Dr. Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry (born 14 April 1951) is a

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

-based theatre artist who has worked around the world. She was awarded the 2003

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in the Theatre Direction category. She was the recipient of the 2011

Padma Shri Award The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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. In ...

. She is Professor Emeritus at Punjab University.

Early life

Neelam was born in 1950 and grew up in

Amritsar, Punjab Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

. She finished her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in art history from the

Punjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Lahor ...

. She graduated from the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in 1975 and trained under

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was a Saudi Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them ...

Works

Her well-known plays include ''Kitchen Katha'', ''The Suit'', ''Yerma'', ''Nagamandala'', ''The Mad Woman of Chaillot'', ''Little Eyolf, Bitter Fruit'', ''Naked Voices'', ''Stree Patra'' and ''Gumm Hai''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhry, Neelam Mansingh 1951 births Living people Artists from Chandigarh Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Artists from Amritsar Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award