Creative Strokes

With interactions,contests and an online initiative,Punjab Sahit Akademi has kickstarted a cultural movement of sorts

Its with a renewed vigour that the Punjab Sahit Akademi (PSA) is looking to forge new bonds with Punjabi literature,art and music. The idea is to bridge the gap between the audience and art and literature lovers,by providing a common platform for events that are not restricted to showcases and performances,but also aim to involve younger people to join in and support the endeavour. The newly constituted team of PSA has renowned Punjabi poet Surjit Patar as its president.

Patar,who received the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education in 2012,is upbeat about creating a brand new cultural calendar in the city. Chandigarh is a central point and a capital,and here at the Punjab Arts Council,we have the infrastructure to give our plans and dreams wings. So we have started a cultural movement to promote not just Punjabi art,culture and literature,but make it a meeting ground for artists from across the country, says Patar.

As part of the endeavour,PSA recently organised a poetic meet of a group of Indian writers from Assam,Delhi,Gujarat and Maharashtra. The poetic dialogue with writers from other Indian languages was designed to promote inter-state and inter-lingual literary interactions. One of the major areas that Patar wants to focus on is to connect the youth to literature,and he has conceptualised a plan where writers,poets,artists will have a regular face-to-face interaction with students of schools and colleges. The first in the series will be an interactive programme on the poets of Punjab,starting with Shiv Kumar Batalvi. The young need to be encouraged to write and we will soon have a Punjabi prose-writing competition for those in the age-group of 20 years and above. The 30-40 page article will be awarded for creativity,authenticity and original idea, adds Patar,who has translated into Punjabi the three tragedies of Fedrico Garcial Lorca,and the poems of Brecht and Pablo Neruda.

Theatre productions from the state and outside,painting workshops and exhibits,folk music and dance are part of the new creative plans of PSA. Last week,Patar released Gurakhar,Punjabis first spell-check utility site. Its a unique and historical effort of Offstage Creation,as no authentic spell-check book or website is available for Punjabi language so far. This software has been finalised under the guidance of prominent language experts and teachers of Punjabi language and literature. It has been developed by a 16-year-old school student,Shahbaz Singh. Punjabi language is now being used on a large scale in print media,mass media and social networking,and Gurakhar not only checks misspelt Punjabi words,and proposes new words,but also suggests the right selection of words, says Singh.

The word editing and theory development for the standardisation of Punjabi language has been done by scholars of Punjabi language and the project editors have collected 1,35,000 Punjabi words,analysed their practical usage and decided their updated spellings and pronunciation as per todays times.

Language is an old tree. These are its new leaves,which will promote Punjabi and create a new interface. Precisely why the young need to be involved in cultural enhancement and preservation, says Patar. Now,they are set for Kala Mala on September 18,which will encompass a miniature painting exhibition,a poetry interaction along with folk dances and songs.

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