Ramu Ramanathan

Ramu Ramanathan
Born	(1967-12-29) December 29, 1967
Residence	Mumbai
Nationality	Indian
Education	Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, University of Mumbai, 1988
Spouse(s)	Kinnari Vohra
Website	placesotherthanthis.blogspot.com

Ramakrishnan Ramanathan popularly known as Ramu Ramanathan is an Indian playwright-director with acclaimed plays to his credit. His list of plays includes Cotton 56, Polyester 84; Jazz; Comrade Kumbhakarna; and more recently, Postcards From Bardoli. His book 3, Sakina Manzil And Other Plays,^[1] is a collection of eight plays, published by Orient Blackswan in collaboration with the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU).^[2]

Ramu was editor of PT Notes, a monthly theatre newsletter produced by Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai for ten years. He also co-edited e-STQ (Seagull Theatre Quarterly), and has written columns on theatre for national dailies.^[3]

In addition to being counted as one of the best playwrights of today's India, Ramu is also the editor of PrintWeek India and Campaign India magazines^[4] He has been associated with the printing industry for 30 years. Ramu helped launch PrintWeek India in May 2008. He has been a driving force in reshaping coverage of the Indian print market through industry specials, awards and survey reports. Under his leadership, PrintWeek has grown into one of the largest teams covering print in India.^[5]

Ramu lives and works in Mumbai — the city where many of his plays are situated. Commenting on his relationship with Mumbai in a detailed interview with the Mumbai Theatre Guide,^[6] he says, “Mumbai is my lover. I love her and at the same time, I loathe her. To-date, even today, I discover something new in her. And that I’ve poured into the plays.” As part of his research on the city and its culture, Ramu has catalogued an exhaustive reading list in form of Literature that Celebrates Mumbai: A List.^[7]

Early life

Ramu was born on 29 December 1967 in Kolkata and later moved to Mumbai. He completed his schooling from St. Stanislaus High School,^[8] Mumbai. In 1988, Ramu graduated from University of Mumbai with bachelors degree in Chemistry, and then completed Diploma in Journalism from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai in 1990.

Publications

• 3 Sakina Manzil and Other Plays (in English), Orient Blackswan (2012) - An anthology of eight plays: Shanti, Shanti It’s A War; The Boy Who Stopped Smiling; Curfew; Mahadevbhai (1892–1942); Collaborators; 3, Sakina Manzil; Shakespeare And She; Jazz.^[9]
• Mahadevbhai (in Marathi), Popular Prakashan (2011)
• Tathasthu (“So Be It”), in The Little Magazine (2010)^[10]
• Collaborators And Mahadevbhai, Sahitya Akademi (2006)^[11]
• Combat, published by National School of Drama (2003)

Theatre experience

Ramu Ramanathan, Group Editor, PrintWeek India and Campaign India

The playwright–director's best work is with young people and non-theatre persons. He staged Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s Me Grandad ‘Ad An Elephant, and later Marguerite Duras’ L’amante Anglaise (both with university students) and Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape (with Little Prithvi Players). These were unsullied theatrical experiences.

Similarly, his collaboration with a group of architecture students resulted in three plays and one delightfully wicked piece calledPM @ 3 pm. This group hosted an important 7-day workshops on Set Design + Theatre Aesthetics and fabricated four model sets of King Lear, for four language theatres’ directors in Mumbai. He has conducted innumerable workshops and lectures, in which he has tried to reinstate the ideals of good taste, decent humour, intelligence and above all progressive values.^[12]

Playwriting

Theatrical adaptations

Direction

Miscellaneous (theatre-related)

