Sept HR Haryana Review 6.qxd - S A M V A D ::haryanasamvad.gov.in/store/document/haryana_review...Bhupinder Singh Hooda Chief Minister, Haryana We pay our homage to the memory of young

Chief Ministerpays tribute tomartyrs

Page 40

September 2010, Vol 24 Issue 9 Rs 15

My dream is to seeIndia as a powerful,

independent andselfreliant nation

standing in theforefront among allnations for the welfare of the people.

Bhupinder Singh HoodaChief Minister, Haryana

We pay our homage to the memory of young and distinguished leader late Shri Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary

“

Information, Public Relations & Cultural Affairs Department, Haryana

(20 August 1944 - 21 May 1991)

HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

PATROn-In-CHIEF

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

EDITOR-In-CHIEF

Dr K K Khandelwal

CHIEF EDITOR

Shiv Raman Gaur

COnSULTInG EDITOR

Gobind Thukral

MAnAGInG EDITOR

M S Yadav

nEWS BUREAU

Ruchi Sharma

Ravneet Kaur Brar

Swati Sethi

Aparna Pawar

Nishant Prabhakar

COPY DESK

Shweta Vashishta

LAYOUT

Sunil Kumar

ILLUSTRATOR

Gurpreet Singh

PHOTOGRAPHER

Randeep Singh

PHOTO SUPPORT

Tek Chand Arora

Gopal Singh

Karam Singh

Neeraj Chopra

Gauri Shankar

Jasmer Singh

VOL 24, ISSUE 9, SEPTEMBER 2010

Edited and published for the Haryana government by

Shiv Raman Gaur, IAS, Director, Information, Public

Relations & Cultural Affairs Department, and issued

from Samvad, SCO No 137, Sector 17, Panchkula

(Haryana). (Mailing address: SCO 23 (FF), Sector 7,

Madhya Marg, Chandigarh. Phone 0172-5055971,

5055977).

All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this

publication’s contents, in whole or in part, without

written permission, is prohibited. Haryana Review does

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writers/contributors.

Website: www.haryanareview.com

Email: [email protected]

Printed at: Model Printing Press (I) Pvt Ltd, Ambala

Performing arts

Swang in Sanskrit and Saang in popularparlance in Haryana, nay in the north west

of the Indian sub-continent can rightly becalled precursor of movies. Swang is part ofthe tradition of folk theatre that hasentertained people for generations with goodmoral stories, powerful acting, songs anddance. It has survived because of the interest ofthe people. A film or a movie essentially is onthe celluloid what is otherwise presented onthe stage. Swang has limitations of many kindsdespite its popular appeal while the films haveinexhaustible possibilities even of creating acomplete illusion of reality.

In the current issue of Haryana Review, wediscuss Haryana’s contribution to both theatreand films. This small state has providedtalented and charming actors and actresses,sensitive directors and producers and manymusicians of excellence. While there havebeen some good Haryanvi films, the overallpicture is not very encouraging and largely dueto commercial reasons. Films require hugefunds and investors expect attractive returns.But for a dialect of a limited geographic area,these possibilities are narrow. Yet, unmindfulof this problem, some have ventured and donenot too badly.

Haryana government has played its role inpromoting performing arts including theatreand films through its Cultural AffairsDepartment and other agencies. We presentthis many faceted story to our readers.

During the Independence Day celebrations,the Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hoodahonoured the 92 year old freedom fighter BabuNand Sharma at Narnaul. He is one of the fewsurviving freedom fighters of his generation.Read our special report. Also, special featureon fast paced development taking place inAmbala district.

We also present through our photo feature,how our Grand Trunk Road or Sher Shah SuriMarg pulsates during the night. g

E D I TO R I A L

SPECIAL REPORT

Chief Minister pays tribute to martyrs 4

HISTORY

Haryana and the August Kranti 6

COVER STORY

The love of celluloid 8The journey of cinema in Haryana 10Laado: An unfinished success story 13Haryanvi Films: An unending saga 14State's contribution to Haryanvi

folk culture 16Amateurs add lustre to arts 18Folk Theatre: And the show goes on... 20Makers of contemporary theatre in Haryana 22Lights, camera, action! 24The sound of music 25Toast to two versatile actors 26Saang: A perfect blend of entertainment 28

[11]

[8]

CONTENTS HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 20102

Mhare samay mein hum kahaniya sunte

the, saang dekhte orraamlila bhi...

Tau ib to sab filmo mein aata hai orcinema mein baith kar

mauj se dekho...

Readers may send their comments [email protected] or to SCO 23, First Floor,

Sector 7-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh - 160 019

[35]

[16]

The magic of dance 30International film festivals 32Rohtak's rendezvous with stars 34Plush multiplexes: New era cinemas 36SPECIAL FEATURE

Ambala: Development on the forefront 38Ghel Khurd: A model village 41

PROFILE

A votary of distinct Haryanvi culture 42

SPORTS

Girl wrestler brings fame to Hisar 43

ART AnD CULTURE

Artists at work 44

PHOTO FEATURE

The Grand Trunk Road that never sleeps 46

BOOK REVIEW

Three titans of Indian cinema 52

GUEST COLUMn

Haryana Encyclopaedia: Adding to knowledge 54A name in photography 55

CONTENTS 3HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

[45]

Ruchi Sharma

This year the chief minister ofHaryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda

chose the town of Narnaul, located atthe southern tip of Haryana, tocelebrate the 64th Independence Day ofIndia. In an unconventional manner,after the formal unfurling of the tri-colour and other Independence Daycelebrations, he drove to the residenceof 92 year old Babu Nand Sharma, a

freedom fighter, and paid his respects.Immediately a trust was formed in hisname with the contribution ofgovernment and his family.

The Independence Day wascelebrated with full fervour in Narnaul.The CM took the salute fromcontingents of the Haryana Police,Home Guards and NCC cadets. Theschoolchildren performed culturaldance and music programmes.

Earlier, the Chief Minister visited

the War Memorial at Sainik Rest House.He paid tributes to patriots Rao TulaRam, Pt Neki Ram Sharma, DadaGaneshi Lal, Lala Deshbandhu Guptaand Lal Guni Chand, who were at theforefront in the freedom struggle.

“In free India, visionary leaders likePt Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal BahadurShastri, Indira Gandhi and RajivGandhi implemented revolutionarydevelopment schemes. The nation isnow marching forward under the able

Chief Minister paystribute to martyrs Independence Day was celebrated with fervour in Narnaul. On theoccasion the chief minister announced several welfare measures

SPECIAL REPORT 5

guidance of UPA Chairperson SoniaGandhi and the dynamic leadership ofPrime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,”said Hooda. He recalled the sacrificesmade by the freedom fighters and saidthat the youth of Haryana still feltproud in serving the country. He tookgreat pride in the fact that every 10thsoldier in the Army is from Haryana.

The festivities of Independence Dayalso included new announcements bythe Chief Minster. On the auspiciousoccasion, he declared raise in themonthly pension of freedom fightersand their widows from Rs 6,000 to Rs11,000 per month. The decision wouldprovide additional financial benefit ofRs 7.50 crore to 1,250 freedom fightersand their widows.

Hooda said that the stategovernment was already providing anumber of facilities to the families ofmartyrs, freedom fighters, servingsoldiers and ex-servicemen. Thescholarships given to their wards havebeen increased as also the amount beinggiven for gallantry awards. Defencecolonies are being developed in major

cities. A second Sainik school has beenopened in Rewari and a defenceuniversity is coming up at Gurgaon.

The state government, jointly withthe central government, has formulatedmany revolutionary developmentschemes. Every section of societyincluding farmers, women, traders,Scheduled Castes and other backwardclasses are provided with number ofconcessions. Hooda said that the flood-affected people would be given adequatecompensation. A financial assistance ofRs 1,346 crore has been sought from thecentral government.

The state has also made remarkableprogress in the field of industry. Aninvestment of over Rs 53,000 crore hasalready been catalyzed and investmentof more than Rs one lakh crore is in thepipeline. The state infrastructure isbeing strengthened. Many roads havebeen constructed and several have beenimproved. Nineteen railway overbridges (ROBs) have been built. An ROBhas been constructed at a cost of Rs 24crore in Mahendergarh. This year inDecember, the construction of theKundli-Manesar-Palwal expresswaywould be completed. Gurgaon has beenprovided with metro connectivity and itwould be further extended up toFaridabad and Ballabgarh. Four newpower plants have been set up to makethe state self-sufficient in power.

Haryana is emerging as a hub ofeducation. Rajiv Gandhi Education City

is being developed in Sonipat. Otherprojects in the pipeline are KalpanaChawla Medical College at Karnal andtechnical institutions at Kundli,Murthal and Manesar.

The state government would give acash prize of Rs 7 lakh to sportspersonsfrom the state on winning gold medal inCommonwealth Games to be held inOctober at New Delhi. Players who willwin silver and bronze medals would begiven Rs five lakh and Rs three lakheach respectively. Haryana wouldextend its full cooperation to make thegames a success, Hooda added.

Hooda announced Rs 2.51 lakh forthe schoolchildren who took part in theIndependence Day function. Hehonoured freedom fighters and theirfamily members with shawls. He gaveaway tricycles and wheelchairs to thephysically challenged.

Magnesh Chand Jain, ViceChairman, Haryana SwatantrataSenani Samman Samiti , expressed hisgratitude to the CM for increasingmonthly pension of freedom fightersand their widows. He said, “The ChiefMinister is himself the son of a greatfreedom fighter Ch Ranbir Singh andhis family has made a noteworthycontribution to the freedom struggle. Bymaking a significant increase for thefirst time in the monthly pension of thefreedom fighters, Mr Hooda has provedthat he holds freedom fighters in highesteem.” g

Chief Minister's surprise visit to a freedom fighterAll the programmes were scheduled for Chief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda on Independence Day, apart from an unscheduled visit to theresidence of 92 years old freedom fighter, Sharma. He, because of weakeyesight, could not attend the Independence Day celebrations in Narnaul,where Mr Hooda was presiding.

During his meeting with Babu Nand Sharma, Hooda said, “I amfortunate that I have got an opportunity to seek blessings of a great freedomfighter.”

Babu Nand Sharma thanked the Chief Minister for increasing thepension of freedom fighters and their widows. He also asked the ChiefMinister to extend help for the education of the wards of the freedomfighters. Sharma told Hooda that he had met his father Ch Ranbir SinghHooda five-seven times and he had great admiration for him.

The Chief Minister announced to give Rs 51,000 to Babu Nand Sharmaand asked the Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Gupta to look after his familyand provide every possible help. Pawan Sharma, brother of Babu NandSharma, said that he would contribute a sum of Rs two lakh and set up atrust named after Babu Nand Sharma with a corpus of Rs 2.51 lakh.

Chief Minister BhupinderSingh Hooda seeking

blessings of Babu NandSharma, 92 year old

freedom fighter on hisunscheduled visit to his

home at Narnaul

HISTORY HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 20106

Dr Atul Yadav

After 1857, the Quit IndiaMovement of 1942 was the other

people-oriented uprising whichalmost uprooted the British Empire inIndia. In this way it was the secondbiggest movement in the history ofIndia. The ‘Do or Die’ slogan given bythe Father of the Nation forced theBritish to leave India at an early date.On August 8, 1942 Indian NationalCongress organised a grand functionin the Gwalia Tank in Bombay. Therecitation of “Saare Jahan Se AachaHindustan Hamara” proved to becreating a sound background wherePandit Jawaharlal Nehru proposedQuit India Movement and SardarBallabh Bhai Patel seconded it. Inhistory it is known as AugustResolution. On this very dateMahatma Gandhi called it the ‘lastfight for independence.’ On his call,“Do or Die”, crores of people rose inrevolt.

Gandhi asked the newspapers,rulers of the native states, teachers,students and government employeesto work for the independence of India.He advised the masses to work for

independence whereever they live andreside.

The Second World War was in acrucial phase. The government wouldnot tolerate any revolt at such acritical period. It started suppressionof common men to control this revolt.

As soon as congress aproved theBritish leave India proposa,l thegovernment prepared a plan and thenext morning national leaders werearrested. Gandhiji was interned inAaga Khan Palace at Poona. As soonas the news of arrest of leadersreached the public the common menrose in revolt throughout the country.Haryana, like the uprising of 1857participated in a grand way in thisfight for freedom.

The revolt was at its maximum inHaryana. Revolutionaries of districtAmbala participated in this revoltwith full force. The markets were shutdown and processions were taken out.Here literature was prepared andclandestinely passed on to thearmymen. They were urged to leavethe British government and work forservice of the country. In a pamphletof this nature entitled “Aajadi kaMorcha” it was argued “The law

under which you are serving theBritish is a bond of slavery, the salarywhich you are drawing is bribe toyour soul to keep quite.” Some of therevolutionary youngmen uprooted therailway tracks, cut down telegraphwires and damamged the governmentbuildings. Prominent among thoserevolutionaries were Lala DunichandAmbalvi, Sardar Gurmukh Singh,Babu Gulab Singh and IshwarChander.

The revolt took an astonishingscene in district Karnal. The publicwas expressing anger against the ill-treatment given to the leaders in apeaceful way, then suddenly the policelathicharged the public. Hundreds gotinjured and prominent or not soprominent congress leaders werearrested and the masses werethreatened to remain away from thestruggle. However, this brutal plan ofthe government failed miserably.According to an entry in the diary ofa British Police Officer- “Day 16August 1942, it was almost sun set.The D.C. office was put on fire. Manyrecords were burnt. Hardly the firewas controlled when a cloud of smokeappeared from the court room of

Haryana and the August

HISTORY 7HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

session judge which subsequentlyturned into fire balls. A few hoursafter this the post office also met thesame fate. The government tried itslevel best to find out those responsiblefor fire but failed to do so.”

Here also the youngrevolutionaries damaged thegovernment property. A youngrevolutionary Vishnu Dutt Aashriprepared a bomb for assassinating theGovernor of Punjab. The Governorwas coming for a visit to Karnaldistrict and it was planned toassassinate him near Pipli.Unfortunately, the bomb blasted in thevery hands of Vishnu Dutt Aashriand took his life. In this struggle forfreedom in Karnal district, the mainleading personalities were Nathi Ram,Kaka Ram, Harnam Singh and MadhoRam.

Rohtak led all other districts ofHaryana during the Quit IndiaMovement. Many incidents ofsabotage took place at many places inthe district. The enraged crowd put onfire a railway train at Rohtak railwaystation. Railway tracks were uprootednear Gannaur. Telegraph wiresbetween Rohtak and Bahadurgarh

were cut down. In Haryana,maximum arrests were made inRohtak district during the movement.Pandit Shri Ram Sharma, ChoudharyRanbir Singh, Gyan Singh, BanwariLal, Abdul Gani, Lekhraj, FatehSingh, Hardwari Lal, Ram Singh,Badri Parsad, Gopi Ram, Mange Ram,Tuhi Ram and Chiranji Lal were theleading persons. Around 400Satyagrahis were arrested in thisdistrict.

Hisar also smouldered. Publicmeetings were organised, processionstaken out and a call was given forgeneral strike. Revolutionary youngmen damaged the railway lines nearSirsa and put Hisar railway station onfire. Like other districts ‘secretliterature’ was distributed here also.Women and children played theleading role in this struggle. Around100 persons were arrested. Theseincluded Raj Kumar Bithat, Nand Lal,Kripa Ram, Balwant Rai Tayal, DeviLal, Jagdish Rai, Vaid Ram Dayal,Hari Singh Saini, Babunand Sharma,Lala Hardev Sahai, Lala Shyam Lal,Madan Gopal, Dada Ganeshi Lal,Raghu Nath Verma and Net Ram.Famous revolutionary Yati PurnaNand of Hansi was martyred inFirojpur jail during the Quit IndiaMovement.

Gurgaon in south Haryana alsofollowed the pattern of other districts.Rewari was the centre of the struggle.Young students instead of attendingtheir schools started participating inprocessions and strikes. People ofRewari in particular and districtGurgaon in general, sociallyboycotted supporters of the British.The Badli railway station was put onfire. Khushi Ram, Jagdish Parsad,Daya Ram and Dungar Mal were theleading lights of the freedommovement in this area.

The revolutionaries organised aparty by the name of “Bomb Party” inNarnaul. This party kept the strugglegoing in the city and surroundings.The leading lights of the party wereRam Kishore Oontwal, BhagirathParsad, socialist leader AyodhyaParsad, Hari Krishan, Munshi Laland Duli Chand. Several governmentbuildings were damaged. So was thefate of railway tracks. The telegraphwires were cut and bombs werehurled at the police station.

The Praja Mandal movement innative states of Haryana played an

important part in the Quit IndiaMovenent. Hundreds of patriots ofJind, Loharu, Pataudi, Dujana andNarnaul offered arrests. The notablenames were Rao Gopi Ram, PanditTara Chand, Hari Ram Arya, Rao DevKaran, Banarsi Dass, MahashyaRamji Lal, Thakur Bhagwan Singh,Pandit Dayal Sharma, Chhote Lal,Babu Mool Chand Jain, Babu BrishBhan [later to become chief ministerof PEPSU], Devi Dayal and Hans RajRahbar.

