· Plays based on Rabindranath Tagore’s work Drishti Daan & A wife’s letter, will be the major attraction of the festival.
New Delhi, February 15, 2012: Some cheering moments for theatre lovers in the capital. A five-day Punjabi Theatre Festival is being organized by Punjabi Academy in association with Department of Art, Culture, and Languages, Government of Delhi. The event will be held at Shri Ram Centre for Art and Culture, New Delhi from February 20 onwards.
Plays by renowned dramatists including Dr. Atamjit, Pali Bhupinder Singh, Kewal Dhaliwal, Dr Charan Das Siddhu, Ravi Taneja and Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary will be staged during the festival.
Khadd, a play written and directed by Pali Bhupinder Singh will mark the beginning of the festival on February 20.
The major attraction of the festival will be Drishti Daan, play based on Rabindranath Tagore’s story and A wife’s letter, adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s play Streer Patra. Drishti Daan is scheduled on February 21 and A wife’s letter will be staged on the last day of the fest.
Panch Nad Da Paani and Mangoo Te Bikkar are the other plays in the festival list.
Panch Nad Da Paani, focuses on a variety of issues like feminism, subalterns, good vs. evil, Sufism etc. It is considered to be a serious attempt to revive the Punjabi theatre. This play will be staged on February 22.
Mangoo Te Bikkar, a play written by Dr Charan Das Siddhu and directed by Ravi Taneja, tells the story of two old men, Mangoo and Bikker, struggling to find a way of survival, and is scheduled on February 23.
According to Mr. Rawail Singh, Secretary, Punjabi Academy, “We are looking forward to the festival with lot of expectation. Like big and small screen, theatre also has its own loyal audience. The intensity on drama on stage and voice quality makes the play one of the most admired art forms. A number of theatre personalities have contributed a lot by producing plays in Punjabi. Shiela Bhatia, Neelam Mann Singh Chaudhary, Joginder Bahrla, Tara Singh Chann have worked through their lives with passion and commitment to benefit the cause of Punjabi Drama. In this year’s festival, Punjabi Academy is showcasing a cross-generational representation of the best in Punjabi plays.”
About Punjabi Academy
Delhi after independence emerged as a cosmopolitan city of diverse cultures and languages. It has always been the endeavor of the Delhi Administration to provide all possible facilities for the development and promotion of different languages and projection of the composite culture of Delhi. Thus, the Delhi Administration established the Punjabi Academy in September, 1981 to propagate and promote Punjabi language, literature and culture as an integral part of composite culture of Union Territory of Delhi.
Ever since its inception the Academy has been playing a catalytic role in the proliferation of Punjabi literary and cultural activities in the spheres of music, folk dances, seminars, symposia, short story, poetry, novel, literary criticism, drama etc. During the last two decades, the Academy has assumed a significant role and status of premier organization in the field of Punjabi language, literature and culture. Department of Art, Culture and Language (Government of Delhi) is the administrative department of Punjabi Academy