• Jury Member, The Hindu MetroPlus Playwright Award, 2012 and 2013
• Workshop Director, 1995 to now — Theatre and playwriting workshops for college students of Ruparel College, Symbiosis (Pune), Kamala Raheja Vidhyanidhi Institute of Architecture, Mithibai College, NM College, Wilson College, University of Mumbai, Rachna Sansand, SNDT College, IIT (Mumbai / Chennai), Khalsa College (Delhi), among several others
• Columnist, Hindustan Times, 2007–2008 — Weekly column on theatre
• Editor, PT NOTES, 1998–2008 — Monthly theatre magazine published by Prithvi Theatre
• Co-editor, Seagull Theatre Journal, 2005-2006 — Online weekly ebulletin published by Seagull Publications
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, Shanmugananda Theatre Festival, 2006
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, IIT Mumbai Theatre Festival, 2006 to 2008. The Festival still continues
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, One-day seminar on Indian English Theatre, 2004 (Prithvi Theatre)
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, Six-week writing workshop, “Tale Of Another City”, for 35 participants, 2003
• Collaboration with Katha Publishing and SNDT University, Mumbai
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, “King Lear: Explorations Of A Text” a multi-discipline 10-day workshop for 200 students, 2002–03.
• Part of the Kamala Raheja Workshop Series, along with Sunil Shanbag, Nandu Bhende; as well as Rahul da Cunha, Makrand Deshpande, Vijay Kenkre
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, Prithvi Theatre Lecture Series — Conducted two lectures by Prof G P Deshpande on Modernity & Indian Theatre
• Co-ordinator, “Theatre Positive” A Series Of Play-Reading, 1997–2003 — Reading of unperformed, unpublished play-scripts on the first Monday of the month. More than 75 play-scripts were read
• Co-ordinator, Play-Reading Groups, 2004 — Readings and discussions on modern plays. The Reading Groups read the plays of Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chehov, Bertolt Brecht, Moliere, Joe Orton, etc.
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, “What After All Is Modernism …” – a one-day seminar, and a 3-day play-reading theatre festival at Prithvi Theatre. Panelists of seminar included Prof Ram Bapat, Prabodh Parikh, Saeed Mirza, Girish Shahane, Dr Ashok Ranade, Sunil Shanbag; seven plays were read at playreading festival
• Co-ordinator of meet-ups at The Venue, Santacruz, Mumbai — The café hosted performances of stage-plays, and had free-wheeling discussions & lec-dems on the performing arts
• Co-ordinator, theatre activities at Amphitheatre, YWCA, Andheri, Mumbai — The alternative, open-air amphitheatre, staged plays on the weekends for a discerning audience
• Conceptualiser and Director, Children’s Workshop, 2003 held at SNDT College, Mumbai, in collaboration with Katha Publishing Workshop resulted in the production of a children’s play, Pinty’s Sabun, based on a short story published by Katha
• Editor, Theatre4U, 1997 — A daily bulletin on “Theatre of India”, the two-week Prithvi Theatre Festival
• Conceptualiser and Co-ordinator, “And Then There Is English Theatre” – a 3-day play-reading festival of Indian English Plays, 1997
• Theatre Columnist, various media publications, 1987 onwards — Indian Express, Independent, Indian Post, Magna Publications, Times of India, etc.
• Contributor, various theatre journals — Theatre India, NSD Quarterly Journal; Seagull Publications and Nataka
• Talks on theatre at educational institutes across the country — Including IIT (Mumbai and Chennai), IDC (Mumbai), Symbiosis (Pune), etc.
• Opening address, Seminar on Multiculturalism, Lalit Kala Akademi, Pune — Seminar addressed theatre cultures and sub-cultures in Mumbai
• Talk, “Playwriting Across the City”, Mohile Parekh Centre, NCPA, 2002
• Talk on Theatre of the Absurd, and Readings from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, Department of English, University of Mumbai; and Mithibai College
• Reading of Shanti, Shanti, It’s A War, Meet the Playwrights, Open Forum, Kala Ghoda Festival, Mumbai.
• Talk, “New Directions in Gujarati Theatre”, Department of History, The University of Mumbai
• Talk at The Oral Tradition Seminar, UGC.
• Readings at inter-collegiate play festivals, from Naushil Mehta Commits Suicide; Snafu; White Spaces; Rathod The Cockroach Killer; I AM I, etc, 1992-1998

• 

  Ramu Ramanathan's talk at Studio Safdar

• 

  Ramu Ramanathan's talk at Studio Safdar

International invitations

• Resident Observer, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels, 2007
• Delegate, Indian Contingent, India Guest of Honour Country, Frankfurt Book Fair 2006 (Invited as playwright of 3, Sakina Manzil and Mahadevbhai)
• Participated in translation process of 3, Sakina Manzil into Dutch, by Rudi Meulamanns, International Bozar Festival, Brussels, 2006
• Resident Observer, Grips Theatre, Berlin, 2000

Radio, TV, Cinema

Work experience

Non-theatre related

• Group editor, Haymarket Media India, 2011–present — Responsible for PrintWeek India and Campaign India brands
• Editor, PrintWeek India, 2008–present — India’s leading graphic art B2B magazine
• Senior Editor, Indian Printer & Publisher, 2003 to 2008 — Monthly journal for the graphics art industry in India
• Independent Consultant, 1990 to 2008 — Consultancy to TechNova Imaging; Manugraph; Welbound Machines; Mumbai Mudrak Sangh
• Managing Editor, BmpaNews / Printvision India, 1989 to 2003 — Monthly journal for the graphics art industry
• Executive Editor, InkNews, 1999 to 2008 — Quarterly publication of the All India Printing Inks Manufacturers’ Association
• Assistant Editor, Towards Secular India — Quarterly journal, published by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
• Editor, Cardnival —The official journal of the Greetings Cards Industry
• Editor, Ninad — Newsletter of the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, Government of India

Printing industry events

• Drupa, Düsseldorf, Germany — The foremost exhibition for the printing and allied industries. Attended in the years 2008, 2004 and 2000
• South Asia Print Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal — An international conference for the printing industries in SAARC nations
• PrintPack, New Delhi — The leading printing exhibition in India. Attended from 1996 to 2013
• Produced newspaper dailies and daily eBulletins for trade shows like Pamex, PrintPack, Ipex South Asia, Labelexpo India, etc
• Printvision, Mumbai — Hosted by the Bombay Master Printers Association. Attended in 2000, 1998, 1997

References

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