During this movement in Haryana,four railway stations were burnt. Sowere 11 post offices. The telegraphwires were cut at 45 places, bombswere hurled at eight police stations,railway tracks were damaged at sixplaces and 8000 incidents of damaginggovernment property took place.School and college students left theinstitutions to participate in thismovement. The farmers ploughedtheir fields with the tricolour flagsbound to their ploughs. Themovement got strengthened from thediscussions held in village Choupals.Gandhiji’s image rose high, so muchso influential that discussions on QuitIndia Movement became a talk overHooka in villages. He had so muchimpressed the masses of Haryana thatthe bards started singing patrioticsongs like-

Kharya Rupya Chandi ka,Raj Mahatma Gandhi ka,Khari Chavni Chandiki,Jai Bolo Mahatma Gandhi ki.

The Indian National Army (INA) ofNetaji Subhash Chander Boseinspired the militant Haryanvis in ahuge way. More than 2,715 youth wererecruited from Haryana alone. Asmany as 436 of them were martyred.

The Quit India Movenent reachedevery nook and corner whichunnerved the British Empire. Thegovernment dealt with people withlathis and arrests. More than 3,000persons offered themselves forarrests. It can be safely concludedthat Haryana played a sterling roleand its contribution was in no waylesser than other regions of India.The spirit of sacrifice and love forfreedom generated during thismovement forced the British to leaveIndia in 1947. g

The writer is Assistant Professor ofHistory, Government P.G. College,

Ambala Cantt.

Kranti

COVER STORY HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 20108

Gobind Thukral

The love of cinema is in all of us. Amoving picture magnetises us.

Some take it passionately, some lookupon it with awe. Everyone remembersthe first movie, she or he saw.

The world of cinema in its myriadforms is upon us. It could be in theshape of feature films, full length withall the sub plots, songs, enchantingstorylines, tantalising dialogues ordocumentaries of various themes andsizes. Television has brought cinema toour drawing rooms, nay bedrooms, toour moving cars, buses, trains andairplanes. You may watch a film onyour computer screen. Cinema meansgood story telling. It offers delightfulmusic, songs and an enthralling action.But it could be sheer propaganda.

Therefore, cinema is more open to thosewho take it critically.

Films consist of series of frames.Experts tell us that “When these movein rapid succession, we have an illusionof a constant motion as we can observethe flickering between frames due to aneffect known as persistence of vision; aphenomenon of the eye by which anafterimage persists for one twenty-fifthof a second on the retina. Viewersperceive motion due to a psychologicaleffect called beta movement.” Thevisual elements of cinema give motionpictures a universal power ofcommunication. Even a small child getsmesmerised.

We call this picture, or movingpicture and even a photoplay and flick. Acommon name now is movie. In Europe,cinema is preferred. Other names

include the big screen and the silverscreen. The process of filmmaking hasdeveloped into an art form and industrythat is powerful and influential.

Films are cultural artifacts. Thesemirror different cultures, and in turn,influence them. Film is an entertainingart form. It could be a powerful methodfor educating — or even indoctrinating— citizens. There can be no filmwithout some ideology. Some filmsattain worldwide attraction and areshown to people from different culturesby dubbing or subtitling the dialogues.

What makes a good film? Whole lot ofresearched articles and books adorn theshelves to delineate on the subject. Whois a good filmmaker? A person withcreative mind, awareness of life andarts and prolific talent could be one. Yeta successful filmmaker would requiremuch more besides money toexperiment and gifted actors. Masteringthe many aspects of filmmakingrequires professional training andtechnical skill. There are film institutesacross the world including India (inPune and many other cities), and manyprivate institutes too which areimparting training in various aspects ofthe art of filmmaking. These institutesequip students with necessary skillsand teach the art and aesthetics offilmmaking in addition to technicalexpertise and economics of filmmaking.

FIRST FILM

‘The Oberammergau Passion Play’(1898) was the first commercial filmever produced. Other films soonfollowed, and took the world by a storm.Raja Harishchandra (1913), byDadasaheb Phalke, was the first silentfeature film made in India. By the 1930s,the industry was producing over 200films per annum. The first Indian soundfilm, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931),was a major commercial success.

India has not looked back. It is thesecond largest producer of films. It isnow a separate industry that commandsmore than its share. Dedicated theatresand companies were formed specificallyto produce and distribute films, whilefilm actors became celebrities,commanding enormous fees for theirperformances. By 1917, Charlie Chaplinhad a contract that called for an annualsalary of one million dollars. In India,film actresses and actors, many of thempart of political life, get attention likereal life heroes. They get well paid andare even courted by big time politicians.

The love ofcelluloidCinema in its varied forms provideswholesome entertainment and makes a deepimpact on audience

Bhal Singh with comedian Mehar Mittal

COVER STORY 9HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

Some actors and actresses have beenand are still ministers. One even leadsan important South Indian state.

The Indian cinema consists of filmsproduced across the country. It includesthe cinematic culture of AndhraPradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka,Kerala, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Naduand West Bengal. Indian films havestrong viewership throughout SouthAsia and West Asia. Expatriates incountries such as the United Kingdomand the United States continue to giverise to international audience for filmsof various languages; Telugu, Tamil,Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Bengaliand Hindi.

In the 20th century, Indian cinema,along with the American, Indian andChinese film industries, became aglobal enterprise. Enhanced technologypaved the way for upgradation. Itradically altered the establishedcinematic norms of deliveringproducts. Indian cinema that uses mostsophisticated technology and spendshuge sums on filmmaking has spreadits tentacles to over 90 countries wherefilms from India are watched withinterest.

India is the world's largest producerof films. In 2009, India produced a totalof 2,961 films, which include a

staggering figure of 1,288 feature films.The provision of 100% foreign directinvestment has made the Indian filmmarket lucrative for foreign investors.Tax incentives to multiplexes haveaided the multiplex boom in India.Many production companies have beenlisted in the National Stock Exchange,making the commercial presence of themedium felt.

The Indian Diaspora consists ofmillions of Indians overseas for whichfilms are made available both throughmediums such as DVDs and byscreening of films in their country ofresidence. These earnings, accountingfor some 12% of the revenue generatedby a mainstream film, contributesubstantially to the overall revenue ofIndian cinema. Its net worth was Rs 100billion in 2009. Music in Indian cinemais another substantial revenue earner.

WHY HARYANA LACKS GOODFILMS?

We can count a few good films in theHaryanvi dialect. Not many havesucceeded at the box office or as artfilms. Only a few stand out. There arevalid reasons. Haryanvis write in Hindior Punjabi and some, of course, aregood in English too. Haryanvi is as yetnot a full-fledged language with its own

script. The state is bestowed withdifferent variants of this dialect. Thedialects spoken in the villages fromBangru, Baggar, Deswal and Ahirwalare different. And again, since Hindicinema is appreciated all over the state,the necessity of typical Haryanvi filmsbecomes less attractive in terms ofspectators and profits. Haryana isblessed with great actors, directors andmusicians. But they have mostlycontributed to big time Hindustanifilms.

The government, in fact, can do littleto promote what can be called typicallyHaryanvi films. It can grantconcessions in entertainment duty andit often does. It can reward actors and ithas done it in various ways. It has beenhelping film festivals, theatreworkshops and stage performances.Some universities have theatredepartments to encourage students. Thegovernment is setting up a state-of-the-art State Institute for Film andTelevision at Rohtak on the pattern ofthe Film and Television Institute, Pune.It has built theatres and plans to addmore all across the state to help nurturea movement for good theatre. But theseefforts cannot create commerciallysuccessful Haryanvi films. It is theeconomics that dictates. g

A still from film ‘Laado’


Ashwini Chaudhry

Ifirst heard of cinema from mycousin Prem when I was six years

old. He boasted of watching Jal BinMachali Nritya Bin Bijli five timesin a row (Years later, when I saw thisfilm in Delhi I knew why). Hebecame something of an outcast anda butt of ridicule for everybody elsein the village ‘Chautala’ where wehailed from. Chautala abounded inopium, poppy and country wine. Myuncles and cousins, like all others inthe village, were neck deep intothese intoxicants and frequentlycrossed the state border to get theirdaily fix. So did Prem, but his nashawas a tad different – he was hookedto cinema and would catch anyHindi film in the neighbourhoodtown of Sangaria. Prem came in forheavy tongue-lashing – daaru(liquor) and opium wereunderstandable but films!! Only‘bhaands’ or people with ‘lowlycharacter’ could have anything to dowith naach gaana and filmbaazi –such was the mantra.

Even today in major parts ofrural Haryana, cinema continues toevoke same sentiments –synonymous with corruption ofmind and character. It is neither anhonourable invocation nor a preferredindulgence. Therefore, much lowerdown on the agenda of this patriarchalsociety and polity.

I shifted to Mumbai some ten yearsago to try my luck in films (aftermaking my first feature film inHaryanvi- Laado) and met a veteranproducer K D Shoury (actor RanbirShoury’s father). His first advice to mewas to go back to my native state asHaryanvis and cinema have nothing incommon. That is how Hindi filmindustry looks at Haryana. And thiscynicism is not entirely unfounded.

Indian cinema took birth with AlamAra in 1937. Today, India produces morethan 2000 films per year in alllanguages. Indian cinema todayincludes the cinematic tradition ofSouth (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Naduetc), of Maharashtra and Gujarat, ofWest Bengal and Kerala, of Punjab andRajasthan. Haryana does not find amention in this list. The reasons are notdifficult to indicate. For this we have tolook at the main sources that enrichedthe mainstream Hindi cinema over theyears.

Half knowledge proved to be

dangerous to the cultural growth ofthe state and its undoing as well.Not only did the state resist‘external’ impacts on its culturallife, it failed in capitalising on itsown strengths as well. Whereas folkforms like Jatra or Nautanki playeda very important role in early 50s inBengal or Hindi heartland, Swang, aHaryanvi folk theatre form,remained confined to the Jat beltmainly because of its vernacularthemes and dialect.

One of the main sources ofinspiration in any language is itsliterature. Cinema, in its nascentstage, draws from this reservoir andgenerally learns to find its owngrammar and feed-offs as it grows.Haryanvi language, till today,remains a dialect and Haryanviliterature is largely non-existent.Therefore, there is absence of aninstinctive or regulated theatremovement in Haryana drawing fromits own literary tradition. The stateswith strong and popular theatremovements contributedsignificantly to the growth of Hindicinema. Films like Dharti Ke Lal,Mother India and Pyaasa were madepossible by Indian People's TheatreAssociation (IPTA) at that time.

At the end of the spectrum arethe film societies which played a hugerole elsewhere in the country, inpromoting and encouraging goodcinema. The first film society wasformed in Mumbai in 1943 followed bySatyajeet Ray Film Society in Bengal in1947. By 1970 there were more than 150film societies all across India but not asingle film society was formed inHaryana. Though I would love to beproved wrong but there is not even onesuch conglomeration of like- mindedgentlemen, united for their love ofcinema in the state of Haryana.

1960s marked a huge leap forward in

The journey ofcinema in HaryanaA first person account from a director and a film buff

A scene from film ‘Mhari dharti mhari maa’

A still from film ‘Chandrawal ’


the annals of Indian cinema. On onehand, the mainstream Hindi cinemawas growing in leaps and bounds andon the other hand, regional films weremaking their presence felt. A number ofestablished film stars, directors, writersand producers actually started theircareer with regional films back then.Significantly, the first Haryanvi filmsaw the light of the day in 1984 - a good18 years after the formation of Haryana.Twenty six years later, as Indian andregional cinema and its progenies makea mark in international cinema, inchartbuster commercial successes andinternational marquees, Haryanvicinema still remains in its nascentstage. There are people andpersonalities who have risen from theseashes on the basis of their own merit,strength and fire-in-the-belly.

An existing merit list of luminariesfrom the state has to ideally begin withPandit Jasraj and his family. They havebeen synonymous with music traditionin the classical realm for years togetherand the front-runners in leaving alasting impact on music in Hindicinema. Pandit Jasraj, thecontemporary doyen of north Indianvocals from the Mewati gharana is anative of village Peeli Mandori inFatehabad district. Conferred withnumerous awards including PadamBhushan, Pandit Jasraj composedmusic for Hindi films in early stage ofhis career. His disciples include singerSadhana Sargam, his music directorson, Sarang Dev and singer daughterDurga Jasraj.

Jatin Lalit, the leading musiccomposers, are again from PeeliMandori, Fatehabad. Blessed with anenvious pedigree, Jatin Lalit arenephews of Pandit Jasraj and sons ofclassical singer Pandit Pratap Narayan.They have composed music for boxoffice biggies like Dilwale Dulhaniya leJayenge, Kucch kucch Hota Hai,Khamoshi The Musical, Fanaa etc.Their music of DDLJ has been rated astop Hindi soundtrack of all times. Thebrothers’ primary asset andcontribution is their originality. Theirsisters, Sulakshana Pandit and VijetaPandit have sung and acted in numberof Hindi films. Vijeta Pandit became ahousehold name when she waslaunched opposite to Kumar Gaurav in‘Love Story’ in 1981.

Another music composer who madea mark in Hindi film industry is J PKaushik. He started his musical career

with legendry K A Abbas in Shehar AurSapna. He composed music for morethan 50 Hindi films including AmitabhBachan’s debut film, Saat Hindustani.

Sonu Nigam a native of Faridabad,started his career with cover versions ofMohammad Rafi songs and is today thetop most playback singer of Hindi films.He rose to fame with the song Sandeseaate hain from the film Border andnever looked back. Winner of numerousFilmfare and Screen awards, Sonu hasalso released a number of Indi- popalbums and acted in a couple of Hindifilms. Richa Sharma and Himani aretwo other names from Haryana who areknown for their signature style ofplayback singing.

Satish Kaushik hails from districtMahendergarh. He is an actor, writer,director and producer of repute inHindi film industry. Better known asthe character ‘Calendar’ from Mr India,he has written dialogues for the cultfilm Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and hasdirected films like Tere Naam, HumAaapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, MilengeMilenge etc. His performances in filmslike Masoom and Brick Lane have beenwidely appreciated.

The face of parallel cinema in India -Om Puri- was born and brought up inAmbala. An alumuni of NSD and FTII,Om Puri started his film journey withGhasiram Kotwal and then went on todo films like Bhawani Bhavai, Sadgati,Ardth Satya, Mirch Masala, Dharvi,Dev, Dhoop etc. He won the NationalAward for best actor in Ardh Satya. Omhas done a number of internationalfilms like ‘East Is East’, ‘City Of Joy’,‘Wolf ’ etc and is critically acclaimedinternationally also. Awarded withFilmfare Lifetime Achievement Awardand Padamshree and immortalised withlegendry performances (Who can forgetthe butcher of Tamas or the victimisedtribal of Akrosh?),Om puri stands tallas Haryana’s biggest contribution toworldwide cinema.

Another legend of Hindi cinema,Sunil Dutt, hails from a small village–Mandoli, on the banks of riverYamuna in Yamunanagar. Dutt shot tostardom in 1957 with Mother India. Anactor, producer, director, Sunil Dutt isbest remembered for his performancesin films like Sadhana, Sujata, Muje jenedo, Padosan, Waqt etc. Dutt proved thathe his ahead of his times when he made

Famous Classical Vocalist, Pt Jasraj tying a Rakhi on the wrist of HaryanaChief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda


Yaadein in 1964- the film had just asingle character played magically byDutt himself. Sunil Dutt gave Indiancinema a different style, sophisticationand genre of acting.

Hindi cinema’s most patriotic hero,Bharat Kumar aka Manoj Kumar isfrom Indri, Karnal. He started his filmcareer with Kaanch Ki Gudiya and thendid films like Voh Kaun Thi, HaryaliAur Rasta, Himalay Ki God Mein. ManojKumar brought nationalism andpatriotic fervour to the front row inHindi cinema. He institutionalisedhimself as the ideal romantic patriotichero with films like Shaheed, Upkaar,Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapda AurMakaan and Kranti. Manoj Kumar isrecipient of Phalke Ratan,Padamshree,and Filmfare LifetimeAchievement Award.

The Mukhiya of Champaner villagein the Oscar nominated film Lagaan isRajendra Gupta who is from a business

family in Panipat. His other noteworthyfilms are Saleem Langde Pe Mat Ro,Main Zinda Hoon, Laado, Sehar, Guruetc.

Another memorable character inLagaan, ‘Laakhaa’ was played byYashpal Sharma of Hisar. An alumni ofNSD, he is today one of the leadingvillains of Hindi film industry. Hisperformances in films like Ab takChhappan, Apharan, Gangajal, Kisnaand Shool have been highly appreciated.

Randeep Hooda, from village Jaseyain Rohtak was first noticed in ‘MonsoonWedding’ in 2001 for his role as an NRI.He followed it up with films like Risk, DCompany and Rubaru. Randeep is innews these days for his stellarperformance in Once Upon A Time InMumbai.

There are others like Mohit Ahlawat(Shiva, James, Shaagird) who is on thefringes of fame but there in filmdom,nevertheless.

