Punjabi play highlights feudal mindset against women

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 8

Int’l Women’s Day was celebrated here today at DAVIET with great enthusiasm by the gender sensitisation cell of the institution. A workshop on self defense was organised with the focus on enabling girls defend themselves against aggressors in diverse situations. The highlight of the celebration was the performance of the Punjabi play ‘Sahiban’— a tale beyond legend by artists from Naad Rang Manch, Patiala.

It offers a perspective on the suffering of women in the feudal society. In the play, Sahiban challenges the notion of love propagated in a male-dominant society where women are confined to their homes and denied the right to choose their own life partner as per their wish. It highlights the struggle faced by her while revolting against popular notions.

The writer conceives a hypothetical situation, in which, against the popular tale, penned down by Punjabi writer Pilu, Mirza and Sahiban start living together where they are shunned by their kin and ridiculed by people. While society finds no fault with Mirza, it loathes Sahiban for the revolt against the beliefs upheld by it. As the play progresses, Mirza succumbs to societal pressures, leaving Sahiban alone only to join her later. She is ready to wait for him due to her unflinching love, which ultimately survives the loathing and treatment meted out to her by society and her own lover.