Need for serious policy for arts preservation: NSD Chair

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Pointing out that consideration of theatre as a part-time, amateur activity has compromised its quality, NSD Chairperson Ratan Thiyam has said that the need of the hour is to formulate a serious cultural policy to preserve the arts.

The senior theatrist and Padma Shri awardee was speaking at the 6th Habib Tanvir memorial lecture organised by Raza Foundation, themed "My Theatre, My Journey", here on Wednesday.

The National School of Drama chief pointed out that lack of serious cultural policy to develop and nurture the art forms had led to the loss of many art traditions and talented performers.

The septuagenarian theatre director-writer said that pressures of globalisation and market economy were impacting sensitive art forms like theatre, a statement by Raza Foundation said on Thursday.

Thiyam also mentioned that Indian theatre was undergoing a creative resurgence, although it was barely visible on the international platforms at the moment, the statement said.

"The emergence of imaginative directors and groups has given regional theatre a new life.

"This new life needs to be nurtured and developed by the government by providing adequate funds and perhaps a national cultural complex or a national theatre complex in our country," the NSD Chair said.

Thiyam was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in direction in 1987 and the Padma Shri in 1989.

The Habib Tanvir memorial lecture series had Sadanand Menon, Navjyoti Singh, Shanta Gokhale, Neelam Mansingh and Rustom Barucha speak on issues of concern in the field of theatre.