Mallika Sehrawat, Haryana’storchbearer and enfant terrible, hailsfrom Rohtak. She started her tryst withstardom with TV commercials and wenton quickly to star in Khwahish in 2003.She came to limelight,however ,withAnurag Basu directed Murder in 2004.Her films like Pyaar ke side effects,‘Hisss’ and ‘The Myth’ with JackieChan are much discussed and spokenabout.

Another jat girl from Haryana whoalso started with TV commercials andlanded in Hindi films is MinisshaLamba. She began her journey withcritically acclaimed Yahaan in 20005and followed it up with Bacchna ehaseeno, Shaurya and Well Done Abbaby Shyam Benegal..

Writing in Hindi cinema has onlyone only flagbearer – Girish Dhamijafrom Hisar. He has scripted films like1920, Gangster, Footpath, Raaz,Sangharsh, Dushman, Zakhm etc. Healso went on to direct two films –Yakeen and Phir in the last few years.

Manmohan Singh, the renowneddirector of photography, also known as‘The poet with a camera’, is from DhelaKalaan in Sirsa. He has shot films likeDil Waale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge,Betaab, Chandni, Lamhe, Maachis andWaaris. Today, he is one of the leadingproducer directors of Punjabi films andhas given a new lease on life to Punjabicinema.

So much for the collective worth ofHaryanvis in cinema; but the milliondollar question is – “Is there a way outto add to this strength and clout?” Howcome those who have made it big inMumbai never own up Haryana or whydoes Haryana not own them as theirown? Why does a Pandit Jasraj open amusic academy in Ajmer and not inAmbala? Why didn’t a Sunil Dutt orManoj Kumar come back to the state toproduce / direct a Haryanvi Film ?Political apathy and the absence ofpopular culture have a lot to do with theproblem and the solutions have to comefrom these quarters only. The moneysbeing made in industrial hubs ofGurgaon and Faridabad have neverfound their way to art and artists in thestate simply because there is no routingmechanism in place. Talent needsfertile grounds to bloom in. Do thegroundwork and Haryana shall makeits mark in Indian cinema. g

The writer is a noted film director inMumbai. He directed award-winning

film ‘Laado’ besides other films.

Om Puri with Shabana and Patrick Swayze in City of Joy (1992)


Swati Sethi

Laado was released in May 2000when cinema in Haryana was in a

state of reluctant activity over the pastone decade. The state of Haryana wasformed in 1966 and the first Haryanvifilm Beera –Shera was made in the year1973. A year later, another attempt wasmade in the form of Jat HarphoolSingh. Both the films failed in findingan audience in their own home state.

It was after a long gap thatChandrawal was released in 1984 andbecame a runaway hit. From 1984 to1994 around two dozen Haryanvi filmswere released. All of them failed tomake any dent at the box-office or leaveany mark on the cultural landscape ofthe state.

Many reasons can be ascribed tothis failure. Neither substance norstrategy was visible in creation,production or release of these films. Ina way it would have been too much toexpect any of this from a state that had

no wherewithal to create a talent poolthat would produce noteworthycinema.There was neither knowledge,nor infrastructure or trainedmanpower for cinema in this barrenland.

It was in this backdrop that Laadowas produced and released in the year2000. Produced by Kumud Chaudharyand directed by Ashwini Chaudhary,the film was based on a short storywritten by Surinder Chaudhary, anative of Sonipat who taught directionin Pune Film Institute. Laado focusingon a woman’s plight did not embellishthe narrative either with only prettyfaces or so called Haryanvi humour tohighlight the contradictions existingin a traditional male dominated societylike Haryana. Laado questioned thevalues, traditions, customs and thesocio- political milieu which professesconcern for women but aborts everymove aimed at their empowerment.The music of the film was a big hiteven before the release of the film; its

songs are played even today inmarriages and school, collegefunctions.

Another first was added to its creditbefore its release when it was conferredwith the National Award for the bestfirst feature film of a director in opencategory in 46th National Awards in2000. The producer director duo washonoured with Golden Lotus Award.Laado is the only Haryanvi film whichgot critical acclaim in Film festivals inIndia and abroad.

The reasons for the plight ofHaryanvi cinema, apart from obviousreasons like absence of strong culturalmovement, problem of various dialects,small commercial territory and lack ofinfrastructure, came to fore whenLaado after getting recognition acclaimand awards came to its own state andpeople. The makers of the film werecold shouldered by the government inpower. Even after getting clearinstructions from the Information andBroadcasting ministry, Laado was notgranted tax exemption in its own state.After a long struggle with thegovernment, the makers went aheadand released the film in Haryana onMay 5, 2000 without tax exemption.

This release ended the stalemate ofHaryanvi Cinema. There was palpableexcitement and terrific response to thefilm. At all four centres where it wasreleased in the first phase, the ticketswere sold outright. After years, hordesof women were seen in cinema halls.There were murmurs of protest fromsections, which propagated that thefilm raised ‘bold’ and ‘new-age’ issuesand was a threat to the social balancebetween the sexes in the conservativestate.

Laado did not have a fruitful run inthe state. The film which could havebrought a new lease of life toHaryanvi cinema unceremoniouslydied midway. g

Laado: An unfinishedsuccess storyThe film Laado which could have brought a new lease of life toHaryanvi cinema unceremoniously died midway

Ashwini Chaudhary receiving the National Award for the best first feature filmof a director in open category for ‘Laado’ by the then President KR Narayanan


Nishant Prabhakar

Filmmaking is an art par excellence.It needs whole lot of planning from

selecting actors, writers, musiccomposers, directors, locations to dressdesigning, art direction, screenplay,dialogues, cinematography and postproduction editing and publicity. Eachone of these aspects has its ownimportance and major role incompleting a film before it's taken tothe audience. And if the producer doesnot keep these technical aspects inmind, the chances of a film meeting

success at the box office remain dim.After independence, films have

become one of the most powerfulmediums of entertainment in India.Besides the Hindi film industry, aremarkable progress has been made inregional films as well. South India andWest Bengal have attained aremarkable position in producingregional films, depicting the culturalheritage of the various regions.However, the progress of makingregional films in the Hindi belt ofNorth India remained slow due to thefact that the Hindi-knowing people of

various states of the Hindi heartlandhave been getting entertainmentthrough Hindi films.

The root of Haryanvi films can betraced to the 1970s when Beera Sherawas released. It was a love story basedin Haryanvi setting made by AnoopSingh. Then came Harphool Jat JulaneWala in 1976 under the direction ofAnand. This was the first moviehaving Haryanvi dialect as its mainlanguage. Both these films did not getthe desired success at the box office. In1970s, though numerous Haryanvifilms were produced, but they lacked

Haryanvi films: An unending saga

A scene fromPhool Badan


in the rustic cultural element ofHaryanvi culture and hence were notappreciated in Haryana.

The golden period of Haryanvicinema began in the 1980s whichcontinued till mid 1990s. In 1981 cameBahurani which can be regarded as thetrue Haryanvi film. It was produced bya society of 40 film lovers of Haryanaunder the aegis of ‘Haryana RajyaChahitra Vikas Sahkari Samiti’formed in 1979 with Usha Sharma asits chairperson. The film was based onthe screenplay of Devi ShankarPrabhakar and music was given by J PKaushik. Although there was somestruggle amongst the society members,the movie did well at the box office andits songs became popular.

Devi Shanker and his dancer wifeUsha came with Chandrawal in 1984. Itbecame a blockbuster and created astir in the film industry. Chandrawalbroke all records on the box office inHaryana, Western UP, Delhi and partsof Rajasthan. In due course of time,Prabhakar films banner came withthree more films like Lado Basanti(1985) Phool Badan (1986) and Jaatni(1991).

The success of Chandrawal gavenew life to the Haryanvi film industry.After this, many films like Panghat,Premi Ramphal, Bhavar Chameli,Mahra Pihar came which did goodbusiness but couldn’t become superhit. Then in 1987 came the movies likeDhan Paraya, Phagun Aya Re, ChoraJaat Ka, Jhanakdar Kanga and afterthis Chandro, Beri, Shayona,Lambardar and Chori Sapare Ki. Thenin 1991 came Jar Joru Jameen. Themusic my Ravinder and wonderfulwork done by the technicians inproduction made the film successful atthe box office. Further, movies likeYari, Yeh Maati Haryana Ki andGhoonghat ki Phatkar were released inthe same year. Director and actorSubhash Jain made Chano and thehero of the film Chandrawal , JagatJhakhad made Suklava. Encouragedby the success of Haryanvi filmindustry, Gurdas Mann also made aHaryanvi flick Chora Haryanae Ka.

In 1992 Pingal Bharthari wasreleased which was made in ahistorical setting and then came Jaatniunder Prabhakar films. A big budgetfilm, Veeri was released the same yearand film Jaat by Swarn Singh followedsuit. After this, it seemed that theHaryanvi film industry was slowly

going towards it death grave. But in2000, Ashwani Chaudhary directed andKumad Chaudhary and HarvinderMalik co- produced movie Laado wasreleased. This movie was of big budgetand shot in cinema scope and its songswere sung by Udit Narayan and AlkaYagnik. This movie got national awardin regional film category.

After this film, there was a virtualflood of Haryanvi films like Piya,Chand Chakori and Bhali Karge Rambut all of them turned out to be majorflops. Hence, the Haryanvi filmindustry slowly came to a standstilland its death bed. None of theHaryanvi films could do the businesslike that of Chandrawal. This isprimarily due to the reason that a tagof Haryanvi was used in most of theHaryanvi films but they didn’t depictthe true essence of Haryanvi culture.There were also drawbacks indirection and technical aspects whichresulted in a flop show of many films.

Moreover, the period from 1980s tomid 1990s can be termed Golden periodof Haryanvi Cinema but it was moreso in terms of the number of releases.Most of them, except a few, flounderedat the box office. Films were made bynon-serious producers who didn’t haveany experience in the art of filmmaking or any remotest connectionwith art field. They saw films as aproposition for easy minting of moneyand in due course suffered huge losses.This not only undermined the qualityof Haryanvi films but resulted invirtual death of the whole industry.Further, the Haryanvi film industry

loosed out its streams by mid 1990sbecause of a peculiar situation wherethere was no encouragement orsupport from the State governmentwhich failed to revive it. Then therewas competition faced from themainstream Hindi films which werebetter produced and had star appeal.

Now there is a new start to revivethe almost redundant Haryanvi FilmIndustry. This year Muthbed: PlannedEncounter, produced by Sanjay Sharmaand directed by Suraj Bhardwaj wouldbe released by year end. Similarly fornext year Prabhakar Films ofChandrawal fame have announcedtheir next production Chandrawal-2,first ever sequel in Haryanvi films. It isto be seen how the audience wouldreciprocate once these two films arereleased.

However, just private effort is notenough to boost Haryanvi cinema;some help should come from the Stategovernment. There should be acoherent policy like the one which isbeing followed in Maharashtra;Gujarat and West Bengal. Further, theexhibitors in the state should fixparticular duration of days in a yearwhen the private cinema halls andmultiplexes have to show Haryanvifilms on a compulsory basis. Moreover,the state government should givemonetary incentive if 80% of the filmis shot in the State during production;this will go a long way to help aproducer to meet his costs in postproduction. This is the only way wecan help revive the Haryanvi filmindustry. g

A scene fromJar Joru Jameen


Ruchi Sharma

Haryana is a small state. Thestate’s boundary touches five

different states on its four sides.Therefore, those border districtscarry the influence of adjoiningstates on their language, culture,dance and songs. It’s only the heart ofHaryana that carries the typicalHaryanvi culture.

In the Mughal era, court poetsenjoyed a great status. Kings andpriests used to entertain themselvesthrough the dance and musicperformance of court artists. Everyform of art thus received impetusfrom the then kings and supremes.There have been many poets fromHaryana who entertained British andpromoted the rich Haryanvi folkculture. Deep Chand, Baje Bhagat,Hardeva and Mange Ram are theprominent names.

Swang is a unique stage and its

zealous folk style is different fromother forms of folk theatre in thewhole country. Chamola, nautanki,khayal, mimicry, jatra are thedifferent forms of folk theatre. DeepChand and Pt Lakhmi Chandenhanced the splendour of Swang.Earlier, the female characters inSwang were only played by men asthey could present acts of jumping onstage easily which women could notpresent in a similar manner. But nowthis tradition has seen a change asmany school and college girls arelending support to Swangs in a newway.

Raagini is an important part ofSwang which is a combination ofsong and story as per the situation. Itis the famous Haryanvi style ofsinging and generally of four stanzas.There are different forms of raaginislike Kathopakathan, Doha, Kafiya,Sawaiya which evolved out of thecontributions of famous old Haryanvi

State’s contribution toHaryanvi folk culture

Artists performing on Haryana Dayfunction at Raj Bhawan


poets. Kathopakathan (question andanswering) through raagini wasintroduced by Pt Lakhmi Chand.Later, other poets followed this trend.

Pt Lakhmi Chand is also known asSurya Kavi (Sun Poet) in Haryanviraaginis. He is the most celebratedguru ever in this field. He improvedthe raagini style of singing.

There have been great poets inraaginis and there are numerousanecdotes associated with them likefauji (soldier) Jat Meher Singh. Hewas very fond of singing raaginis andcomposed many raaginis upon theprevalent situations around. Hisfamily members were fed up of hisover involvement in singing.Therefore, one day to do away withtheir routine interference he joinedarmy. In army, he believed he couldpursue his passion freely. His passionfor singing raagini was so strong thateven when he got shot while fightingin the Second World War battle field,he died saying a raagini –

“Saath rehaiye swaang key saathi, daya merey pey tu diyo, desh kay upar jaan chonk di, likh chithi mai ger diyo.....”

(My left behind friends do me afavour by informing my familythrough a letter that I sacrificed mylife for the country)

In another anecdote of SethTarachand, Tarachand leaves

Chandragupt who is sleeping on anisland, in his house (which ismortagaged) while he is enjoyingwith his friends.

“Byah shadi ka zikar chalya jibnaar tale ne go key,

Jaan sake dut ka marya bheetarbar gaya ro ke...”

Folk dances and music which werean integral part of our village lifewere lost long time ago but the stategovernment is trying to revive themback. The important events of theState are celebrated with theHaryanvi folk dance and musicperformances. These are performedby youngsters in proper Haryanvidress, odhni, daman and choli.

Way back in eighties, when thefirst colour TV was introduced bystate-owned broadcaster,Doordarshan (DD) to time with the1982 Asian Games which Indiahosted, at that time the Haryanvi loknritya and song “Meri chunarmangadey oh nandi key veera....” wastelecasted on television. It became themost popular Haryanvi dance track.Based on its music, Bhappi Lehricomposed a song “Mujhey naulakhamangadey rey.....” which became a bighit. Haryanvi folk music had greatcharm that attracted many fromBollywood. Raj Kumari, singer ofRohtak had sung a song “Sun bairibalam sach bol rey ib kyaa hogaa ...”This song has its own charm and isliked even today. Roshan musicdirector’s song “Chand sa mukhadakyun sharmaya...” and “Kabhi alagna hogi alag kaya sey kaya...” alsobecame popular. Even today, the latestmovies and music albums make useof Haryanvi music and songs like“Tu raja ki raj dulari” in Oye Lucky!Lucky Oye! , “Bam lehri” by KailashKher, “O pardesi” in Dev D.

Many villages have been namedafter the raaginis of Haryana. Forexample, Pillu village was namedafter Pillu raag. This was never foundin any other state of the country.

The state has prosperous Haryanviculture and the state government istaking steps to promote it. “Everyyear, on Haryana Day, newperformances in dance, song andtheatre are organised and contestantsare honoured with cash awards inorder to encourage promotion ofHaryanvi culture in Haryana. Lastyear, cash worth Rs 21,000 each was

given to a total of 19 boy and girlartists. Important and appreciablesteps have been taken to encouragethe artists by our chief minister,”said Bhal Singh Balhara, ProjectDirector, Department of Information,Public Relations and Cultural Affairs.

“Language has been a barrier inenhancing the popularity of Swang inother states. Therefore, we are tryingto reinvent Swang. Its language anddress has to undergo a change. Weneed both men and women as actorsto participate. It will make it morepopular among all sections. Thisyear the state government has givenRs one crore for the encouragementof cultural activities,” said ShivRaman Gaur, Director ofInformation, Public Relations andCultural Affairs.

There are theatres in Rohtak,Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Hisar and nowgovernment is thinking to open atheatre in Gurgaon. Haryana UrbanDevelopment Authority has played amajor contribution in constructingthem. In many parts of the state,there are small or big auditoriumswhere from time to time culturalprogrammes are held with the help oflocal natak mandalis. The membersof mandali are college students. Withtheir performance, they instill inother fellow Haryanvis the love forthe culture of their state.

The Department of CulturalAffairs has even recruited culturaland art officers in the field of theatre,dance, music and art who organiseprogrammes, workshops andexperiment with new ideas. Rafi Nitein Rohtak is a regular feature of thedepartment. Here youngsters areauditioned to be a part of culturalperformances.

