Back to the roots

Gurnaaz Kaur

Jeevay Punjab when translated means ‘Long Live Punjab’; the name itself explains that it is a tribute to Punjabiyat. An initiative by Kumar Sauravh, a chemical engineer from Ludhiana, Jeevay Punjab aims at creating a world of parallel music in Punjab. 

In the eight months since the foundation, Kumar and his friends, Harnoor Singh and Inderpreet Singh, have already done six successful shows in Ludhiana and are going to host a mega event in Chandigarh at the Tagore Theatre on Sunday. Be it production, video documentation, management - this team of three takes care of everything. 

Noble aim

So, what really is Jeevay Punjab? “It’s very easy to criticise, but quite difficult to be the change. We are treading on the latter path. People complain that the lyrics in Punjabi music are full of vulgarity and violence, or show women as a commodity, but what are we doing to stop such a practice? That’s where Jeevay Punjab comes into picture. We are creating Punjabi folk and literary songs,” tells Kumar.

Poetry of legends such as Bulleh Shah, Shiv Kumar Batlavi, Nandlal Noor Puri, Peepak Jaitoyi, Surjit Pattar, Sukhwinder Amrit and Dr Jagtar are composed into songs, and are performed at these events. 

The love for literature comes from his childhood bed-time stories and the reference of sacrifices made by Sikh Gurus to create this land of five rivers. “My sister would narrate sakhis of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and other Gurus, and how he would write letters to his parents. The 

tradition of letter-writing has faded away. We are reviving that too by writing letters amongst us,” he says.

Spirit of folk music

With the view that a lot needs to be done to preserve the heritage and culture of Punjab, Jeevay Punjab is the first step in that direction. 

This team lines up enthralling performances by talented musicians and singers. Among the artistes who hold the stage are Rabbi Shergill, Tanvir Sandhu, Aman Dhaliwal, Gurman Birdi, Sumeet Dhillon and Manjinder Singh.

In the spirit of folk music, they keep it raw and unplugged. These are songs that will take you down the memory lane; then there are some you have never heard before. These are backed by instruments not heard that often, such as Rabab, Sarangi, Mutka, Tumbi, Harmonium and Dholak.

The show is ticketed for more than one reason. Every artiste is paid and the revenue generated goes to them. Another benefit of keeping a ticket, as Kumar, says, is, “With this, we are sure only those who are truly interested will pay to witness the show. The audience thus gets filtered and there is no ruckus.” 

gurnaaz@tribunemail.com