ACTING CHAIRMAN
Dr. Arjun Deo Charan

Noted Rajasthani poet, critic, playwright, theatre director and translator, Dr. Arjun Deo Charan is a prominent figure in Indian theatre. He shares his position in top 10 theatre personalities of the country with Habib Tanvir and Ratan Thiyam. Dr. Charan was born on 10 May 1954 in the village of Mathania, Jodhpur. His father Renvat Dan Charan also was an eminent Rajasthani poet and socialist, who had won Sahitya Akademi Award for his notable work Uchhalo. Charan has been the Head of Department of Rajasthani Langauge in the Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur. He has been selected as Chairman of Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi, Jodhpur on 26 November 2011 for three years.

He has been awarded by Sahitya Akademi, Delhi for his book ‘Dharam Judh’ in 1992. Dr. Charan has also been conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012. Dr. Arjun Deo Charan has been awarded by the Bihari Puraskar for 2011 by K.K. Birla Foundation for his Rajasthani poetry collection ‘Ghar to Ek Naam hai Bharose Ro”. Dr. Arjun Deo Charan is the founder of Rammat Theatre Group, Jodhpur, which is one of the prestigious theatre groups of the country. Dr. Charan’s plays have been performed on several National and International theatre festivals including Bharat Rang Mahotsav. AWARDS Rajasthani Sahitya Akademi – Award, 1980 Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi Award, 1992 Highest Award of Rajasthani Bhasa Sahitya Evam Sanskriti Akademi, 1997 Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1999 Maru-Parampara Samman, 2004 Bihari Puraskar, K.K Birla Foundation, 2011 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, New Delhi, 2012 Presently, he is the Acting Chairman of India’s most prestigious theatre training school, National School of Drama.

AWARDS

Rajasthani Sahitya Akademi – Award, 1980

Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi Award, 1992

Highest Award of Rajasthani Bhasa Sahitya Evam Sanskriti Akademi, 1997

Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1999

Maru-Parampara Samman, 2004

Bihari Puraskar, K.K Birla Foundation, 2011

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, New Delhi, 2012

Presently, he is the Acting Chairman of India’s most prestigious theatre training  school National School of Drama.

Former Chairpersons

1. *Dr. KV. Rajamannar  (1959 – 61)
2. *Maharaja Shri Chamaraja Wadiyar Bahadur (1961 – 65)
3. *Smt. Indira Gandhi (1965 – 72)
4. *Dr. K.P.S. Menon (1972 – 77)
5. Smt. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya (1977 – 78)
6. Shri L.M. Singhvi (1978 – 82)
7. Ms. Shanta Gandhi (1982 – 86)
8. Dr. Suresh Awasthi (1986 – 88)
9. Smt. Vijaya F. Mehta (1988 – 92)
10. Dr. P.C. Joshi (1992 – 96)
11. Dr. Chandrasekhar Kambar (1996 – 2001)
12. Shri Anupam Kher (2001 – 04)
13. Mrs. Amal Allana (2005 – 2013)
14. Shri Ratan Thiyam (2013 – 2017)