Kala Academy and Kala Parishadalso have an important role inpromoting the culture of Haryana.Every year, cultural programmes areorganised by Kala Parishad as per thecalendar events in Indradhanushauditorium and others theatres in thestate. It also takes Haryanvi folkdance and music to other states.Every year, state level dance, musicand raagini competitions are heldwhere winning teams are given cashawards for first three positions.

In the whole country, Haryana isthe only state which is giving a cashaward of maximum Rs 1 lakh inorder to promote state culture. g


Haryana is a place ofdiversified beliefs and faiths.

The people have preserved theirculture in the form of dance,drama, music, art and celebrationof various fairs and festivalsthroughout the year. Theseseasonal fairs and festivals bringaffability among the people.Haryanvis take great delight inSwang (in Sanskrit) or Saang incommon parlance which is a folkdance with variants like Chhathi,Khoria, Dhamaal, Ghoomar,Jhoomar, Gugga and Loor. Theyrelish Raaslila, Raamlila anddramas during these occasions.

Swati Sethi travels to differentparts of the state to gaugecommunity effort in theatre,dance and singing.

THEATRE GROUPSHaryana does not have a theatre groupcarrying appeal across the state, thoughsmaller groups have been doingcommendable job at the local level indistrict, subdivision and town levels. Atseveral places, theatre groups conveyingsocial messages have been active forlong and even the authorities have beenusing them for creating awareness onsocial issues like literacy, sanitation,drug addiction and female foeticide.

For areas like Hisar andsurrounding, known for culturaldrought, a few theatre groups are likesprings of water in the desert. Thehistory of theatre is quite old in Hisar.About 40 years back, the first theatregroup was started in the town. Atpresent, two big theatre groups arefunctioning in Hisar. The theatre groupsHisar Rangmandal and Opera have beenproviding an opportunity to young

artists to showcase their talent inacting.

Started two years back, HisarRangmandal started with its firstperformance of a Russian writer,Anton Chekhov’s play, Seduction.Other plays performed by them areLakeerein written by Gulzar, Holiand Karoron Mein Ek. Karoron MeinEk is written by famous moviewriter, actor and director MakrandDeshpande.

Anoop Goyal Michoo, FounderDirector of the Hisar Rangmandal,says, “We started our theatre grouptwo years back and so far we havedone more than 13 plays. Soon weare going to start our new playLagaan, written by famous writerBhisham Sahni. We are alsoplanning to organise a one weektheatre festival of Nadira Babbarhere in which two plays, Sakku Baiand Yaar Bana Badi will be staged.We are also planning to inviteYashpal Sharma and Sarita Joshifor this festival.”

In Fatehabad, the Jatan NatyaManch started its journey in 1986.The group started their plays withthe theme of national unity andintegrity and againstcommunalism. The Jatan NaytaManch enacted plays in the years1992 to 1996 during the ‘LiteracyDrive’ in Fatehabad. Some of theirfamous plays Apharan BhaichaareDa, Beti Padh Kar Kya Karegi andNashedi Chacha received animmense response, wherever

staged. Vinod Kakkar, Director JatanNatya Manch, opines, “In 2004, westarted a campaign against drugaddiction. We did more than 30 shows ofthe play Nashedi Chacha on differentplaces. These were street plays wherethe actors presented the show in villageChaupals, slum areas of the town andother public places amidst appreciativeaudience.”

He further says that he had to closethe Jatan Natya Manch because theartists who worked with the Manchwere amateurs and they settled indifferent professions and cities with thepassage of time. Theatre is not verypopular in this part of the country andhence one cannot make a living out of it.

Though in Sirsa city there is notheatre group but in Dabwali, situatedat Punjab border in Sirsa district, atheatre group named Natyam Group

Amateurs addlustre to artsArtists of Hisar Rangmandalgiving stage performance


Mandal is working for the last six years.The group started its journey in 2004.They have so far staged 35 plays. Someof the plays performed by this groupare Kudrat De Sab Bande, Chand JabRoti Lagta Hai, Jab Main Sirf AuratHoti Hun, Hum Sab Abhimanyu Hain,Rabba Rabba Meeh Barsa, Panchi HunKidhar Nu Jaan, Zindagi, Hum Sab EkHain, Kalakh Hanere and BaalBhagwan.

Sanjeev Shaad, Director, NatyamGroup Mandal informs, “Our theatregroup has performed a street play DoBoondan Zindagi Diyan for Polioawareness. We have also performed adance drama on awareness againstfemale foeticide in different cities andvillages. We have been awarded with Rs21,000 by Chief Minister BhupinderSingh Hooda in Sirsa. We organise aNatak Mela every year in Dabwali.”

Haryana government is constructingan open air theatre in Dabwali.

SINGING

Haryanvi raaginis are very popularamong people throughout the state.While residents of Hisar district havethe Haryanvi ethos, those living in Sirsaand Fatehabad have the mixed cultureof Punjab and Haryana due to theirgeographical locations. Both districtsshare their boundaries with Punjab aswell as Rajasthan. Among the raaginisingers in this part of Haryana, MadhuSharma is a household name. Over thepast some years, Madhu Sharma’s namehas become synonymous with raaginis.At present, working in Haryanaelectricity board, Madhu Sharmastarted singing at the age of nine and

writing songs at the age of 13. Anexceptionally talented artist, MadhuSharma has so far won many awardsduring her singing career.

These include winning awards in astate level raagini competition held inKurukshetra on the occasion of GeetaJayanti in 1994 and in a nationalcultural programme held in HimachalPradesh in 1996, Dr AmbedkarFellowship during 20th NationalConference of Dalits in 2004 and thebest singer award on Haryana Day in2006.

Madhu Sharma says, “I gotinspiration of singing and writingsongs from Karam Pal Sharma, a folksinger from Uttar Pradesh and from myfather. I have so far performed inthousands of stage shows including oneduring a visit of Sonia Gandhi andPrime Minister Manmohan Singhduring elections’ time and several visitsof chief minister.” One can see hersinging in the programmes organisedby the government in Hisar. Audiocassettes of her songs are doing briskbusiness in the market. She has sungthree songs in a forthcoming Haryanvifilm, Muthbhed.

Rajnish Kaur, a versatile singer fromFatehabad is a well-known name in thearea. She has equal command overHaryanvi as well as Punjabi folk.Considered the duplicate copy ofPakistani singer Reshma, she sings Sufisongs with equal ease.

Rajnish started singing at collegelevel. Later she opted for music asprofession. She learnt classical musicfrom Bakshi Ram in Sirsa. She sang forDelhi Radio station and then migrated

to Rohtak Radio Station. Aftermarriage, she learnt vocal music fromher husband Anil Sharma, a musicteacher in Fatehabad. She is also well-versed with the art of dancing andtrains students of colleges for youthfestival.

CINEMAS

Cinema has undergone several shifts inits fortunes in the last two or threedecades. Cinema halls used to attracthuge crowds initially and people used tosee the first shows of all good movieseven by purchasing tickets for apremium. Then came the televisionboom and cinemas stopped attractingmuch crowds. Cinema halls receivedonly lower class visitors for years and inthe process, several of them wereclosed. However, a new trend ofmultiplexes started in the last onedecade gave a new impetus to cinema inHaryana.

In Hisar, although there are fourmovie theatres but only two of them areable to grab audience. One is Sun CityMall which has two movie screens andother is Nand Talkie Town owned byZee Group. Other two theatres are EliteCinema and Neelam Cinema.Upmarkets’ Parijat Complex and SheilaComplex have come up at the siteswhere once Parijat Cinema and SheilaTheatre existed as the owners wereunable to attract enough customers.

In Fatehabad, there were two cinemahalls but now both have been closed.People of Fatehabad go to Hisar andSirsa for movies. In Sirsa, there is onemultiplex, OHM Cine Garden which hastwo movie screens. g

Rohit Kaushik, a Fatehabad basedstage artist, has made his mark inthe field of drama. A resident ofBhiwani, Rohit has been active inthe field of theatre in the area forquite some time. Rohit Kaushikstaked his claim for a new worldrecord for the longest duration ofstage performance by enacting aplay, Chhata Pandav, continuouslyfor 24 hours and 8 minutes duringwhich he staged the play 25 times.Rohit started his performance in thelocal Manohar Memorial College ofEducation on March 7, 2009 at11:55 am and finished at 3:27 pm

today. During this period, hestaged Chhata Pandav 25 times,taking a rest of five minutes aftereach performance. His name hasbeen entered in the Limca Book ofRecords for the year 2010.

“The earlier world record standsin the name of a duo, KrishanaBhorkar and Sanvinder Mukesh,who staged a play, ‘The Blame’, 16times on May 28, 2007, in 13hours and 15 minutes, of which theactual performance time was 10hours and 40 minutes, the restbeing the time of intervals,”Kaushik claimed.


Bhal Singh Balhara’sdevotion to culture is

well-known. What is now alittle less known is that he isa versatile actor and singer.He loves old culture whileappreciating andencouraging new trends.Here is his first personaccount as related to ourstaff writer Ruchi Sharma.

Today, there are numerousmediums of entertainment availablefor all age groups. But there was atime in Haryana, when the word‘entertainment’ for people simplymeant Swang. The craze of Swangwas so much that people used totravel from far to witness it. Thedrama was performed by males onlywhere female part was also played bythem.

The ten days of Ramleelacontributed immensely in theevolution of theatrical performances.All actors were males. Thisdiscouraged women from fullyparticipating and taking up the roleslike that of Sita.

There used to be differentexcitement among the villageaudience. They would finish off theirchores early so that they could goand watch the Ramleela which wastheir only source of entertainmentin those days. Later, Krishna janam(Birth of Lord Krishana) alsobecame part of performance by theartists. Consequently, theatricalperformance took shape of Swang.

In those days, poor families inorder to marry off their daughtersused to organise Swang for ten daysthat helped them make good moneyfor their daughter’s marriage evenafter paying off the Swangi’s share.This way the Swangi had a veryimportant role in society. Sometimes,

money collected through Swang wasused for a social cause like inKaithal, Rs 7 lakh were earned byorganising Swang for opening agaushala.

In folk theatre- Swang, thepopular names are Pt Lakhmi Chand,Baaje Bhagat, Rai Dhapat Singh, PtMange Ram, Sultan, Khema, Pt RamKrishan Beas, Kishan Lal Bhaat, AliBaksh, Bansi Bhatt and others.

Pt Mange Ram had first startedSwang in village Kiloharad inSonipat. Pt Mange Ram and LakhmiChand wrote Swang on Krishna,

Ramayana, Pingla Bharati andothers. Swang on Pingla Bharatishowed how Pingla Bharti who was aking, lost everything and wasreduced to a mere pauper due to hisvice of drinking. This Swang gaveout a strong message againstdrinking of alcohol.

The origin of Swang is traced toKishan Lal Bhaat, who some twohundred years ago is said to havelaid the foundation of the presentstyle of folk theatre. Ali Baksh ofRewari was another notable earlypioneer who successfully staged

Folk Theatre:And the show goes on...


plays like Fasanai, Azad andPadmawat. Deepchand Bahman ofvillage Sheri Khanda in Sonipat wasthe most celebrated artiste inHaryana. He is still popular withpublic and popularly known as‘Shakespeare or Kalidas of Haryana’.He refined the style of Ali Baksh andgave this folk art a new form. His

performance had combined elementsof music, dance, pantomime,versification and ballad recitation.He entertained the British and washonoured with the title of 'RaiSahib' by the British government.Voice culture and voice modulationwere his outstanding contributionsto Swaang.

Pt Lakhmi Chand of Jatti Kalan inSonipat is known as Surya Kavi (SunPoet) in Haryanvi raaginis. Most ofSwangs and raagnis have stamp ofhis name in poetry. ImportantSwangs staged by him are Nal

Damyanti, Meera Bai, SatyavanSavitri, Poorjan, Seth Tara Chand,Puran Bhagat and Shashi Lakarhara.

In Swang, the instrument playerssit in the middle of the stage and inthe front, artists perform by movingin circles with enthusiasm. In oldentimes, the zealous performance ofthe artists used to prompt audienceto dig in their pockets and gratifythem with money for entertainingthem to the core. Swangs are not justentertainment based but followthemes of morality, folk tales, lives ofinspiring personalities, stories fromIndian mythology and themes ofcurrent times like health andhygiene, literacy, AIDS awarenessand women empowerment. Everydrama ends with some message tothe society with good values winningover the evil values.

There have been many Swangsthat enacted love stories but thoselove stories were different. Such lovestories cannot be seen and felt thesedays. The element of emotioninvolved in the stories used to playan outstanding impact on theaudience.

REVIVAL OF THEATRE

This old folk theatre and its flavourhave been lost in the sand of times.With hard efforts of officials ofDepartment of Cultural Affairs,Haryana, the remaining saangis weresearched for in districts, tehsils andother areas. After much labour, fivesaangis were found. The old saangishad switched to some otheroccupations as performing in Swangwas not enough to feed theirfamilies. Earlier, whole group ofsaangis used to earn Rs 4,000 pershow which was very low. Saangisare a group of 16 people, of whichsome perform on stage, some playmusic instruments and some singraaginis. Now each saangi can earnup to Rs 25,000.

The Department of Information,Public Relations and CulturalAffairs, Haryana, revived the folktheatre in 2006. Though theyoungsters of Haryana were notcompletely aware of Swang, but inthe very first event of seven days’Swang organised by the department,the whole auditorium was fullypacked to the capacity. Even thePunjabi brothers had also dropped into witness the event. As the Swang

gained popularity, the inflow ofspectators also increased day by day.Huge response among the peopleprompted the department to organiseanother show in another auditoriumat Kala Gram in Chandigarh.

Every year Swang festival isorganised twice by the CulturalAffairs Department in the differentdistricts of Haryana. One Swangfestival happens in July and theother in the month of September.The government is promoting theculture of Haryana by organisingsuch folk events so that youngsterscan reunite with their roots.

This year in July, the departmenthas organised 90 Swangs in eightdistricts namely Rohtak, Hisar,Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra,Sonipat and Gurgaon. Swang whichhad lost its charm has regained itsfame among people. The programmesgenerated a good public response.Lot of emails came in appreciation ofthe Swangs organised. Manydemanded more of Swangs. Saangisalso got a chance to enhance theirearning through such events.

The Chief Minister of Haryana,Bhupinder Singh Hooda has takenappreciable steps to encourage allsaangis. He has given them a grant ofRs 60 lakhs and each saangi hasreceived Rs 50,000. The support ofKK Khandelwal, the FinancialCommissioner and Shiv Raman Gaur,the Director of Department ofInformation, Public Relations andCultural Affairs has been veryinspiring in the revival of folktheatre of Haryana. Liberty is givento innovate and experiment with newideas in order to present the lostculture of Haryana in its right form.

Language has been a barrier formany to understand Swang. Incoming times, Swangs would bepresented in simple Hindi languageso that it does not lose its Haryanviflavour and youngsters can alsoeasily understand it.

In the year 2008, Chief MinsterHooda himself came to watch theSwang programme at Indradhanushauditorium at Panchkula. Heappreciated the efforts of thedepartment and the saangis who arecollectively helping in retaining theold culture of Haryana. Heannounced Rs 34 lakh to thedepartment for coming up with moresuch shows in future. g


Tania G.S. Chauhan

‘Contemporary’ denotes ‘of one’sown time’. This is quiet an

ambiguous adjective because ourparents’ generation remembers the1950s and 1960s as contemporary,whereas our children define it as thepresent. Somewhere in the middle, asalways lies the most acceptablemeaning, unless we broaden ithistorically to cover everything since1947. However, we can statecategorically that some major theatrepersonalities-regarded as‘contemporary’ a decade ago-therebyget left out of the picture now. In thisarticle we wish to discuss the makersof the contemporary theatre inHaryana.

Vishnu Prabhakar (June 21, 1912 –April 11, 2009) was a Hindi writer. Hehad several short stories, novels, playsand travelogues to his credit.Prabhakar's works have elements ofpatriotism, nationalism and socialmessages. He was awarded the SahityaAkademi Award in 1993, MahapanditRahul Sankrityayan Award in 1995 andthe Padma Bhushan (the third highestcivilian honor of India) by theGovernment of India in 2004. Alongwith his work he pursued an interestin literature. He also joined a Natakcompany in Hisar. His literary lifestarted with the publication of his firststory Diwali in the Hindi Milap in1931. He wrote Hatya Ke Baad, his first

play in 1939. Eventually he took upwriting as a full-time career. Althoughmainly a story writer, VishnuPrabhakar has written in all thegenres of literature with the onlyexception being poetry. He did not lethimself limit to any special school ofthought and it is reflected in his vastvariety of works. He was initiallyinfluenced by Munshi Premchand butlater started following Sharatchandra.His works are said to be a mirror ofmodern Indian society. Prabhakar'sworks concentrate on the problems oftoday's Indian society. In his drama,Tootate Parivesh, he writes about amodern family in which gaps betweenyounger and older generation areincreasing. His novel Koi To tells howcorrupt politics has become in moderntimes.

