Open Invitation

Jaspal Bhatti’s tongue-in-cheek acts held here are also very popular. Like the Plaza,feels Chani,more such free spaces must be created. “It’s the only way to encourage artists to work without financial stress,” says Chani.

Rama Rattan’s Sarang-Lok in Mohali is also a place that brings together literature,drama and arts. “Through arts,sciences and social modes we create new ways to look at life,” says Rattan,a playwright and director. The space was conceptualised and designed for activities for both children and adults and Sarang-Lok arranges and offers courses,lectures and workshops in a range of subjects such as Indian classical music and dance,folk music and dance,drawing,painting,acting and martial arts. “We have writers,scientists,musicians and theatre actors involved in the process of creating new ways to promote our culture and get the younger generation actively involved,” says Rattan,who is looking forward to the new open-air theatre here,that is being built despite financial constraints. The building of Sarang-Lok is also given out free to artistes for theatre,dance and music rehearsals,with no charges for performances either. “A building has to have a soul,a purpose,and this one’s dedicated to art,” says Rattan.

The open,green space behind the Tagore Theatre is also buzzing with activity,with three theatre groups rehearsing at different times of the day. By paying a token amount of Rs 50 for two hours a day,artists can utilise the space here,which was earlier non-functional. “We’ve opened it to theatre people from all over Punjab,” informs Kuldeep Sharma,

director of the theatre.

Elsewhere,in Amritsar,Virsa Vihar is now one of the most active art hubs of Punjab. “It was the city’s first open-air theatre and was pulled down after Partition,with the land allotted for making a passport office here,” says theatre director and actor Kewal Dhaliwal,president of Virsa Vihar. Protests,applications,candle marches by artists to get the land back yielded in what is now a central point for musicians,dancers,theatre actors and painters to get together. An empty five-storey building,sans an auditorium or any facilities,Virsa Vihar now has an ‘Amrita Pritam Sadan’,‘Amrita Shergill Sadan’,‘Birju Bawra’,‘Gursharan Singh Sadan’ and ‘Natraj Nritya Sadan’ for work on various forms of art,workshops,rehearsals et al. Without any government funding,the members have built an auditorium,which hosts more than 300 theatre performances every year. A dormitory which can house 40 people,a library,a rehearsal auditorium and a small stage for plays are the amenities available free of cost. The Vihar also conducts regular workshops on dance,drama and painting. “We had our first meeting on the floor,and since then,have come a long way,” says Dhaliwal.

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