Dr Ramnarayan is a playwright and theatre director, journalist (formerly Deputy Editor, The Hindu), writer and translator.
As a musician, she was a vocal accompanist to the maestro MS Subbulakshmi for 16 years. She is inhouse playwright and Artistic Director, JustUs Repertory, and a director, who has worked with artists in related fields, including Bombay Jayashri Ramnath and TM Krishna. Her play Dark Horse won two national awards, while Night’s End was commissioned for a week’s run at Soho Theatre, London (2017), and received the Nataka Choodamani Award for excellence in theatre. Additionally, she has also authored children’s books (Abu’s World, Abu’s World Again, HarperCollins), and a biography of MS Subbulakshmi (MS & Radha), amongst other acclaimed texts. She is Chairperson, Rukmini Arundale Trust, Senior Associate Editor, Sruti magazine, and Adjunct Faculty, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, India.
The Talk will focus on Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986) and MS Subbulakshmi (1916-2004), two women making transformational contributions to the renaissance and revitalisation of their nation’s cultural sphere. Her talk on the two luminaries is based on her experience as MS Subbulakshmi’s grandniece growing up surrounded by music, and her experience as an alumnus of Kalakshetra and her consequent interactions with Rukmini Devi.