Dhaliwal’s book traces legacy of Punjabi theatre

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 13

Documenting the past and saving it for future generations of artistes and otherwise, theatre thespian Kewal Dhaliwal is coming up with a book that traces the history of Punjabi theatre right from 1895 to 2018. The book titled Rangmanch Punjab will be a 500 page graphical account of the theatrical legacy of Punjab, including some rare photographs that Dhaliwal has sourced from across the globe.

“The book is already under publication and will be released by next month. The book will trace the history of theatre in Punjab including significant contributors’ accounts like Uma Gurbaksh Singh, theater artist and wife of playwright Gurbaksh Singh and others. Theatre back in the day had completely different form and narrative, with lot of regional folk arts forms being incorporated in the storytelling process. It evolved through time, picked up on western concepts like opera theatre and also it was responsible for so many revolutionary movements in Punjab,” said Dhaliwal.

His last book on the ITTA movement in Punjab that had noted artistes like Balraj Sahni and Surinder Kaur at the forefront was also a success. “It was the first book on the movement in Punjab back in the day, when voices for a separate state were emerging. Punjabi folk music had developed its own opera style genre, which can be seen through renowned artistes like Surinder Kaur and Amarjit Gurdaspuri’s works. The book sold over 500 copies and we are ready with its second edition soon,” informed Dhaliwal.

Stressing that preserving the folk heritage in any form for the future generations is imperative, Dhaliwal said that all his literary works were a form of documentation for conservation purposes. He had compiled an art directory with names and contacts of all existing folk artistes, even the last generation ones, in Punjab that served as a go-to book for research purposes in universities across the state.

“The intangible heritage of music and art forms of Punjab is losing out in time. The young generation needs to be aware of its past glory and its significance and that can only be done if it documented,” he added.