Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The National School of Drama’s Theatre in Education Centre Srinagar, in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, staged a patriotic cultural presentation titled “Watan Ke Rang Kashmir Ke Sang” on Friday at the NSD TIE Centre in Lal Mandi, Srinagar, marking the eve of India’s 80th Independence Day.
The presentation brought together first-year NSD students and local Kashmiri artists in a collaborative showcase that wove together drama, music and cultural performance to celebrate themes of unity, diversity and patriotism. Organisers said the production was conceived as a bridge between the institutional training of NSD’s young actors and the region’s deep artistic heritage, giving both groups a shared platform ahead of the national celebration.
Ahead of the performance, a press conference was addressed by Santano Bose, Dean Academics; Aruna Kumar Malick, Centre Incharge and Associate Professor; and Ramji Bali, Associate Professor at the National School of Drama. The faculty members outlined the thinking behind the production’s theme, situating it within NSD’s broader vision for cultural integration across the country, and spoke about the institution’s efforts to engage the Valley’s youth through theatre as both an art form and a civic tool.
Speakers underlined that theatre offers a distinctive way of reaching young audiences in Jammu and Kashmir, allowing complex ideas around national identity and cultural belonging to be communicated through performance rather than lecture, an approach the faculty said resonates particularly well with students and first-time theatregoers.
The event drew participation from students, artists, dignitaries and members of the media, reflecting sustained local interest in NSD’s Srinagar programming since the Theatre in Education Centre was established in the city. The National School of Drama, an autonomous institution functioning under India’s Ministry of Culture, has over the years used its regional centres, including the one in Srinagar, to extend formal theatre training and cultural outreach beyond the national capital, with an emphasis on involving local performers rather than treating regional chapters as satellite venues for Delhi-trained productions.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Gulzar Ganaie, Coordinator of the NSD TIE Centre, Srinagar, who acknowledged the contributions of both the visiting NSD faculty and the local artists who took part in the presentation.
Friday’s staging adds to a growing calendar of Independence Day-linked cultural programming in Srinagar this year, with government-backed and autonomous cultural institutions alike using theatre, music and visual art to mark the occasion. For NSD’s Srinagar centre specifically, organisers said such collaborative productions remain central to its long-term mandate of nurturing homegrown theatre talent in Jammu and Kashmir while keeping the region connected to national cultural institutions headquartered elsewhere in the country.
