Nemi Chandra Jain

Nemi Chandra Jain was an Indian poet, critic, theatre personality and the founder of Natarang Pratishthan, a charitable trust established in 1989 for the promotion of theatre, arts, literature and culture in India.[1] He was born on 16 August 1919 in Agra and was a holder of a master's degree (MA) in English.[2] He served the National School of Drama as a senior lecturer from 1959 till 1982 and also worked with The Statesman and The Economic Times as a columnist.[2] He founded Natrang, a theatre magazine, was its editor and visited many countries with his theatre activities.[2] He was the author of Octave Strings (1944), Solitary (1973), Navanna (2002),[3] Aage Gahan Andhera Hai (2007)[4] and Rang Dharshan (2008)[5] besides several translations and critical essays[6] on a variety of subjects.[2] including From the Wings, Notes on Indian Theatre,[7] which is a prescribed text for academics at Christ University.[8]

Jain was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.[9] He died two years later, in 2005.[10][11] Natrang Pratishthan has instituted an annual lecture to honour his memory.[12][13]