When the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi holds an award ceremony dedicated to two distinguished theatre personalities, B V Karanth and Manohar Singh, on Tuesday, a number of theatre artistes across the country will be wearing black bands in protest. Leading this movement is Rakesh Singh, a 2002 graduate of NSD who works in Jammu and Kashmir. Advertising “It is my silent protest, following the movement of non-violence. In the last several years, I have been witnessing the degradation of NSD. We don’t even have a full faculty, as positions of retired professors are vacant. When the awards were announced, we had questions about the selection process as theatre people who work in far-fetched corners of Kerala, Bihar and Bengal, among others, have not been recognised,” he said. He plans to stand outside Shri Ram Centre in Mandi House, the venue, wearing a black band. The B V Karanth Smriti Puraskar and the Manohar Singh Smriti Puraskar were instituted in 2004. It was last held in 2010. The former recognises contribution to theatre of seniors ie, those above 50, while the latter rewards works of those under 50. The chief guest for the ceremony to revive the awards is Kapila Vatsyayan, IGNCA’s founding director. The protest picked up steam over social media. “I support this non-violent and dignified protest… register your support by wearing a black badge wherever you are in the country,” said one post. Jyoti Narayan Nath, also a 2002 NSD graduate, told The Indian Express, “I am in Guwahati, so there is not much I can do except wear a black band.” Advertising Their batchmate, Pankaj Dubey, who works in a tribal area of Madhya Pradesh added, “I am not against the people receiving this award. Many of them are friends, but we need to ask, ‘why them?’ Most of them have worked with the NSD Repertory Company as well as held professional jobs, unlike those who went to far-off areas where there is neither light nor train connectivity and worked with illiterate people. What is NSD’s criteria?” Senior theatre directors and teachers of drama, K S Rajendran, and MK Raina, are among those who are in solidarity with the protesters. “NSD stopped the journal ‘Theatre India’, and important teaching posts are vacant. But it has revived awards and festivals. Why?” said Rajendran.

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