his works, he explored the politics of laughter and studied riddles and myths across Indian traditional folk tales, including clowns, or Vidushak, into the central figure of his works. His last production Paglaye Gusse Ka Dhuan in 2019 was for the Lucknow based Bhartendu Natya Akademi. The play was based on the works of Kashmiri poets and addressed the topic of Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during years of militancy in the state. Building on his training in stagecraft, he worked as the art director for the 1986 and 1987 Khajuraho Festival and also for the Festival of India in China, Switzerland, and the USSR. Kaul was one of the lead designers and an associate show director for the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. Speaking about his mandate, he would say that the requirement was to bring Indian culture and themes to the event, without letting Bollywood come across as the "only cultural identity of the country". He was awarded the 1995 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor in 2014. He was also the recipient of the 2016 Rashtriya Kalidas Samman for Kahan Kabir. He received the 1994 Shikhar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and the 1995 Safdar Hashmi Award from the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi. Personal life Kaul was married to theater artist Anjana Puri. Puri was a Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee herself and composed music for many of his productions. Kaul died from cancer on 6 February 2021, in Delhi. He was 71. References 1949 births 2021 deaths Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Kashmiri people Indian male dramatists and playwrights National School of Drama alumni Academic staff of the National School of Drama Indian theatre directors Hindi theatre Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts People from Srinagar Dramatists and playwrights from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers