Ashok Ogra In 1967, a young lad from Srinagar, M.K. Raina, was admitted to the prestigious National School of Drama, where the legendary Ebrahim Alkazi was at the helm.
The drama school, an open house encouraging students to decode India’s diverse traditions, resonated with MK’s upbringing, shaped by the secular environment of Kashmir. He had his early education at Lal Ded Memorial School and later Hindu High School, Srinagar, where the Kashmiri literary figure Dina Nath Nadim was Principal. At school, he was exposed to plays and also acted in “Neki Badi.
” The school was located at Sheetal Nath complex that held socio-cultural and political importance for the Kashmiri Pandits and was the epicenter of their politics. Although initially drawn to playing hockey and learning Hindustani classical music at Prem Sangeet Niketan, it wasn’t long before he emerged as an accomplished theatre artist. M.
K. Raina has come out with his memoir titled BEFORE I FORGET in which he shares personal stories of his formative years and his experiences, challenges, and the philosophies that shaped him as an artist, civil society activist, and teacher. He demonstrates narrative mastery when reflecting on significant historical events: the tense atmosphere that gripped the valley when the Holy Relic disappeared from the Hazratbal Shrine in 1963.
Nehru deputed Shastri to calm the situation: “Shastri had to borrow overcoat from Nehru for the severe winter.” Raina’s writing, infused with n.
