutions of the country including, Department of Culture, Govt of India, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, North Zone Cultural Centre, Council for Promotion of Urdu Language and as an expert for National School of Drama and Association of Indian Universities.
Widely traveled Balwant Thakur held his presentations in Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Oxford, Brighton, Birmingham, Berlin, Frankfurt(Germany, Rome, Florence, Venice (Italy), Istanbul (Turkey), Vatican City, Moscow, Yoroslovia, St. Petersburg (Russia), Shanghai, Beijing, Almaty, Denmark, Dubai, Sharjah, Dhakaa and many other places.
Currently he is working as Regional Director-cum-consultant in Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
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