Prabhakar was influenced by theprinciples of non-violence of MahatmaGandhi. This can be seen in hiswriting very often. In some of hisworks, oppressed female characterstalk like philosophers and even dacoitswho usually are expected to havenegative roles are full of humanitarianvalues. This is the reason why somecritics labelled him as a Gandhianideologist. Prabhakar was also affectedby foreign authors. He had studied LeoTolstoy, Thomas Hardy, CharlesDickens, O'Henry and O'Neil in-depth.In an interview, he said that Tolstoy'sWar and Peace had influenced himvery much.

Among his novels were- Dhalti Raat,1951, Nishikant, 1955, Tat Ke Bandhan,1955, Swapnmayi, 1956, Darpan KaVyakti, 1968, Parchhai, 1968, Koi To,1980, Ardhnarishwar, 1992. His storiesincluded- Ek Kahani Ka Janam(Collection of his Love Stories), 2008,Aadi Aur Ant, 1945, Rehman Ka Beta,1947, Zindagi Ke Thapede, 1952,Sangharsh Ke Baad, 1953, Dharti AbBhi Ghoom Rahi Hai, 1959, Safar KeSaathi, 1960, Khandit Pooja, 1960,Sanche Aur Kala, 1962, Meri TentisKahaniya, 1967, Meri Priya Kahaniya,1970, Pul Tootne Se Pehle, 1977, MeraWatan 1980, Meri Lokpriya Kahaniya,1981, Khilone, 1981, Aapki Kripa (ShortStories), 1982, Meri Kahaniya, 1984,Meri Kathayatra, 1984, Ek Aur Kunti,

1985, Zindagi Ek Rehearsal, 1986. Hisplays were Naprabhat, 1951, Samaadhi(Gaandhar Ki Bhikshuni), 1952, Doctor,1961, Yuge-Yuge Kranti, 1969, Toot-teParivesh, 1974, Kuhaasa Aur Kiran,1975, Tagar, 1977, Bandini, 1979, SattaKe Aar-Paar, 1981, Ab Aur Nahin, 1981,Shwet Kamal, 1984, Keral KaKrantikari, 1987 and Vishnu Prabhkar :

Makers of contempora


Sampurna Natak (Part-1,2,3), 1987.Jai Nath Nalin is one of the most

reputed names in the playwrights ofHaryana. His one act plays whichincluded Nawabi Sanak, Haathi KeDaant, Nishant, Naye apardey NayeDrishya, Timir Bhanwar mein UgaChand, Rang Navrang, Sone keHathkari, Phool toot gaye and Toofani

raat ka Gulabi Suraj have beenpublished by Haryana SahityaAcademy in one act compilationNavrang. Yagya Vidhwans is a satireon the Guru Shishya Parampara. JaiNath Nalin worked in a college ofBhiwani for many years. He has beenawarded by the Government ofHaryana for his contribution to Hindilanguage and literature.

Dr Kanwal Nayan Kapoor holds apivotal place among the makers ofcontemporary theatre in Haryana. Hehas penned down the following seriesof one act plays- Yatra aur Yatra (1978),Aao mere saath (1990), Hum (1988). Hisplays Panchitatharam Prakriti Parvand Shav Pooja were well-known. ShavPooja was a play based on a folk talewhich was staged with moderntechniques. His plays have completed300 shows. Though his mother tongueis Punjabi but his mode of writing isHindi. He has always tried to representthe historical characters in a modernway. From the point of design his playshave a strong co-ordination betweenSanskrit theatre, Western theatre andFolk theatre of India. His landmarkproductions were Lanka Dahan, Jantaaur Chuhiya, Aao mere sathi. Researchhas been done on the works of DrKanwal Nayan Kapoor. At present, heis working as a professor in M NCollege, Yamunanagar.

Amrit Lal Madan- holds animportant place in the Haryanviliterature. His known works are ToottaHua Aakash, Zindagi aur Natak,Tathasthu Ek Sidharth (Playscollection), Talaash Jaari hai (awardedby Haryana Sahitya Academy),Zindagi aur Natak, Suno ye awazeinand Miyan j eke juen, Mrigtrishna (oneact play), Kala Vardan (awarded byInformation and Public RelationsDepartment, Himachal Pradesh).Chupan Chupai and Aastheen kasaamp were awarded by the languagedepartment of Punjab and Haryana.

Swadesh Deepak is a popularIndian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active onthe Hindi literary scene since the mid1960s and is best known for CourtMartial, a path breaking play that hepublished in 1991. Deepak's most recent

book is Maine Mandu Nahin Dekha, avolume of memoirs. Deepak's work hasappeared in all major literaryperiodicals of India, and he has morethan 15 published titles to his credit.Several of his works have been stagedand made into television programmes.The first collection of stories thatDeepak published in the 1973 wasAshwarohi (The Rider), which marksthe birth of his grim, dark storytellingstyle on the literary scene. Over thenext few years, Deepak wrote some ofhis most popular stories--Aheri, MaraHua Pakshi, Maatam, Jaihind, KyunkiMain Use Jaanta Nahin, Kisi Ek PedKa Naam Lo, Kyunki Hawa PadhNahin Sakti, Tamaasha and Paapi Pet,to name just a few. Deepak alsopublished two novels in Hindi, Number57 Squadron and Mayapot (ThePhantom Ship). The latter evokedmixed response from readers andcritics. A collection of the fineststories of Swadesh Deepak, titledPratinidhi Kahaniyan (RepresentativeStories) was published in the mid1980s. Swadesh Deepak was widelyrecognised as one of the finestplaywrights in the country after thepublication of ‘Court Martial’. Theplay hits hard the roots of casteism inthe Indian Army. Court Martial hasbeen staged close to 2000 times in Indiaby well-known Indian theatre directorsRanjeet Kapoor, Arvind Gaur, UshaGanguli, and Abhijeet Choudhary.Deepak is one of the few playwrightsto win the Sangeet Natak AkademiAward 2004, the most prestigiousaward conferred to a performing artistin India. He is, undoubtedly, the bestknown writer that Haryana hasproduced, and one of the finest in hisgeneration.

Indra Swapna, Om Prakash Rahat,Krishna Manav, Jamanadas,Manmohan Gupta ‘Moni’, Dr RameshGupta, Kahmere Lal Jakir, RaghuveerSingh Mathana, Kumar Ravindra,Pooranchand Pandey, Parvati devi,Surendra Nath Saxena, DrRattanchandra Sharma, GurmeetRamal (Meet) are other renownedHaryanvi writers. g

The writer is Cultural officer-Theatre, DIPRCA, Haryana

ry theatre in Haryana


Renu Hooda

Films are cultural artifacts createdby specific cultures, which reflect

those cultures, and, in turn, affectthem. Film is considered to be animportant art form, a source of popularentertainment and a powerful methodfor educating citizens.

The folk culture, dialect, festivalsand prosperity of Haryana attract oneand all but these can be glimpsed intheir composite form in the Haryanvifilms made 20-25 years back.Chandrawal (1984) gives one a spectacleof the culture, music, folk songs andhumour of Haryanvi life. Chandrawalnot only turned out to be a livingexample of local culture for the modernyouth but familiarised states likeRajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradeshwith Haryanvi culture. It celebrated itssilver jubilee throughout North India.There would be no exaggeration insaying that it outdid even thecontemporary blockbusters like Sholayand Bobby. Made in Rs 5 lakh only, this film earned abusiness of three crores. Even today,the people are found humming thesongs of this film which are often heard on festive occasions like marriages andother parties.

THE JOURNEY OF HARYANVI FILMS

Going down the alleys of history offilmmaking in Haryana, we find that sofar 40 films have been made. BeeraShera, a black and white film markedthe beginning of Haryanvi filmmakingduring the seventh decade of the lastcentury. But since the cast of this filmwas not from Haryana, it did not dowell. Even Harphool Jaat Julane Wala(1976) did not come up to theexpectations of the viewers. Then in1981, Arvind Swami made Bahuraniwith J P Kaushik as music director andBhal Singh Balhara as playback singer.The hero of this film was Bhal SinghBalhara while the heroine was SumitraHooda. Following the success ofBahurani and Chandrawal, some otherproducers also started making filmsand then there was a spate of Haryanvifilms. In 1989, Jar Joru Jameen wasmade by Harish Arora and O PHaryanvi. Late Jayant Prabhakardirected it.

Bhal Singh Balhara, the hero ofBahurani and Mhari Dharti Mhari Maaopines that it is imperative to interlaceHaryanvi films with chastity of dialectand introduce native artists forrejuvenating them. Only then they willbe able to attract the viewers. The filmslike Chhabeeli, Chhail Gabhru, ChhailGailya Jaangi, Chaand Chakori,Chandrawal, Chandro, Chhora Jaat Ka,Gulabo, Jaatani Ke Supne, LaadoBasanti, Peehar Saasra, Mhari DhartiMhari Maa, Muklava, Panghat,Phagun Aye Re, Phool Badan, PremiRamphal etc were liked and well-received in Rohtak, Sonipat, Kaithal,Hisar, Jind, Bhiwani, Karnal,Kurukshetra, Gurgaon and Rajasthan.The songs and dances of these filmsalso became very popular. Of these,Phool Badan and Basanti were also

telecast on Delhi Doordarshan.Arvind Swami is an icon of

Haryanvi film industry. He has directedmany films which exhibit socialinjustice in society. He has taken theinitiative of promoting the culture ofHaryana through his films like ChhailGailyaan Jaangi, Chhail Gabbroo,Chora Jaat Ka, Barri and Mhari DhartiMhari Maa.

He got 'Devi Shankar PrabhakarAward' by Haryana Government for hisexcellent contribution to filmmaking in2009. He has also made many TV serialsand even casted Shahrukh Khan in aserial Adhuri zindgi based on drugs andeye donation.

Harvinder Malik is a talented artistin the field of television and cinema. Hehas always been doing his best topromote the Haryanvi culture bymaking music videos and films.Harvinder Malik was the first one toconceptualise and present the Haryanvifolk as Haryanvi Pop and producedmany super hit Haryanvi Pop musicalbums like Git Pit Git Pit Guturghun.Usha Sharma, the heroine of PhoolBadanand Chandrawal admits that toattract the viewers once again towardsthe Haryanvi films, their standard willhave to be raised. Therefore, UshaSharma wants to make Chandrawal- IIi.e. the sequel of Chandrawal. She isawfully engaged in filmmaking thesedays.

There is no dearth of art and artistsin a prosperous state like Haryana. Theartists of Haryana viz Randip Hooda,Pardeep Hooda, Jaydeep and MeghnaMalik are making a niche forthemselves in Hindi cinema today. Thefolk dance and folk music of Haryanahave made their presence feltthroughout the world. g

The writer is Art Officer, DIPRCA,Haryana

Lights,camera,action!

Haryanvi films are a mirror of the culture of Haryana


Dr Deepika Walia

Haryana has since antiquity, beenthe nucleus of Indian culture. Its

folk culture is reflected in the variedforms of its folk life. There has beena very rich tradition of folk songsand folk dances in Haryana. It isperhaps the only state in India whichhas several of its villages namedafter Ragas. It clearly indicates thatthere must have been a well-developed music tradition here in thepast.

Folk music is known to be anintegral part of our folk life. Folkmusic has a specific and vital role toplay in the cultural praxis andtradition of a region. Themusicologists composed Ragas basedon the folk music of many a provincee.g. Pahadi, Maand etc. In moderntimes, the electronic devices likeradio, television, films, cassettes,CDs etc have turned out to be potentsources of spreading the melodies farand wide.

Enchanted by the popularity ofHindi films, the regional films alsocame into existence. The mostnoticeable characteristic of these

regional films was that even theilliterate and aged members of thefamily could also enjoy them fully.They were inspired with the messageenshrined in them. Through films,the music of different states reacheddifferent parts of the country.

Haryana too, did not lag behind inthis field. Here also full screen filmslike Chandrawal, Bahurani, Panghat,Bateiu, Chhail Gabhru, ChhailGailya Jaangi, Jar Joru Jameen andmany more were made. Thepeculiarity of films in Haryanvidialect lay in their respective plotswhich were chosen from the folk lifeof this region. Most of the filmsdwelt on the themes like land feuds,exogamous matrimony or love-affair,the generations old family disputes

and rich-poor conflict. It was onlythese films which made our folkmusic and folk tunes transgress theprovincial boundaries and spreadtheir sweetness far and wide in thecountry.

Although all the Haryanvi filmswere not box-office hits, yetChandrawal made a nationwideimpact. Notable music director J PKaushik composed the music for thisfilm while playback singers wereBhal Singh Balhara and Dilraj Kaur.

Almost all the Haryanvi filmsinclude traditional female folk songsalong with the newly written songsand group-dances. The new songs aredominated with the spirit of romancee.g. “Mere Paachhe paache aavan kabhala Kaun sa matlab tera sai” (What

do you mean by following me likethis?) or “Nain Katore Kaajal doremain to tan mann varr gaya” (Youreyes are no less than cups of kohl.I’m just dying for you) etc.

Women’s folk songs arepredominantly romantic in natureand at the same time have socialcontent also. The songs like “MeriPatli Kamar nada Jhubbedar liayo”(I have a slender waist. Please bringan ornament ‘nada’ for me) and“Mera daaman sima de re o nandi kebeera” (You! the brother of my sister-in-law, please get a daaman stitchedfor me) are the best illustrations offolk songs used in films sweetenedwith the voice of stalwarts likeSuresh Wadekar, Bhal Singh Balharaand Dilraj Kaur. These songs havebecome an everlasting heritage ofHaryanvi film music.

Haryanvi films gave the folk musica good musical composition andstudio voice quality. This has addedto its mellifluousness. Despite thedominance of romance in them,these songs can be relished even inthe company of family members.Their subject matter is essentiallysocial and cultural in nature.

Film Laado was directed byAshwini Chaudhary and all its songswere hit in those times and eventoday they are equally popularamong all. A raagini of this film“Pani aali pani piyadey…..” sung byRajinder Kharkia is so popular thatit is sung in almost every function ofHaryana. Two songs of this film“Aadhi si Raat meri neend uchhattgayi …”, “Mahari gali mein aaya risapera….” are the popular songswhich are also sung by youngsters atstate level functions of Haryana.These songs are appreciated even atinternational level. If popularity ofHaryanvi folk music continues togrow like this, then Haryanvi folkmusic will soon top national andinternational music charts. g

The writer is Cultural Officer-Music, DIPRCA, Haryana

The sound of musicHaryanvi films have played an important role in popularising thefolk music and folk tunes of Haryana

Music director JP KaushikHaryanvi films gavethe folk music a goodmusical compositionand studio voicequality. This hasadded to itsmellifluousness.

Ravneet Kaur Brar

OM PURI THE MAN AND HIS JOURNEYHis friend for decades, the multifacetedactor, Naseeruddin Shah once movinglysummed up the life of an equallyversatile actor, Om Puri as “born with awooden spoon in his mouth.” His wifeNandita’s granular biography reveals,Puri has no birth certificate either anddoes not in fact know when he wasborn. What is sure is that it wasAmbala where he was born, didschooling up to matriculation and thattoo with the help of some generousrelative.

Early memories of Om Puriresemble those of Charlie Chaplin;demeaning poverty and grindingmenial work. His early memories are ofhis hands tied to his bed to prevent himfrom scratching his smallpox ulcers orof eating some rotten mangoes andwashing dirty cups in a local tea dhaba.

He was destined to grow as a plainman from Ambala. It was plain luckthat his acting talent was recognisedearly and was encouraged by friendsand well-wishers at every stage. ThePunjab theatre group director foundhim the job of a lower division clerk, sothat he could devote himself to theatreat night. Then Ebrahim Alkazi helpedhim overcome his embarrassingly poorEnglish and helped him shine at theNational School of Drama. GirishKarnad, the then director of the Filmand Television Institute of India tookhim on for the acting course even whenother selectors were doubtful justbecause of those pork marks and hisbuddy Naseeruddin helped himthroughout in the ever competitive

killing world of Mumbai cinema. Om Puri has, however, not been just

plain lucky. He had talent andperseverance to master talent foracting. The result is masterpieceswhich now form mileposts in thehistory of Indian cinema. Aakrosh,Ardh Satya, Bhavani Bhavai, Sparsh,Mirch Masala, Sadgati and Jaane BhiDo Yaaro testify his versatile genius.

When he found the spaces forparallel cinema diminish, Puri used hismalleability to move on to mainstreamcinema. He is part of successful filmslike Maachis, Hera Pheri, Chachi 420,Dev and Maqbool. From Satyajit Ray toMani Ratnam, the country’s mostsignificant directors have found himvaluable to cast. Now he can claim tohave conquered the west. He hasworked with names like RichardAttenborough, Mike Nichols, JackNicholson, Ismail Merchant andMichael Winterbottom.

His performances in British filmslike ‘Brothers in Trouble’, ‘My Son theFanatic’ and ‘East is East’ are equallysignificant to those in Aakrosh, ArdhSatya or Mirch Masala.

