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Thursday,
February 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Jagjit,
Hans enthral audience Works of
contemporary artists on display Wichhre
Pani — music, songs
score over portrayal
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Jagjit, Hans enthral audience Patiala, February 19 Singing Punjabi songs like “Son da Mahina” and several songs from different films like Sarfrosh, Jagjit Singh interacted a lot with the audience and gave a vibrant performance. Sticking to “Sufiana kalam”, Hans Raj Hans invited spontaneous applause from his fans and sung different Sufi songs with variations. Famous Sufiana singers Wadali brothers stole the evening with their heart rendering traditional quawalis like Bulleh Shah’s “Tu mane ya na mane”. Patiala Heritage Festival, is attracting a huge number of people to witness some of the best artistes in their fields who have been invited to perform here. Almost all functions at Qila Mubarak, including classical music and crafts mela, are witnessing huge attendance from the locals. Pleased with the state government for organising such a big function in Patiala, most of the people said it was for the first time that the Punjab Government had bothered to organise a gala function some place other than Chandigarh. “The Patialvis have always been saying that they are quite culturally awakened, but neither the government nor any private organisation has bothered to invite artistes of such repute to this city, the ongoing Heritage festival being an exception,” said an art lover who had come to witness the dance performance by Sonal Mansingh on February 15 at Qila Mubarak. Stressing that there was a need to regularly organise cultural events in the city, most of people said there should be cultural activities round the year. Ms Gurdeep Sekhon, a research scholar in art, lamented that most of the sponsors, including multinational ones, were more inclined to project only local Punjabi singers rather than persons of national repute. “The audience here is receptive towards classical art, which has been proved in the ongoing Patiala Heritage festival. Steps should be taken to invite artistes of national fame,” she said. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Tejveer Singh, said participation had been more by the local people than those people from other regions. He stressed that as this was the first year of the festival, many people from other parts of the country had not arrived. He said in the subsequent years, steps would be taken to ensure that people from other parts of the country were attracted to the festival. He said it was important to revive cultural organisations like SPICMACAY so that cultural functions could be organised round the year with the “active support of the district administration”. |
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Works of contemporary artists on display Patiala, February 19 Even noted art critic and scholar Dr B.N. Goswamy who inaugurated the exhibition, was pleasantly surprised. “I have been impressed by the works of Arpana Caur, Suraj Ghai, Krishan Khanna and Paramjit Singh, which I had not seen earlier”, he added. There was no scope for criticism and even Dr Goswami admitted this. “I am as spell-bound as you”, he said, adding the seemed representative of the contemporary art movement of the region. For art lovers the exhibition is a treat. The works include those of Amrita Shergil, Satish Gujral, Manjit Bawa, BC Sanyal, Ram Kumar, Rameshwar Broota, Pran Nath Mago, and even Raghu Rai besides other artists. The transformation that took place both in content and use of painting in the 1960s and 1970s as well as adaption of abstraction with Western and Indian influences are also highlighted in the exhibition. The gallery has two paintings of Amrita Shergil in the beginning. These include a self-study, which depicts her at her naughty best but with an Indian earthy element which belies her Hungarian origins. The next painting, also of Amrita, is the famous “Three girls”. This painting, as well as other of the same genre, which could not be brought here, reveal mastery of Amrita in turning her European influences upside down. The paintings with clean-cut lines and earthy shades reflect the simplicity of village living as well as their spartan outlook. Besides Shergil, there is a self-study of BC Sanyal. The late artist’s high level of unification with nature is reflected in the painting in which a bird is shown talking into Sanyal’s ear. Other paintings include that of Satish Gujral who has portrayed trauma of Partition through a work painted in 1954 titled “despair”. Other studies include Pran Nath Mago’s “Mourners”. Mago, who was one of the earliest students from Lahore to go to Mumbai, has used thick oil strokes in a swirling style to create juxtaposition which best reflects the subject. Mago’s Rice Planters painted in 1952 feels like a Mexican painting but has Indian characters in a bold compartmentalised style. The National Gallery of Modern Art Director Prof Rajeev Lochan said the exhibition showcased the quest for modernism with examples of transformation in themes and styles as utilised in western oil paintings. INTACH Vice-President S.K. Misra said an attempt would be made to hold a permanent exhibition of young Punjab artists in the Rajindra Kothi. The exhibition will continue till February 23. |
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Wichhre
Pani — music, songs score over portrayal Patiala, February 19 Introducing the audience to the legends, myths, folk-lore and love stories of the state including that of ‘Sassi Punnu’, and ‘Heer’ in a 90-minute performance; ‘Wichhre Pani’, directed by Madan Bala Sandhu had nothing new to offer — neither thematically nor technically. The stereotypical characters who could seldom synchronise their body language with the folk music, succeeded just in the surface exploration of the lifestyle of the people of this part and did not impart acting impulse to the music. What was presented was merely monotonous, standardised and evident elements of the psyche of people of this region. The director’s approach towards the thematic part of the production seemed to be fractured by the ‘Bollywood-style of portrayal of Punjabis. Rendition of the folk songs and music was extraordinary but it distracted the attention of audience from the main plot and emotion. It seemed as if the actors and the director were seeking help of music to cover up the shortcomings in enactment. Under no circumstances could the production be called an opera, not because of poor stage craft but because it was more of a light and sound show rather a dramatic work set to music with origins in Italy. The production attempted to bring forth various dimensions of communal frenzy during the partition and also offered a make-believe world of absolute communal harmony between people of different castes, stressing that external forces might have been responsible for the bloodshed. Using dance expressions of southern states and ‘Sufiana Kalam’ to convey the ‘secular’ character of the people of the state, the attempt seemed to be superficial. Spellbinding Indian and Pakistani wedding songs, sung excellently by Madan Bala and her troupe, were a treat to the audience but the perspective utilised to create a graphic composition on the stage disturbed the flow of emotions. Lights were well-designed and contributed to the stage appropriately. In an effort to encompass the history of the state in a short time, the production lacked not only grip but also sensitivity due to faulty design of the production, especially when songs associated with legendry love stories of the state were remembered. Missing the minute intricacies of an opera, the production could have been better if, instead of the attempted format of an opera, attention was paid only to music and songs rather the accompanying enactment. |
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Patiala to have Urdu academy Patiala, February 19 Addressing a two-day national Urdu seminar on “Contribution of Punjab for Urdu language and literature”, organised by the Department of Persian, Urdu and Arabic of Punjabi University, the Chief Minister urged the people to shed the “sectarian and narrow outlook” towards languages and added that the English language was indispensable to keep pace with the changing global scenario. He said in an era of bio-technology and nuclear sciences, students should not be deprived of education opportunities on the pretext of promoting a local language. The Director of National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, Government of India, Prof Hamidullah
Bhatt, said the council would contribute 75 per cent of the planned expenditure for the establishment of the Urdu academy in the state. He also said the council would grant projects to Punjabi scholars for the development of Urdu. Exhorting people not to attach any language with a particular religion, the Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Mr S.S.
Boparai, appealed to the scholars to come out of “language barriers”. Dr Kanwar Rais of Delhi University, highlighting the development of Urdu through various periods, said there were several similarities between Punjabi and Urdu. |
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A tribute to Polo Tigers Patiala, February 19 The focal point of the park is the statues of polo players on horses. These statues have been made of special fibre glass. The Chief Minister said the Tiger team was formed by Maharaja Rajinder Singh in 1891. |
