Theatre veteran Ramesh Ambhaikar no more

Nagpur: Ramesh Shankar Ambhaikar, a towering figure in Nagpur’s Marathi-Hindi amateur theatre and director of national repute, passed away after a brief illness on August 23. He was 79. Ambhaikar was in the league of the legendary Purushottam Darvekar, who pioneered ‘Ranjan Kala Mandir’ in Nagpur, one of the all-time great theatre groups in Maharashtra.
Ambhaikar worked as Ranjan’s trademark director in the post-Darvekar era and nurtured generations of actors, writers, and directors. He leaves behind wife, two sons, and a host of relatives to mourn the loss. Last rites were performed at Mokshadham on Monday.
Ambhaikar, who retired from the Reserve Bank of India, continued his association with theatre during his job and also after retirement. He directed many award-winning Marathi as well as Hindi plays for the Maharashtra State Theatre Festival. Apart from the competitions, plays by great writers like PL Deshpande, Jaywant Dalvi, Mahesh Elkunchwar, and CT Khanolkar directed by Ambhaikar are still remembered as milestones in amateur theatre.
Theatre-lovers and activists paid tributes to Ambhaikar on Monday. Nagpur branch of Natya Parishad, Maharashtra Sanskrutik Aghadi and other groups also recalled his five-decade-long association and valuable contribution in the development of Nagpur’s theatre scene.