Ratan Thiyam, founder of Chorus Repertory Theater in Imphal, who died earlier this year, will be honored with the Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement for 2025, Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) has announced.
The award will be presented at a ceremony held at the Kamani Auditorium in the city on November 17, followed by a performance by Chorus Repertory Theatre.
The SBKK board of trustees said it had decided earlier this year to confer the award on Thiyam, who had accepted the honor and agreed to come to Delhi to receive it. However, he died on 25 July.
His son, Thawai, would now inherit the honor from his father.
Thiyam dedicated his life to bridging tradition with modernity. His plays – Trap, Answer Priyadarshi, blind ageAmong others – Indian theater was redefined as a form of spiritual meditation. By blending Manipuri music and dance, classical Indian thought and contemporary stage art, he created a language of universality.
published – November 14, 2025 01:21 am IST