PUNJABI ANTENNA
Legendary picks
Randeep Wadehra

Sajda has already highlighted two legends of yore, Waris Shah and Bulle Shah, and three from modern times — Surinder Kaur, Kuldeep Manak and the late Surjit Bindrakhiya. As far as the last two are concerned, they have earned accolades for their craft during their lifetime itself, but only time will tell how enduring their contributions actually are.

Saree-clad women have been depicted in sculptures that date back to as early as 2 BC. It’s universally acknowledged as one of the most graceful outfits, and has inspired many a fashion trend even in the picky Paris. You can see some of the rich and famous women of the world wearing it on important social dos. But it has been rarely seen on the Punjabi small screen. The drift away from saree on Punjabi TV was halted when Navjot Noor wore it on the sets of Pyar Naal, and was none the worse for it. Hope the trend picks up in the Punjabi entertainment industry.

Understandably, the Sarabjit issue dominated the Punjabi news channels. Lots of people, politicians and pressure groups have begun to participate in the save Sarabjit campaign. The resultant sad-but-expectant atmosphere in the state impelled governmental intervention in favour of the doomed man. Meanwhile, the pass-the-buck game among politicians and government spokesmen became rather frantic. Sarabjit’s sister added to the frisson by doing to politicians what normally politicians do to us plebs – ditch one party and defect to another in order to get maximum mileage for her sibling’s cause.

In Khabarsaar one heard some sobering notes – is the judicial process in the two countries being superseded by political convenience? Would it trigger off unsavoury trends leading to the subversion of judicial process? Let’s hope these fears prove baseless and, for the sake of the suffering souls in both the countries’ dungeons, the media-generated humanitarian movement succeeds.

Zee Khabran and Parat Dar Parat have one more success to celebrate. They had investigated the working of various private and public sector hospitals in the state. The government machinery seems to have taken note of the expose and is determined to set things right. At least that’s what an official said while facing the cameras.