Sheila Bhatia Biography 
Sheila Bhatia was a noted theatre personality. A legend of Indian operas, she was a playwright and director, also known as a poet. She published several works. She is a recipient of numerous awards and honours in recognition to her contributions to Indian theatre. She was honoured with Padma Shri in 1971 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982 by the Government of India. She was honoured by Kalidas Samman in 1997 by government of Madhya Pradesh. Urdu Academy Award and Param Sahit Sarkar Sanman are other major honours received by her. She is the co-founder of the Delhi Art Theatre, to promote Indian arts and theatre.
Sheila Bhatia was born on 1 March 1916 in Sialkot. She completed graduation in arts and started her professional career as a teacher in Lahore. She was also involved with freedom struggle movement in those days. Later she shifted to Delhi where she founded Delhi Art Theatre along with Hali. She served as the head of the acting department of the prestigious NSD, Delhi. A great name in Indian theatre in the post-independent period, she directed and staged more than a sixty stage plays. Call of the Valley – was her first theater production followed by Sulgada Darya, Heer Ranjha, Yeh ishq nahin asan, Naseeb, Chann Badla Da, Loha Kutt, Qissa yeh aurat ka, Ghalib Kaun tha, Dard Aayega Dabe Paon, Omar Khayyam, Nadir Shah, Hawa se hippy tak and many more.
She directed plays in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi languages. She also published numerous works including the poetry collections, Parlo Da Jhakkarh in 1950. She was most familiar with Punjabi language and Punjabi folk. Some of her powerful Punjabi plays are Chann Badla Da, Ghalib Kaun tha, Nadir Shah and Dard Ayega Dabe Paon, written by her. She passed away on 17 February 2008.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 19, 2016
