Salon Featuring MK Raina

Humanities Center-SiCa Arts Writer/Practitioner in Residence

M.K. Raina will discuss his creative work in theatre, experimental and mainstream cinema, and documentary film. He will discuss his role as founder and member of Sahmat, a cultural NGO, formed in the wake of the assassination of street theatre activist, Safdar Hashmi. He will also address his cultural activism in Kashmir: his work with the folk Bhand performers, with the rehabilitation of orphaned Kashmiri children, and with the setting up of educational opportunities for performers (especially children) in the Kashmir Valley.

M.K. Raina is one of the most distinguished theatre practitioners in India today. He is a graduate of India’s premier theatre institution, the National School of Drama based in New Delhi and his unique talents have been recognized by India’s highest awards, including the B.V. Karanth Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre in 2007. One of the few Indian artists who tackles the complex questions of human rights, democracy, and militant terror in the Kashmir valley--his birthplace--his work is informed by his dynamic engagement in secular activism and ranges from Kashmiri folk theatre (working with the Bhand Pather, Kashmiri folk performers) to classical Hindustani and avant-garde cinema. He was nominated by the Centre for South Asia. M.K. Raina will be present on campus during the month of October 2011.

Please RSVP to Rachel Knowles- rknowles@stanford.edu.

Please consult the Center for South Asia for additional events related to M.K. Raina's residency.