Filmmakers who gave Om Puripowerful roles to go with hisunconventional traits never regretted.His talent only added to the triumph oftheir films.

SUNIL DUTT THE MAN WITH MANY BEAUTIFULHATS

Sunil Dutt had all those qualities whichmade a successful actor. He was tall,handsome and talented. Born inJhelum and settled in a Yamunanagarvillage, he had the spirit of adventure

that took him to politics and socialactivism. He proved to be a greatperforming actor, a powerful, honestand committed politician and devotedto peace.

Born as Balraj Dutt, he later came tobe known as Sunil Dutt. He was bornon 6 June 1929 in Khurd, JhelumDistrict of Punjab in Pakistan. He wasbrought up in a village Mandoli inYamunanagar, Haryana. Whenever hefound time, he visited this village andoffered his ready help. For peace in thetrouble torn Punjab, he led a riskypadyatra and did not care for thebooming guns which were turning thefields red with the blood of theinnocent and not so innocent.

DEBUT AS ACTOR

After working as an announcer in theHindi Radio channel, Radio Ceylon,Dutt got a chance to enter the filmworld, when director Ramesh Saigaloffered him the hero's role in his NaliniJaywant starrer Railway Platform(1955).

Ek Hi Raasta (1956), marked the startof a long association with directorproducer B R Chopra. But his truebreakthrough came with MehboobKhan's magnum opus, Mother India(1957). Interestingly, Nargis was one ofthe most celebrated beautiful actresseshe met in the course of his work. Hisportrayal of Birju, Nargis’ rebelliousyounger son, portrayed a raw energy.Dutt's association with Nargis in themovie resulted in a more serious one,when he married her after the releaseof the film.

He worked some of the hit films likeGumraah (1963), Waqt (1965), andHamraaz (1967). From 1960 to 1970 hehas given several hits like Sadhna

Toast totwo

versatileactors


(1958), Sujata (1959), Mujhe Jeene Do(1963), Khandaan (1965) and Padosan(1967). He acted in writer AghajaniKashmeri movies like Ghazal, MujheJeene Do, and Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke.

Dutt's role in female oriented filmslike Sadhna(1958), Sujata(1959) andMain Chup Rahungi(1962) won acclaim.Noted filmmakers like Bimal Roy,Hrishikesh Mukherjee and B R Chopradared to change Dutt's establishedrebellious Birju image and cast him asa sensitive lover.

In 1964, he appeared in film Yaadein,which led to the entry of his name inthe Guinness Book of World Records inthe Fewest Actors in a Narrative Filmcategory. The actor produced the filmnamed Man Ka Meet (1968) and castbrother Som Dutt in the lead role. Healso directed and acted in a film,Reshma Aur Shera (1971) which flopped.But soon he came up with hits likePran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974),Nagin (1976), Jaani Dushman (1979),and Shaan (1980). He has also acted insome of the Punjabi movies like ManJeete Jag Jeet (1973), Dukh BhanjanTera Naam (1974) and Sat Sri Akal(1977).

He received the Filmfare Best ActorAward for films like Khandaan andMujhe Jeene Do. He was honoured withthe Padma Shri, and LifetimeAchievement Award from Filmfare,Star Screen and Zee Cine. DadasahebPhalke Academy honoured him withPhalke Ratna Award in 2005.

Sunil directed his son Sanjay's debutfilm Rocky. This film was a hugesuccess but at the same time broughtthe sad news of Nargis' death due tocancer. Parampara (1992) andKshatriya (1993) were among his lastreleases and after some years heappeared in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003)starring Sanjay Dutt. This was Sunil'slast film.

In all he acted in 102 films, directedsix and also produced another sixfilms, many of them box office hits.The couple had three children -SanjayDutt, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt(Anju).

Sunil was a minister in theManmohan Singh government forYouth Affairs and Sports. He joinedCongress in 1984 and became a Memberof Parliament later. In 1982, he held theposition of Sheriff of Mumbai.

This versatile actor and politicianpassed away in 2005 after a heart attackin Mumbai. g

MALLIKA SHEHRAWAT The Bold And The Beautiful

Swati Sethi

AHaryanvi girl having grown in asmall town like Rohtak has

made it big in Indian cinema. Earlierknown as Reema Lamba, she adoptedthe screen name of Mallika to avoidconfusion with other actressesnamed Reema. She completed herschool education at Delhi PublicSchool, Mathura Road and obtaineda degree in Philosophy fromMiranda House, Delhi University.

A small-town girl, Mallika alwayshad stars in her eyes and wasdetermined to pursue the glamourprofession. Even though herconservative father was against herdecision, Mallika defied his wishesand moved to Mumbai to carve aniche for herself in the big world ofshowbiz. She also walked out of hermarriage with Jet Airways pilotCaptain Karan Singh Gill in Delhi topursue her dream. Mallika hadmarried Karan soon after shecompleted her graduation.

She started her career as a small-time model and actress from Delhi.Before coming to films, she acted intelevision commercials of BPL withAmitabh Bachchan and of Santrowith Shahrukh Khan. She also actedin a music video Lak Tunoo Tunoo

by Surjeet Bindrakhiya. She debutedin films with a small role in VashuBhagnani's Jeena Sirf Mere Liye,where she was credited as ReemaLamba.

Although she started her careerin films with Jeena Sirf Mere Liye, itwas Khwahish that brought her famein Bollywood. In 2004, she starred inMurder for which she got nominatedfor the Best Actress in the Zee CineAwards. In 2005, she acted in aChinese film ‘The Myth’ co-starringwith Jackie Chan. She played therole of an Indian princess in thisfilm. ‘The Myth’ was her firstInternational film. Her appearanceat the Cannes Film Festival topromote the film grabbed a lot ofattention with Time Magazine'sRichard Corliss calling her "the nextbig thing".

Her performance in the 2006 film,Pyaar Ke Side Effects won her praisefrom around the industry. She alsoplayed guest role in Mani Ratnam'sGuru and Himesh Reshammiya'sAap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story.Her release in 2007, Welcome also didwell at the box office. Her 2008releases were Ugly Aur Pagli andMaan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam. Bothfilms were not successful at the boxoffice.

In 2009, Mallika finished shootingfor a Hollywood film named ‘Hissss’directed by Jennifer Lynch. Thefilm, based on the legend of Naga, isan independent co-productionbetween the United States and India.Endeavour Independent has boughtthe distribution rights of ‘Hisss’.Mallika promoted the film with livesnakes at the Cannes Film Festival2010. She also finished shooting foranother Hollywood film, ‘Love,Barack’, directed by William Dear.She plays Aretha Gupta, a devotedObama, volunteer coordinator. Thefilm is a romantic comedy set duringBarack Obama's campaign for the USPresidency. First look of Love,Barack was unveiled by Mallika atCannes 2010.

She won the 2008 RenaissanceArtist Award at the 16th AnnualDiversity Awards held in California.On 14 August 2009, Mallika receiveda career recognition HonoraryCitizenship of Los Angeles for hercareer achievements and charitableefforts.


Tania G S Chauhan

In the quiet north Indian night, thesound of the nakkara drums

summons the spectators to aperformance of Swang. In town orvillage, the clatter of the drums is allthat is necessary to announce that aperformance is about to take place, forthe sound of the nakkara carries formiles through the night air, even abovethe voice of the city street.

Swang has been for decades apopular form of theatre in the northernregions of India – Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar.It is characterised by lusty singing andspirited dancing. It is sometimes lewdand slightly disreputable. In large citieslike Rohtak and Kurukshetra, a largemale audience fills the tent or courtyardto hear the singing of the traditionaltunes of this operatic theatre form.

Swang plays have a strong story line.

Tales taken from the great epics,popular legends, historical events andcontemporary society are played beforeaudience of diverse religiousbackgrounds. The form is nonethelesssecular in spirit and its objective isprimarily entertainment. Swang isnarrative in structure, operatic in styleand secular in spirit.

Swang has its roots in the genesis ofthe Indian theatre tradition. Sincewomen did not participate in the dance-

Saang:

Swang (in Sanskrit) or Saang in common parlance is a popular folk theatre form of Haryanawhich incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue

A perfect blend of

entertainment


drama form, men enacted their roles.As Swang is an all-men show, it involveselaborate make-up and costumes todisguise the men who play the roles ofwomen. After the make-up and changeof dress, a sudden transformationoccurs and the actors start looking andbehaving like women. And during theperformance, nobody recognises theactors dressed as women.

The change which overcomes thesemen during the performance is trulyamazing. Their manliness vanishes,shed with their male garb. Every one ofthem behaves as if they were born aswomen and would eventually die aswomen.

The performers of Swang, in thepast, supported themselves with theirearnings, but few are able to do so today.When there are no performances, theysupplement their income with otherwork.

As a dance-drama form, 'Swang' alsoincorporates suitable theatrics and'nakal' (mimicry) accompanied by songand dialogue. As is the case with anyfolk performing art of India, 'Swang',too, is dialogue-oriented rather thanmovement-oriented. And judging fromthe raucous laughter it evokes, theuninhibited and loud dialogue is muchappreciated.

THEATRICALITY IN SWANG

The term theatricality in Swang seemsto point towards spectacle rather thanreferring back to textuality insofar as itusually covers only those aspects ofdramatic representation that go beyondthe script. However, performative signsremain firmly imbedded in the script,though some directors may neglectthem. Thus, the text has precedence inany critical assessment of theatricality.For this reason, the approach towardstheatricality in Swang can be definedunder four headings: Actor’s training inSwang, Rendering of the text, Musicand Physical attitudes of the actor.

Actor’s training in SwangSwang actor is not limited to anyphysical and verbal training systems.He is intellectually aware of his socio-political surroundings and develops acritical attitude towards the happeningsaround.

To do this, the artists normally sit fortwo hours every day and practisecertain lines and sometimes evenimprovise. They discuss on a particularSwang performance. Different directors

of Swang or Saangis have their ownway of dealing with a particular Swang.Some Saangis are expert in PanditLakhmichand’s Swang, some in PanditMangeram’s Swang and so on.

The Saangi always demandselements of entertainment andinformation from his actors whileimprovising certain scenes of Swang.The instrument to achieve this isborrowed for Brecth’s theatre - the useof A-effect.

Sometimes during the rehearsal, theroles are swapped so that actor’s arebenefited by each other’s insight andcan get what they need form oneanother.

The actor of Swang masters hischaracter by paying critical attention tohis manifold utterances. He needs tosing and speak clearly.

Rendering of the text in Swang The script furnishes the dialogues forproducing and acting the play. But thescript is not the complete play. The wayit is communicated to the audience,decides the point of focus or thepurpose of its manifestation. Theexposition of the story and itscommunication by suitable meansconstitutes the theatre of Swang.

Swang has strong reservations forspeech technique.

Fixation of notes The language of Swang text has variedinfluences as well as many originalelements. This lends the language a

different charm.Addressing the audience directly

breaks the illusion of empathy and anyunwanted hypnotic tension.

The separation of emotion and thetext is an important aspect of Swang.

Use of music in SwangSwang music is meant for Swang only.Swang is mainly meant for massaudience, audience of ruralbackground. Swangs are Kissa basedperformances. Here music plays anintegral part.

Music in Swangs is folk based. It hasvarious performance elements. Theseinclude songs of struggle, songs ofrituals, satirical songs, songs ofdescription etc. where everyone in theaudience participates along with thesingers.

Music plays an important role incommunicating the meaning. It setsforth the text.

Orchestra is placed in full view ofthe audience.

Physical attitudes of the actorPhysical attitudes of the charactershown by the actor in Swang are basedon how he needs to show a particularclass and social aspect of the characterthereby all the time making a socialcomment. The gestures are thusgenerated from the actor’sunderstanding of the contemporarysocio-political situation. g

The writer is Cultural Officer-Theatre,DIPRCA, Haryana


Suman Dangi

Dance is an art that makeseverybody swing on his heels.

Every country or region has its ownclassical and folk dances which areinfluenced by the local culture andtradition. These very dances whenpresented in films in their new formand colour are known as film dances.

Dance and music have a great role toplay in the films. There are a few filmswhich are without music and dance.But undoubtedly, music adds charm to

any film. In the absence of music anddance, it won’t appeal to the viewersand will look dull and lifeless. Somefilms become a great success only dueto music and dance inspite of a not-so-good storyline. There are fewblockbusters which are based entirelyon dance like Pakeezah, Aaja Nach le,Kalpana etc. In Haryana, about 40 filmshave been made and in each of themdance has its own vital role.

The dances are part of our richculture and very much a part of thesoul of people. They are the symbols of

our prosperity and culture becausethrough dance forms one can portraythe lifestyle of that particular area bycladding dancers in traditional outfitsand jewellery.

In Haryana, the songs used in thefilms came to be called film songs anddances as film dances, even if they wereneo-classical and folkloric in nature.The viewers and spectators had glimpseof the vastness and variety of Haryanvimusic and dances through films.

In films, the dance-direction isaccording to the composition of songand dance. The dance direction involvessequences like the amusing momentsbetween jija-sali, devar-bhabi (sister-in-law and brother-in-law), husband-wifeetc. as also the dances based on thesongs on the subject of festivals andpertaining to seasonal changes. Eventhe elders of the village are enthralledon watching these dances and songs.

Dance is the need of a film. It adds

The magic of danceDance is the life and spirit of a film which looks dull and drab in its absence

Bhal Singh while shooting for a song of his latest album 'Chhora Jaat Ka'


to the beauty of the film as a whole.Dance becomes a medium of presentingromance as well as the pangs ofseparation. It brings about continuityin the film and draws the viewertowards entertainment by disengaginghim from emotionality. Dance dependson the nature of the plot and thedirector keeps the viewers spell-boundin a very effective manner.

In Haryanavi films, Pandit Ved Vyas,Usha Sharma, Late Ram LubhayaSharma, Dr Neera Sharma, Budh Ram,Chinnu Shikari and Nihal Singh havecontributed a lot towards the domain ofdance direction. Usha Sharma has donea wonderful work in choreography inthe films like Chandrawal, LaadoBasanti, Jaatni and Phool Badan. FilmJaatni begins with music.

Gaya-gaya ho balam thara raajZamana aaya bahuya ka………. (Jaatni)

Even today, songs of Chadrawal are on the lips of everyone.

Jija tu kala, main gori ghaniPhotu khichwade donno jane…….

Mera daaman sima de, ho

Ho nandi ke bira…..Usha Sharma choreographed as well

as herself performed on these songs. Pandit Ved Vyas choreographed the

films Bahurani and Leelo Chaman.In the films like Chhail Gailyaan

Jaangi, Saanjhi, Chora Jaat ka andChhail Gabroo, choreography is doneby Nihal Singh. In Mumbai, he is arenowned artist and works with BadriPrasad. Well-known songschoreographed by him are:

Phagan ke din aaye ho, Log lugaimastaaye ho… (Chhora jaat ka)

In “Rang Basanti khetyan ke maah”,daph form of Haryana’s dance ispresented in a graceful manner.

Cheenu Shikari has choreographedin various films like Bairi, MhariDharti Mhari Maa

Rang basanti khetan ke maah,Sarsam phooli khetan ke maah…(Mhari Dharti Mhari maa)

Laado film was choreographed byBali. In this film, there were sevensongs and one raagini. Out of these,four songs were dance based whichwere appreciated by all. Some of the

famous songs from Laado are:

Banna giri chuyare chholPar banri na bol

Banna aage paachhe dolPar banri na bol...( laado)

Mhari ri gaali main Aaya ri sapera

Mithi mithi been Bajawe ri sapera...

This film was a great hit and it alsoreceived national award.

In Haryanvi cinema, the folk dancesof the state were presented with a littlealteration in the form throughchoreography. Without dance, the filmslook sapless. The dance and music offilms like Chandrawal, Laado, LaadoBasanti, Mhari Dharti Mhari Maan,Jaatani, Chandro, Chhail Gailya Jaagi,Gulabo, Chand Chakori, Bairi, Bateiyu,Chhora Jaat ka, Phoolbadan, Bahuranibecame so famous that even today thesongs of these films are played onmarriages.

Thus, dance is the life and spirit of afilm which looks dull and drab in itsabsence. g

The writer is Cultural Officer-Dance,DIPRCA, Haryana

COVER STORY32

Ruchi Sharma

The seven-day third InternationalFilm Festival is all set to be hosted

in October this year at DAV GirlsCollege, Yamunanagar after the successof two previous international filmfestivals.

The idea to hold such aninternational film festival is to createawareness and taste for quality cinemaamong the students. It was initiatedwith a purpose to give students ofHaryana an exposure to internationalfilms and possible career options infilmmaking.

The first International Film Festivalthat was held in December 2008 wasshowed in two parts; one part was filmscreening and the other was filmappreciation course. The firstintroduction of the course saw greatinterest among students and as manyas 217 students attended the course.

Besides Indian films, movies fromcountries like Iran, Pakistan, Chinaand Hong Kong were screened duringthe festival. A separate section on NRIfilms, the films of famous directorssuch as Meera Nair, Gurinder Chaddhaand Nikhil Kaushik were shown. In an

international film section, Iranianfilms were screened and regional filmsection had screening of Haryanvifilms.

