The world was his stage, and he played many parts

Ratan Thiyam’s theatrical language was a direct manifestation of the tension between modernity and tradition. In an era where theatre often leaned towards naturalism and dialogue-heavy narratives, he embraced silence, ritual, and a powerful visual vocabulary

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Ratan Thiyam, the legendary Indian playwright and theatre director who passed away earlier this week, was more than just a master craftsman of the stage; he was a profound philosopher who consistently challenged the prevailing notions of modernity in theatre and, by extension, in human existence.

Born in Imphal, Manipur, in 1948, Thiyam emerged from a region steeped in rich martial, ritualistic, and storytelling traditions. His journey, from studying at the National School of Drama in Delhi to returning to his roots to establish the Chorus Repertory Theatre in 1976, was a deliberate act of questioning the western-centric theatrical paradigms that often dominated the discourse of “modern” theatre. This stance places him among a global cohort of visionary theatre makers, including Japan’s Yukio Ninagawa, Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka, and his own great Indian contemporaries, Neelam Mansingh Chaudhuri and Heisnam Kanhailal, who similarly interrogated modernity by drawing deeply from their indigenous cultural wellsprings.