Gopal Sharman

The power and beauty of Sharman's play, widely acclaimed and applauded by purists and modernists alike in India, Jalabala's 'tour de force' performance, and Sharman's superb direction and production design have made The Ramayana, with more than 2000 performances to date, something of a legend in contemporary world theatre. It has played on Broadway in New York, on London's West End, the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where it received a standing ovation, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the National Theatres of Finland and Canada — even in the Bahamas and the Fiji Islands — and in more cities and towns in India than any other theatrical production since after Independence. Robert A. Hendrickson first produced the play on Broadway, New York in 1975.

Sharman started his working life as a journalist in Lucknow and Calcutta but shifted to Delhi in 1958, where he began writing on the performing arts for several major Indian newspapers. He later moved to London where he wrote on the arts for The Times, London and The Sunday Times . His highly acclaimed book on India music, Filigree in Sound was published in London by Andre Deutsch. He has also written columns for the Washington Post in the United States. His theatrical career was launched by Professor Radhakrishnan, President of India with a reading of Gopal's poems and stories at the Rashtrapati Bavan by his wife Jalabala. Shortly after the couple embarked on a tour that took them to Europe and international high praise from critics and audiences alike. This first production, Full Circle, was followed by an invitation from the Royal Shakespeare Company of Great Britain to bring a play to their World Theatre Season. The play in question was Sharman's The Ramayana, a play in English in four acts that retold the epic story from a contemporary viewpoint, but without any loss of reverence.

Gopal Sharman (19 August 1935 - 16 June 2016) was the author of 14 plays, three books, writer-director of scores of television programmes, many articles and columns, and is best known for his dramatic version of the great epic, The Ramayana, written in English for the Royal Shakespeare Company of Great Britain, which subsequently has been presented on stage more than 2000 times to the highest acclaim in India and the theatre capitals of the West. Gopal Sharman was modern India's maverick artist par excellence! 80 million watched his TV series India Alive. On Broadway, his epic play The Ramayana earned rave reviews. He composed his own music. The Akshara Theatre, situated on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, was constructed (including the furniture and lights) by him in the early 1970s. It is a hub of cultural activity in New Delhi and is studied by architecture students. His political satires pack a deadly punch and his poetry reminded President Radhakrishnan of the Upanishads.

Born in Calcutta, India, on 19 August 1935, Gopal was the sixth child of Dr. Buddhidhan Sharman, a medical doctor of repute, and his wife Savitri. Both parents were Sanskrit scholars and ardent fighters in the cause of India's independence from British rule.