A Remarkable Experiment: “Nye Bharat ke Nanne Rakshak”
On the occasion of Veer Bal Diwas, this presentation was staged on 26 December at Bharat Mandapam and was personally witnessed by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, seated among nearly three thousand students.
This year, as part of the Veer Bal Puraskar programme, it was a joint presentation of the National School of Drama (NSD) and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The dramatic text and directorial concept of Veer Bharat ke Nanne Rakshak were conceived by Lokendra Trivedi. The stories of the indomitable courage and sharp intellect of the children who received the Veer Bal Puraskar in 2024 were brought alive on stage by 63 child performers.
The Director of the National School of Drama, Shri Chittaranjan Tripathi ji, gave the production a rich and valuable multimedia dimension, while the co-director was Smt. Nisha Trivedi.
Pointing the way toward a new direction for children’s theatre, this presentation emerged as a unique and highly successful theatrical experiment.
About the Writer & Director
Lokendra Trivedi was born on 8 February 1956 in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. He holds a Diploma (1977) from the Madhya Pradesh Natak Lok Kala Akademi and is a graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi (1981). He completed an advanced post-graduate acting course (1981–82) at the Film and Television Institute of India (Pune) and NSD.
He was a leading actor with the NSD Repertory for ten years, performing in over 2,000 productions worldwide. As a recipient of the Government of India Senior Fellowship, he conducted extensive research on ritualistic tribal theatre traditions of Central India, working closely with Bhil, Gond, Munda and other indigenous communities. His work spans folk, classical, and global theatre traditions, including Stanislavski, Brechtian theatre, and Shakespearean forms.
He has directed over 150 theatre productions, designed sound and music for more than 200 plays, and conducted 80+ specialized training programs. He has participated in cultural tours and performances across Europe, including France, England, and Germany.
He taught Sound and Yoga Science at the National School of Drama for 21 years (2000–2021).
He has directed several large-scale multimedia productions for Republic Day celebrations, the Red Fort, and other historic venues.
His major awards include the Nat Samrat Award (2009), B.V. Karanth Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), Madhya Pradesh Shikhar Samman (2017), Jashn-e-Adab Award (2018), and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2020).
About the Asst. Director
Nisha Trivedi is a senior theatre director, performer, and educator with over 35 years of rich experience in the fields of Children’s Theatre and Theatre in Education. She co-founded Sanskar Rang Toli, associated with the National School of Drama (NSD), and has held leadership roles at prestigious institutions such as NSD and the National Bal Bhavan.
She has directed and presented more than 100 educational theatre productions. Through acclaimed works—including over 1,500 performances of Golden Fish—and numerous workshops centered on social themes, she has significantly contributed to shaping contemporary children’s theatre in India.
Nisha Trivedi has conducted theatre workshops for institutions such as CCRT, NCERT, Sangeet Natak Akademi, and Navodaya Vidyalayas, and has led teacher training programs under the National Education Policy, integrating theatre with education. Under a Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, she carried out in-depth research on Children’s Theatre in India after Independence.
She has curated and organized several national and international children’s theatre festivals, remained actively engaged in media and playwriting, and participated in international workshops and conferences at the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing (China).
For her outstanding contribution to Theatre in Education, she has been honored with the Gates and Custodian Award, conferred by UNESCO.