‘Children of Heaven’, an Iranianfilm by Majid Majidi was the openingfilm of the festival. The film wasnominated for the Academy Award forBest Foreign Language Film in 1998.Satyajit Ray’s film Pather Panchali woneleven international prizes includingBest Human Document at the CannesFilm Festival. Vittorio De Sica’s ‘TheBicycle thief ’ is amongst the mostcelebrated films of neo-realistic age inRome. Film Yatra by Gautam Ghose,starring Nana Patekar and Rekha, isbased on a journey of a celebratedwriter to Delhi to receive a prestigiousaward. Paar film is based onexploitation of rural Bihar, starringNaseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi.Wong-Kar-Wai’s, ‘In the mood For Love’is based on two next door neighboursin Hong Kong striking up friendshipwhen their spouse is away on work.

The special screened films wereFeroz Abbas Khan’s ‘Gandhi, MyFather’, Uday Prakash’s Asha AmarDhan and Swaraj by Anwar Jamal.‘Gandhi, My Father’ film exploreds the

troubled relationships between HarilalGandhi and his father MahatmaGandhi. The movie bagged manyawards in 2008 in different categories.The film Swaraj by Anwar Jamal isbased on real life tragedy of Leelavati,a panchayat member in Madurai,Tamil Nadu. She lost her life whileopposing the tanker mafia in gettingwater to her village.

French movie, ‘The 400 Blows’ byFrancois Truffaut is based on a boy inhis early teens who has troubles both athome and school.

Iranian movie, ‘Colour of Paradise’is directed by Majid Majidi. The film isbased on a Mohammad who is blindsince birth and his world is composedof sounds and smells alone. ‘ModernTimes’ by Charlie Chaplin portraysCharlie Chaplin as a factory worker.

Other films screened were ‘Taste ofCherry’ by Abbas Kiarostami, ‘AndreiRublev’ by Andrei ArsenyevichTarkovsky, ‘Breathless’ by Jean- LucGodard, ‘Citizen Kane’ by OrsonWelles, ‘Good Bye Lenin!’ by WolfgangBecker in 2003 and Trisha by SushenBhatnagar. The Chinese movie ‘Hero’by Zhang Yimou was the closing film ofthe fest.

Gautam Ghose, a renowned filmdirector, Sanjay Sahay, an eminentscript writer, Pankaj Raag, Director,Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Abdul Hameed Ziaei,Director, Iran Cultural House, Embassyof Iran, Prof Bhim S Dhaiya, FormerVice Chancellor, KurukshetraUniversity, Vinod Bhardwaj, aneminent film critic, Amrit Sadhna,Editor, Osho Times, Vimal Kumar, poet,Ajay Brahmataj, film critic, Feroz

International film festivalsAfter two successive international filmfestivals, the third event is all set to hitYamunanagar again this October

COVER STORY 33

Abbas Khan, a renowned film directorand many others were among theguests.

The successive second Internationalfilm festival was held in December 2009.The event was graced with manyeminent personalities of the film worldthat included K Bikram Singh, arenowned film director and writer,Yashpal Sharma, a renowned actor,Vinod Bardwaj, film critic, GirishKasaravalli, a renowned director,Paresh Kamdar, renowned director, MK Raina, renowned actor and director,Anwar Jamal, film director, HarjitSingh , director and critic of Punjabicinema, J P Kaushik (renownedmusician), Arvind Swami (renowneddirector) and many others.

Students showed great interest inthe film appreciation course. Thenumber of students which was 217 inthe first event rose to 250 in the secondevent. And in the forthcoming thirdevent, it has been decided to cut downthe seats to 120; this would be doneafter screening of students who areserious in this area.

The second event had four venuesfor film screening, seminars, regionalsection and film appreciation course. Inseminars, discussions were held ontopics like media and films, womendirectors, Punjabi cinema and the likes.

Last year, two students from JatCollege, Hisar seriously pursuedfilmmaking as a subject. They attendedthree months' appreciation course infilmmaking in FTII, Pune. Somestudents prepared documentaries.

‘Osama’, a Persian film wasscreened at the inauguration of theevent. It was directed by Siddiq

Barmark in 2003. It is a story of ayoung girl, who disguises as a boy,Osama and shows life under theTaliban. This was the first film shotentirely in that country since filmcreation was banned in 1996.

Films under the grand Haryanapremiere were Chintu ji by RanjitKapoor, Khargosh by Paresh Kamdar,‘Dream of a dark night’ by AnwarJamal, ‘Johnny, Johnny –Yes Papa!’ byParesh Kamdar, Wo Subah KidharNikal Gai by Tripurari Sharan. Inchildren's section, ten children filmswere screened. ‘Blue Umbrella’ byVishal Bhardwaj is based on popularnovel by Ruskin Bond. NanheJaisalmer by Sameer Karnik, is a storyof a ten year old boy, who used to earnhis living by giving camel ride totourists around Jaisalmer. Safed Hathiby Tapan Sinha, ‘Ice Age 3’ by CarlosSaldahha, ‘Tom & Jerry Vol 4’ byWilliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera,‘Scooby-Doo’ by Jim Spenstrum wereother children films screened.

‘Citizen Kane’, directed by OrsonWelles, was the first feature filmnominated for Academy Awards innine categories. Meghe Dhaka Tara byRitwik Ghatak, revolves around ayoung beautiful girl, who is self-sacrificing and constantly exploited byeveryone around including her ownfamily. ‘No Man’s Land’ by DanisTanovic reflects on the futility of warbetween Bosnia and Serbia as twoenemy soldiers are forced to share awary trust for one another. ShoaibMansoor’s, Khuda Kay Liye is about

difficult situations in which Pakistanisin particular and Muslims in generalwere caught up since 9/11. ‘MatirMoina, the Clay Bird’ by TarequeMasud is a film about the turbulentperiod in the late 60s leading up toBangladesh’s independence fromPakistan. ‘The Great Dictator’ byCharlie Chaplin, Tarpan by K BikramSingh, Chinese film, ‘Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon’ by Ang Lee, ‘The GodFather’ by Francis Ford Coppola, JoMere Nahin by K. Bikram Singh,‘Anwar- A Dream of Darknight’ byAnwar Jamal, ‘Gulabi Talkies’ byGirish Kasaravalli, ‘Home 2009’ byYann Arthus Bertrand, ‘All about MyMotherland’ by Pedro Almondovar,‘Babel’ by Alezandro Gonzalez Inarrito,‘Wild Strawberries’ by IngmarBergman, ‘Meenaxi: A Tale of 3 Cities’by M.F Hussain, Khamosh Pani bySabina Sumar and many other filmswere part of the film screening.

This year, it has been decided tofocus on Marathi films in the regionalfilms section as they are rich in theatre.This time children section would havemovies on large scale. The embassies ofJapan and Bangladesh are beingcontacted for the screening of Japaneseand Bangladeshi movies. The filmfestival will have four venues – for filmscreening, seminars, children's sectionsand appreciation course in filmmaking.The performas for the colleges toparticipate have already been sent.

Such events help students ofHaryana and others watch the best ofthe cinema. g

“The events of International Film Festival received a lot of appreciationand media is also giving them good coverage. I am looking forward togenerate response from public on a larger scale, where the eventlagged a bit due to financial constraints.

As soon as the second International Film Festival ended, we startedworking on the next successive event. We are working whole year forthe preparations of this event that includes inviting eminent personalitiesin films much ahead of time due to their shooting dates' problem. Wecontacted Anupam Kher to join the event but unfortunately, due to hispre-committed work this year he would not be able to attend the event.But hopefully, we will have him next year. Seema Kapur, the first wife ofactor Om Puri is being contacted and we will also screen her movie.With financial aid from the state and its ministers we would like to makeit a regular popular event.”

-Dr Sushma Arya, Organiser of the international film festivals,Principal, DAV Girls College, Yamunanagar


Swati Sethi

For five evenings, Tagore Theatre atthe sprawling campus of Maharshi

Dayanand University, Rohtak had arendezvous with cine stars, singersand playwrights. Rohtak, the politicalhub of Haryana lived to its oldtradition of being a devotee of arts.

On the first day of the culturalfestival, a Haryanvi programme offolk dances and folk singing wasorganised to make our younggeneration aware of the traditionalfolk dances and singing of differentregions of Haryana.

On the second day, a play 'BrokenImages' was enacted by legendary

Shabana Azmi. The play, written byGirish Karnad and directed by AlyquePadamsee, was a psychological thrillerthat rips the mask off a celebrity. The21st century is the age of theelectronic image. From every cornerof our world, electronic images flingthemselves at us, entertaining,educating, enticing and offering us avirtual world.

Manjula Sharma, the protagonist ofthe play, is not a very successful Hindishort story writer. She suddenlybecomes wealthy and internationallyfamous by writing a best seller inEnglish. The question hauntingManjula is, whether in opting for theglobal audience, has she betrayed her

own language and identity? Now,without warning, it is her own 'image'that decides to play confessor,psychologist and inquisitor.

The production was excellent. Themost powerful element was ShabanaAzmi’s acting and design of lighting,which makes the inner conflict of thecharacter very clear and reaches tothe heart of audiences. Theauditorium was jam-packed.

On the third day, a play Sakubai,written and directed by Nadira ZahirBabbar, founder director of TheatreGourp Ek Jutt Mumbai wasperformed. Sartia Joshi, knownfilm/TV and theatre actress ofMarathi and Hindi, played the role of

RRoohhttaakk’’ss rreennddeezzvvoouusswwiitthh ssttaarrss

A five days’ cultural festival was organised in MDU,Rohtak for the first time and was a great success


Sakubai and made the audience laughthrough her acting skill, makingserious and satirical comments.Sakubai is a story of a maidservantwho deals with the most tryingcircumstances with strength and

endurance. Maidservants have beenaround in our life for years. In ourcountry they are called Bai, Aaya,Aamma, Khan Sami or maidservant ingeneral terms. We survive because oftheir unsung efforts, grief, sorrows

and hidden pains. Sakubai is ametaphor of a common person of oursociety.

On the third day of the festival, aplay Kabir written, directed andenacted by internationally acclaimedactor, singer and writer Shekhar Senwas presented. The play is based onthe life of Saint Kabir whorevolutionised the religious thoughtsand trends in his time about 600 yearsback. The orthodox thinking of thecommon man and exploitation byPandits and Mullahs was on its peakat that time and Saint Kabirthroughout his life tried his level bestto make people aware about the truthof God’s existence. Shekhar Senrendered the play beautifully throughhis unmatchable acting and singingskills.

On the last day of the festival, aRafi Night was organised under thename Mujko Mere Baad ZamanaDhundega. The songs of the legendarysinger Mohammad Rafi were sung byyoung singers between the age groupof 18-30 from different parts ofHaryana. The singers, boys and girlswere selected through an intenseaudition by a committee of musicexperts. The aim of the programmewas to acquaint the young generationwith the singing style of MohammadRafi and the way he used Sur-Taalwith utmost ease. The programmewas highly appreciated by theaudience.

This five days’ cultural festival,organised in Rohtak for the first time,was a great success and has become alandmark in the history of culturalevents organised in Haryana. g

Sarita Joshi playing therole of ‘Sakubai’

Shabana Azmi enthralls audiencein her play ‘Broken Images’

Ravneet Kaur Brar

Earlier people didn’t have as manysources of entertainment as are

available today. They entertainedthemselves through street plays,Ramleelas, puppet shows, snakecharmers, magic shows and the likes.With the advent of cinemas, peopleturned to cinemas for entertainment.But the frequency of watching moviein a cinema hall was less. Once in awhile, when a good movie was released,people used to have a glimpse of theirfavourite actors on big screen. It was amatter of great excitement to watch amovie in the cinema hall.

The first Indian chain of cinematheaters was owned by the Calcuttaentrepreneur Jamshedji FramjiMadan. At that time, around 10 films

were released annually. Audiencesthronged the cinema halls forentertainment as prices wereaffordable.

Gone are those days of single screencinema. Now, traditional cinema hallsare gradually being replaced bymultiplexes which are overpoweringthe cinema industry. People also don’tlike visiting halls with single screen.These single screen cinemas are poorlymaintained as the owners find itdifficult to renovate and upgrade theirfacilities due to unavailability ofresources. The deteriorating quality ofthese cinemas acts as a dampener forthe viewers. Moreover, now they have abetter option-- the swanky multiplexes.

Multiplex is a building whereseveral activities occur in multipleunits at the same time. It is a large

cinema complex comprising of manymovie theatres. Now, one need not planin advance as to which movie he shouldwatch. One can enter the multiplex andmake a choice right there out of 3 - 4movies running simultaneously underone roof.

The first multiplex Priya VillageRoadshow (PVR) was started in 1997 inDelhi.

Most of the cities and towns ofHaryana have a good number of movietheaters for its cine lovers. At present,condition of single screen cinemas isdeplorable and audience cannot go infor a movie in these cinemas. Most ofthe cinema houses in the state areshowing old, dubbed or explicit adultmovies. Because of high entertainmenttax, pirated CDs, invasion of cablenetwork and poor standards of the

Plush multiplexes:New era cinemasAccording to Excise and Taxation Department, Haryana, “There are 64cinemas and 24 multiplexes with 83 screens in the state. Entertainmenttax charged in the state is 30 per cent.”


halls, about half of the cinema hallshave closed in the past few years.Earlier entertainment tax was 50 percent in the state, now it has beenreduced to 30 per cent. Many owners ofthese cinema halls are either planningto shut down these or to turn them intomultiplexes, marriage halls orgodowns.

The single-screen theatres are dyingdue to lack of audience. People arequeuing up at multiplexes that selltickets at almost five times the pricesprevailing at single-screen theatres.This fact provides ample testimony tothe increasing prosperity as well as theconsumers’ willingness to pay forsuperior-quality entertainment. For themultiplex sector, the target group is theage group of 15-45 years, who visit thetheaters more often than others.Viewers are also attracted to othersources of entertainment like DVDs,TV, sports and others.

Most of the multiplexes in the stateare built on international lines,offering viewers a number ofentertainment options under the sameroof. Sitting comfortably in the cushyseats and enjoying a movie on the high-tech projector systems of themultiplexes with a glass of cold drinkand pop corn in hand is a marvellousexperience. After watching a movie,one can also shop and relish deliciousmeals. One can enjoy a wide variety ofoptions that are available at the snacks’counter outside the halls such assalads, sandwiches and other foodsalong with cold and hot beverages.

There are many multiplexes in thestate. Shalimar Multiplex atPanchkula, PVR Cinemas at CrownPlaza, Faridabad, PVR at theMetropolitan mall, Gurgaon, a seven-screen Multiplex Cinema, are few ofthem.

PVR Cinema in Faridabad is one ofthe best places in the city to watch amovie. The advanced technology, theaudio and the visual system and theplush seats make movie watching amemorable experience. Some othernotable cinema halls in Haryana arePayal Cinema in Gurgaon, JayantiFilms Private Ltd, Gurgaon and others.

The D T Cinema Multiplex locatedopposite Metropolitan mall is one ofthe most visited cinema halls inGurgaon. It is situated within the DLFCity Centre of the city. It offers threefully air- conditioned halls. Themultiplex is spread out on an area of48,000 square feet and can seat up to atotal of 1,100 people. It offers a numberof facilities to its viewers. One canbook the tickets through telephone, netand SMS booking. It also offers homedelivery of tickets in Gurgaon, Delhiand other NCR regions. D T CinemaMultiplex adheres to the higheststandards of safety. Some of the finestfire safety equipments such as heatdetection sensors and smoke extractionmachines have been imported.

The persons of every age group areinterested in going for a movie in themultiplex. Multiplex operators areproviding combination of movie withfood courts, shopping and gaming

facilities for children. An audience fullof passion rushes towards multiplexfor new releases. On weekends thesemultiplexes are fully packed. In the lastfew years strong economic growth inthe state has fuelled multiplexes’ boomin Haryana.

In today’s scenario, many truelovers of cinema cannot watch the filmin the very first week of its releasebecause so many times it is releasedonly in multiplexes. Single screencinema halls can’t afford to pay for afilm of normal budget and alsocinemas situated in small cities are notgiven the prints. Haryana is a statewith highest per capita income and alarge number of its population canafford to watch movie in a multiplex.So this large number of cinematicaudience factor, has played a great rolebehind the popularity of multiplexes inthe state.

Luxurious lifestyle does not suitevery pocket. Therefore many go tosingle screen cinema halls available inthe state. Jagwinder Singh, a studentfrom Sirsa says, “Being a student it isnot very reasonable to go for a movie inmultiplex. Single screen cinema hallsshould have good infrastructure so thataudience may enjoy the experience ofwatching the film there and that too atlower prices which suit their pockets.Single screen cinema halls needimprovement in facilities so they canalso catch the attention of increasedviewers. Government can help them torise again.” Young audiences, who arefinancially capable to watch all thefilms in multiplex can spend thismoney but what about the rest of themiddle class audience who have noother option left with them.

