Theatre fest celebrates Bhagat Singh's legacy in Ludhiana

The theatre festival began at Punjabi Bhawan in Ludhiana on March 23. It is organized by Punjabi Sahit Akademi, along with other cultural organizations. The festival will run until March 27. The event opened with a discussion featuring playwright Satish Kumar Verma. He has written 18 plays in various genres. In his conversation with theatre artist Lakha Lahiri, Verma talked about his early influences and how he started writing plays. He mentioned that his interest began in a local temple’s kirtan group and that his first speech in Class 8 was about Guru Gobind Singh. Gulzar Singh Pandher, the general secretary of Punjabi Sahit Akademi, welcomed the audience. He explained the academy's goals and announced the festival's performances. Some of the plays include ‘Chhipan Toh Pehlan’ by Davinder Daman and ‘Main Bhagat Singh’ by Pali Bhupinder. After each performance, there will be discussions about the themes and meanings of the plays. Additionally, there will be interactive sessions with other theatre artists like Dolly Guleria and Jagjit Sareen. These sessions aim to explore the significance of Punjabi theatre.