What is it like to be a storyteller in a state torn by conflict? Ratan Thiyam, the doyen of Manipuri theatre who died on July 23 at the age of 76, used to say, “I don’t want to be a politician. I am a theatre-person and doing a production is enough for me.” He made plays based on myths, wrapping his protest in metaphors of epic proportions. The audiences who crowded the theatres to watch Thiyam’s plays had heard the stories of Abhimanyu, Antigone and Ashoka before — and then, they heard........

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