Jammu 25th January, 2019
Director Natrang Balwant Thakur left for Dubai (UAE) to explore new possibilities to expand Natrang’s International network of theatre. During his week-long stay in Dubai he will visit UAE’s Cultural Foundation, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Sheikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding, and Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children to see occasions for joint collaborations performance opportunities. Popularly known as the Cultural Ambassador of Jammu & Kashmir, Balwant Thakur has the credit of extending the horizons of Natrang’s network to Bangkok (Thailand) Singapore, London, Oxford, Manchester, Birmingham, Brighton, Stratford, Berlin, Frankfurt, (Germany), Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Xining (China) Rome (Italy) Moscow, Yaroslavl, Belgrade, St. Petersburg, Turkey, Almaty, Bishkek, Denmark, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Dhaka. From the year 1999 he has been holding Kashmir festival in Dubai for years when he served the state of Jammu & Kashmir as Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages. His concept of ‘Celebrating Diversity’ showcasing the diverse cultural expressions of the state of J&K in Global Fair Dubai has been one of the most sought-after events which used to witness pack-house paid audiences. The current visit of Balwant Thakur to UAE is being seen as a new hope of Natrang’s International cultural expansion plan.
Balwant Thakur is one of the celebrated theatre directors of the country who have given a new identity to Indian theatre with their highly innovative theatre productions. Holding a historic record of having participated over 300 National/International Theatre Festivals as a director and having organized over 6500 shows, Balwant Thakur is decorated with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Direction in theatre, ‘Sanskriti Award’, ‘Tagore Samman’, ‘Duggar Rattan’, J&K State’s highest honour, Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Award, Abhinayak Asmman in addition to Padamshree. Recognizing his outstanding contribution in Indian theatre, the Department of Culture, Govt. of India Awarded him the National Senior fellowship for three years to do research on the performing modes of Jammu. The Ford Foundation (USA) also awarded him a 6 Year research project ‘Search for a New Theatre Language’. In Children’s theatre, Balwant Thakur is one among the very few theatre directors/playwrights of the country who have given a new identity to children theatre. His plays like ‘Mere Hisse Ki Dhoop Kahan Hai’ ‘Aap Hamare Hain Kaun’ ‘Hum Hain Naa’ ‘Rang Badalti Duniya’ ‘Finger on Your Lips’ and ‘Bhag Beta Bhag’ are being credited as the most demanded children productions which have been featured in almost all the major theatre events in India. His most regarded initiative ‘Theatre for a Social change’ under which he conducted two thousand shows in the remote villages of J&K brought a revolutionary change in the mindset of the rural folk of the Indo-Pak border villages from Nagri (Kathua) to Kargil (Ladakh).
He worked as Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages for over eight years. Amongst many accomplishments, under his creative guidance the State of J&K won Best tableaux Award for the first time in 1997, 1998 and continued the tradition of winning Best Awards in 1999 and 2001. He also worked as Regional Director of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, GOI between 2012 to 2018.
