Ramlochan Vishwakarma

Ramlochan Vishwakarma Sanwariya, known by his pen name as Sanwariya, was an Indian folk writer. He primarly contributed to nautanki, a folk performance forms of South Asia.

He was born in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. He died on 10 September 2024.^[1] He wrote nautanki books such as Ramlochan Sanwariya, Chhin lo roti,^[2] and Namak ka Daroga.

The Ministry of Culture, government of India conferred Senior Fellowship upon him for his contributions to folk writings.^{[citation needed]}

Ramlochan was born in Gadhiyav village, Karchhana Tehsil, in the Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a traditional Indian folk art family. His father, Brahmyagya Vishwakarma, was a master carpenter, poet, and nautanki performer, while his grandfather, Ram Kumar Bhagat, was also a folk artist.^[3]

One of his contributions to the nautanki tradition was to modernize the genre, focused on mythological and historical themes. Although his work was focused on traditional folk writing, he attempted to resonate it with modern issues. He adopted Munshi Premchand's Namak ka Daroga as part of his contributions addressing modern social issues such as justice and corruption. Chhin lo roti is regarded as one of his known works.^[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he performed nautanki to address the social issues.

Ramlochan's writings primarly focused on local dialects, traditional music, and dance. He also addressed contemporary issues such as social reform through his nautanki writings.^{[citation needed]}