Heisnam Kanhailal (17 January 1941 – 6 October 2016) was an Indian art theatre personality. For his work, he was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

civilian award This list of civil awards and decorations is a partial index to articles about notable civil awards and decorations. It excludes Law enforcement awards and honors and ecclesiastical decorations, which are covered by separate lists. See :Civil aw ...

in 2004 and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

civilian award in 2016 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. He was the founder-director of

Kalakshetra Manipur Kalakshetra Manipur, is an Indian theatre group located in Manipur It was established on 19 July 1969 by Heisnam Kanhailal as Founder and Director and his wife Sabitri Heisnam, Heisnam Sabitri as co-founder. It has been registered under Societie ...

, a theatre laboratory established in 1969 that explores a new vocabulary in the existing language of theatre. Kanhailal was born in Keisamthong Thangjam Lairak,

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

. Kanhailal was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in Direction in 1985, given by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. In December 2011, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Award, the highest ranked and most valued Akademi award. Kanhailal was married to

Sabitri Heisnam Sabitri Heisnam is an Indian stage actor and one of the notable theatre personalities in Manipuri theatre. She has also acted in the critically acclaimed short film, ''Scribbles on Akka'' (2000), directed by Madhusree Dutta, which won the IDPA ...

, his theatre associate and a fellow Padma Shri awardee. He died after an illness in Imphal on 6 October 2016.Theatre veteran Heisnam Kanhailal dies after brief illness
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References

Hindu images

External links

Heisnam Kanhailal, Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanhailal, Heisnam 1941 births 2016 deaths Indian theatre directors Indian drama teachers Artists from Manipur Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts People from Imphal