Nuruddin Ahmed

Nuruddin Ahmed was born in Sathikuchi village in Assam’s Nalbari district. His early artistic training included a short-term course at J. J. College of Arts, followed by specialized study in the application of modern technology in sculpture at the Lalit Kala Akademi’s Garhi studio. He also earned a diploma in puppetry from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training. His formative years were shaped by guidance from practitioners across disciplines, including Adya Sharma (mobile theater), Chandra Kamal Gogoi (fine arts), Shankha Chowdhury (sculpture), Fatik Barua (film art direction), Bhabendra Nath Saikia (filmmaking), and Chabin Rajkhowa (puppetry).

He began his professional life in puppetry, but soon expanded into theatre and stage environment design. For more than forty years, he has been closely associated with Assam’s mobile theatre movement, a distinctive form of travelling theatre that reaches audiences across urban and rural regions. Within this framework, he has created stage sets, props, and visual environments for over 300 plays, many of which have toured extensively with thousands of shows. His work is noted for large-scale and technically complex productions, including mobile theatre presentations such as Titanic, Dinosaur, and Tsunami.

Beyond Assam, he has worked as an art director in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Parallel to his production work, Ahmed has been active in pedagogy and outreach. He has attended and conducted numerous workshops on puppetry, drama, Ankia Bhaona, painting, sculpture, costume, and stage properties, contributing to skill transmission across artistic communities. His life and practice have been documented in a biographical volume titled Kalakar Nuruddin Ahmedor Jivan aru Sadhana, published by Gati Assam and the Sahari Foundation.

His contributions have been recognised through multiple state and national honours, including the Kala Ratna Bata Sanman from the Assam Sahitya Sabha (2012), the Chamanlal Memorial Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ekjute, Mumbai. In 2017, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his work in Allied Theatre Arts – Stagecraft. In 2026, the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri in recognition of his sustained contribution to Indian theatre and stage design.