When there are no good releases, itaffects the business of multiplexes aswell as cinema halls. Generally,multiplexes remain full on weekendsbut during working days there is lesssale of tickets, so owners offer giftvouchers, and discount coupons toattract viewers.

New techniques of printing,recording and fixation of broadcast orrecorded programmes have emerged,making it easy for the pirates to carryon their illegal activities. It is affectingthe business of multiplexes owners to agreat extent.

All these things apart, but themultiplex industry is sprawling like aspider’s web all over the state and thisculture is here to stay. g

SPECIAL FEATURE HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201038

Ravneet Kaur Brar

Ambala was constituted as a districtin 1847. There are number of

stories behind how the district got itsname 'Ambala'. According to one, thistown was founded in the 14th centuryby one Amba Rajput. According toanother anecdote, the town is namedafter the Goddess Bhawani Amba. Yetother story claims that the town wasoriginally called Amb Wala i.e. Place ofMangoes, and over a period of time gotthe present name of Ambala.

The city is located on the border ofHaryana and Punjab. It is divided intotwo sub-areas: Ambala Cantonment andAmbala City. It has a large Indian ArmyBase in its cantonment area. Air ForceBase, Ambala is one of the oldest.Ambala City is a divisionalheadquarters of the Northern RailwayZone and is an important railwayjunction.

The economy of the district largelydepends on agriculture. People havesmall land holdings. They cultivatecash crops like wheat and rice. Theother sources of income are: trade,commerce, manufacturing andhousehold industry etc. It is alsofamous for its wholesale cloth market,which sells one of the best clothes inthe region at the cheapest prices. Peoplefrom far and wide come here to buyclothes for weddings and otheroccasions. Products in every categoryranging from apparel to accessories formen, women and children, stationery,toys, footwear, plastics, home careproducts like bed and bath linen, homeappliances, gift articles, food andgroceries are available.

Gopi mixer grinder manufactured atAmbala is exported throughout theworld. There are factories of mats(durries) in the district. The small scaleindustries here export 20 per cent ofthe total scientific instrumentsmanufactured in the country.

The administration of Ambala ismaking efforts to make it a clean city.

Avtar Singh, District Information andPublic Relations Officer, says, “Dairiesin Ambala City would be shifted out ofthe urban areas to adjoining villages.The administration has taken this stepbecause the large number of dairieswere mucking the urban areas. Thegovernment has allotted plots to dairyowners on subsidised rates so thatsmall dairy owners can easily shiftthere.”

Ambala is excelling in theadministration of Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment GuaranteeScheme (MGNREGS). The district wasselected for the award under theScheme of Award for Excellence in theMGNREGS administration in 2008-09.Four gram panchayats have beenawarded with Nirmal Gram Puraskarfor the year 2008-09 and 80 grampanchayats have been proposed for NGPfor the year 2009-10.

There are many shrines in andaround Ambala--Kaali Mata Mandir,

Bhawani Amba Temple and RadhaKishan mandir. The district is home tomany gurudwaras, some of which havehistorical importance too. It is animportant area not only because oftrade but also due to its being thebusiest junction and presence of armyheadquarters. The Haryanagovernment has planned to clubtogether the Ambala city, Ambalacantonment and 27 villages into acorporation; it will help in the smoothfunctioning of administration anddevelopment of the district.

EDUCATION

The district is leaping forward in thearea of education. The literacy rate inthe district is 76.2 per cent. Severaleducational institutions are impartingmodern education. There are around 12self-financing professional institutionswhere about 25,000 students arestudying. There are two polytechnics,one medical and one engineering

Ambala: Developmenton the forefront

SPECIAL FEATURE 39HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

college in the city. MaharishiMarkandeshwar University, a deemeduniversity has changed the educationalscenario in this region. The universitycampus is extended in over 200 acres,comprising medical, dental,engineering, law, physiotherapy,nursing, pharmacy, hotel managementcolleges and others. The university alsoruns one international school.Dharamvir Singh, assistant projectofficer says, “Earlier students of theregion had to commute to the othercities for pursuing higher education,but with the opening of several collegesand a university it is the other wayround; now students from differentparts of country come here for bettereducational opportunities.”

There are total 825 governmentschools in the district. In 2009-10, abudget of Rs 26.16 crore was sanctionedfor the school education. Text booksand cycles were distributed to the needystudents. There are 46 bachpanshalasfor early childhood care and education.A budget of Rs 6.48 crore has beensanctioned for civil works forconstructing separate toilets for girlsand installing safe drinking watertanks in the schools. Medicalassessment camps are organised forneedy students at block level.

AGRICULTURE

The soil of the district is fertile anduseful for all kind of crops. The main

crops grown are wheat in rabi seasonand rice, maize and sugarcane in kharifseason. Out of total geographical areaof 1,53,731 hectares, area underagriculture is 1,35,029 hectares. Thepercentage of net sown area to totalcultivable area is 92.3 per cent, which isvery much close to state average of 93.1per cent. In the city, people mostly growcash crops; the main reason for this issmall land holdings. The major chunkof land is irrigated by tube wells andsmall areas by river water. Organicwheat is also grown in the region. Themain reason why people are going fororganic wheat is that it has helped inincreased production per hectare.

Land is stable for vegetable farming

also. Hybrid varieties are used by thefarmers. The farmers preferunderground pipe system as it saves theland area and government provides 50per cent subsidy on this. Panjetonvillage tops in district for potatoproduction. Farmers of this village usemodern techniques of agriculture.Natural resources like rainfall, climate,texture and fertility of the soil are goodand useful. The district is suitable forgrowing fruits like mango, guava,papaya and all sorts of vegetables.Potato and onions are also extensivelygrown here.

HEALTH

Well-being of the residents is also

Renu S Phulia, Additional DeputyCommissioner, Ambala, says, “It is one ofthe developing districts but life has beendisrupted by floods. Heavy rainfall, threwnormal life out of gear and left almost theentire town flooded. The incessant rainfallhad flooded several areas in the region,besides affecting power supply and roadtraffic. Heavy flow of water flooded theresidential areas and people lost many oftheir belongings. Relief work is going on

in flood affected areas. A total of 100 safai karamchaaris are recruitedin the city and cantonment so that Ambala can be cleaned andprotected from outbreak of any epidemic.”

another priority area of the stategovernment. Government hospital inthe city has capacity of 200 beds. Thenew causality wing set up with thehelp of Special Investment Plan fundhas all the facilities (including 18 bedscapacity). HIV patients are givenmedicines free of cost. Public HealthCentres and Community HealthCentres provide 24 hours' service.

The district has a good number ofprivate nursing homes as well whichprovide specialised clinical service tothe urban and rural population,whosoever are able to afford it. Thedistrict health and family welfaresociety has been formed at the districtlevel and 18 other Swasthya KalyanSamities in other parts of Ambala.There are 102 ambulances available forthe service of people in the district,and three more ambulances are inplanning.

A project amounting Rs 7.28 crorehad been sanctioned by thegovernment of India under centralrural sanitation programme in 2004-05which will continue till 2010-11.

All the health institutions haveinstalled invertors; now frequentpower cuts no longer hinder thehospital work. To promote andstrengthen institutional deliveries andother health services, helpers (Dai)have been kept, one at each sub-centre.They are given an honorarium of Rs300 per month. Under the schoolhealth programme, students are giveniron and multi- vitamin tablets. Atotal of 2,200 sulabh shauchalayaswould be constructed by SulabhInternational in the slum areas of theregion.

SPORTS

The district is excelling in sports. Goodsports infrastructure has been createdto support sports activities. A total ofsix stadiums that have been constructedin six blocks by marketing board aregiven name of Rajiv Gandhi stadiums.At present, these are conditionallyundertaken by department of sports.Each stadium is provided with a grantof Rs 60,000 - 70,000 by the departmentfor upgradation. There is DRM stadiumof railway department. GandhiMaidaan is also contributing a lot insports. There are no permanent coachesin these stadiums. They are sentaccording to the requirement by theauthorities. Physical trainers have beenrecruited in the sport’s department.

Navodaya Vidyalaya has a hugestadium. All the senior secondaryschools and some of the colleges havestadiums. There are well maintainedstadiums in four central schools. Thereis Kharga stadium which is under thecontrol of Army and from time to time,events of national level are organizedhere. Recently, a marathon race wasorganised by the Army at KhargaStadium, to educate the people aboutthe Commonwealth Games. KewalBindra, Assistant Informationa andPublic Relations Officer of Ambala,says, “Authorities are doing a lot toencourage sportspersons. The gymnastsfrom the city have achieved successinternationally and they are given duecredit for their performance.”

Anju Dua is one of the most well-known coaches in gymnastics inHaryana. Her achievements are fargreater since she is a special person

being both deaf and dumb. An ArjunaAward winner of 1998, Anju Dua hasbeen working as an AssistantGymnastic Coach with the HaryanaSports Department at War HeroesMemorial Stadium in Ambala for thelast nine years. She was provided withjob under special policy by Haryanagovernment despite her being deaf anddumb. Similarly, Sunita Sharma, alsoan Arjuna Awardee in gymnastics wasgiven employment on the basis of herapplaudable performance in sports.

INDUSTRY

Ambala has a significant commercialrelevance in the Indian economy. Someof the industries here have awidespread base, like scientific andsurgical instruments industry whichsupplies goods to prestigious colleges ofIndia as well as other countries. Thecity is famous for microscopes,laboratory equipments, opticalinstruments and electronic equipments.Other than this, there are metal casting,kitchen mixer grinder, submersiblemotor pump, readymade woolengarments and hosiery manufacturingunits and a wholesale cloth market.Manufacturers and exporters ofhandwoven rugs and durries are inlarge number in Ambala.

Saha industrial growth centre in 300-400 acres is under construction. Ambalais also developing as a centre of foodprocessing industry. Sushil Kumar, abusinessman from the district, opines,“Ambala is growing into an industrialhub. One major reason for its boomingindustrial sector is its geographicallocation; it is a good trade centre forHaryana as well as Punjab.” g

SPECIAL FEATURE 41HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

Ravneet Kaur Brar

While walking amidst the village,it is difficult to make out

whether one is in a city or a village.One feels as if he is visiting a townwith all the facilities. The householdsin the village have replaced theirthatch-and-mud dwellings with brick-and-cement houses. Well-constructedstreets, properly maintained drainagesystem and pakka houses create anillusion of a town. The village is neat,clean and has peaceful surroundings.If one moves out of the village thereare green fields spread far and wide. Itis a serene and calm place untouchedby the hullabaloo of cities. It is GhelKhurd village of Ambala district.

One of the model villages ofHaryana, Ghel Khurd is a smallvillage with a population of 783. Thevillage was provided with a grant of 2crore 25 lakh for developmentpurposes by the state government.The Ghel Khurd gram panchayat hadbeen selected for the third state-levelaward under the State IncentiveScheme on Sanitation (SISS) 2008-09.There is well-maintained seweragesystem. Special attention is giventowards sanitation in the village. Italso received Nirmal Gram Puraskarfor individual toilets constructed inall the houses, ensuring 100 per centsanitation and getting rid of thedespicable practice of opendefecation. There are sloganspublished on the walls of buildings inthe village like “Beti biahungi waha,niji shauchalya ho jahan” (Mydaughter will only get married to afamily where there is toilet).

The village is surrounded by pakkiboundary known as Phirni. Trees areplanted in large number in thevillage. Eucalyptus trees have beenplanted in two and a half acres ofpanchayat land. There is onegovernment tubewell which feeds thevillage in case of emergency. There isan old age home. Stitching training is

given to girls in Silai Kendra of thevillage; around 15 girls attend theclasses. It helps in making them self-dependant.

Surinder Kaur is the sarpanch ofvillage and rest of the panches areyoung members. Elections areconducted only for sarpanch whereaspanches are elected unanimously bythe villagers. Sarpanch was aware ofthe development in the village.

There is a primary school in thevillage with 125 students and twoteachers. The school has 100 per centenrollment of children that very wellportrays that people are aware oftheir wards’ education.

The village was awarded with aprize of Rs 17 lakh by SampooranSwasthaya Vibhag. Surinder Kaursays, “Whatever funds we are grantedby the government, we spent it for thedevelopment of the village. We wantour village to hold distinction inevery sphere.” There is private clinicin the village where all necessarymedicines are available for thewelfare of the families. Baljeet Singh,

a young panch, opines, “We haveproposed to government for opening alibrary in the village where we canplace books of various kindsincluding religious books. This willhelp in developing reading habitamong children and adults.”

Electricity cuts are infrequent.This has made the residents' life easy.There is proper water supply. A well-

maintained chaupal in the village isan exclusive common meeting placefor the villagers, where they discussvarious problems related to theirvillage and find their solutions. Everyhousehold has gas and cylinder butalong with this, there are traditionalchulhas also. Cattle of everyhousehold have a separate placewhich is also surprisingly kept neatand clean. All residents arecleanliness- conscious.

The anganwadi in the village looksafter the children below the age ofsix. Gurjeet Kaur, an anganwadiworker says, “We provide a learningenvironment to children agedbetween 3-6 years. There are around14 children in the village anganwadiand they are served with nutritiousmeals. Children are weighedregularly to keep a check on theirhealth and nutrition status.’’

The village is well-planned with allthe modern amenities. It can rightlybe termed as an ‘urban village’. Thevillage is setting an example for othervillages of the state to follow. g

Ghel Khurd:A model village

PROFILE HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201042

Ravneet Kaur Brar

Lala Deshbandhu Gupta was astalwart of freedom movement.

He was a true patriot, selflessjournalist and great social worker.Deshbandhu was a freedom fighterand a supporter of Gandhiji in theNon-Cooperation Movement. Hewrote articles for ‘Vande Mataram’, anewspaper of Lala Lajpat Rai. He wasthe founder of the newspaper ‘TheTej’. He also owned the NewsChronicle (now known as IndianExpress), along with Ram NathGoenka. His 109th anniversary wascelebrated on 14 June 2010.

Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, the firstprime minister of free India whilegiving shoulder to his bier said,“Today Delhi has lost its soul.”Deshbandhu Gupta died in an aircrash on 21 November 1951, leavingbehind his followers in grief. Hefollowed the principle, “One shouldwork for the welfare of the peoplewithout any selfish motive.” Hepreached that everyone should livepeacefully and maintain unity of thecountry.

Lala Deshbandhu was the first

leader to raise the issue ofseparating Punjab and Haryana in1927. He thought that this way theycould work for the development ofHaryana. Later, he was supported byChaudhary Ranbir Singh. Theytogether remained in jail thrice whilefighting for India’s freedom.

On October 22, 1920, Deshbandhu,while hearing Gandhiji addressingpeople during the Non-CooperationMovement in Bhiwani district ofHaryana, was so influenced that heleft his college and jumped into thefreedom movement. He came incontact with patriots like Lala LajpatRai, Munshiram (SwamiShradhanand) and Bhai Parmanand.He became trustworthy person ofLala Lajpat Rai due to his dedicationand hardworking attitude. LalaLajpat Rai handed over to him thetask of writing and editing of ‘VandeMatram’ at the young age of 20. Hewent to jail at 19. At the age of 50, hebecame a member of the PunjabAssembly before Independence. Hebecame Member of Parliament fromDelhi and remained on importantpositions in the Congress party.

Impressed by the culture ofHaryana, he gave a historicalcomment about the separateindentity of Haryana from Multaanjail-- Haryana’s geographical locationis bound by natural boundaries andits culture has a distinct identity.People of Haryana live a simple lifeand never mingle with the Punjabis.The lifestyle of people of Haryana isquite different from Punjab. VishaalHaryana should be carved out as aseparate state. Deshbandhu believedthe merging of Haryana provincewith Punjab in 1858 was a tragedyand demanded Haryana to beseparated.

He twice invited Father of Nation,Mahatma Gandhi to Panipat andtried to ignite the spirit of unityamong the people of India. He wentto jail seven times during nationalliberation movement.

He was the first to demand

Sanskrit University in Kurukshetraand sent this proposal to Dr RajinderPrasad and it was established in 1956.He kept on raising the issue ofseparating Haryana from Punjabfrom 1927-1951. After becomingmember of legislative assembly henot only worked for the developmentof his area but for the development ofHaryana as a whole.

He was a renowned journalist andeven today he is remembered withrespect by the journalists and thegeneral public. He remainedManaging Editor of ‘The Tez’throughout his life. He favouredfreedom of the press. He wasnominated as the President of AkhilBhartiya Samachar Pattar.

Indian Post released a

Lala Deshbandhu Gupta(14 June 1901- 21 November 1951)

A votary of distinct Haryanvi culture

Chief Minister Bhupinder SinghHooda releasing books on LalaDeshbandhu Gupta

SPORTS 43HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

commemorative stamp on the birthanniversary of Deshbandhu Gupta on14 June 2010. The Haryanagovernment has taken majordecisions to commemorate hiscontribution towards the state. TheMini Secretariat in Panipat is namedafter him. The work of installing astatue of Lala Deshbandhu,broadening a road named after himand construction of a chowk is inprogress. The government hasestablished Deshbandhu GuptaNational College in Panipat.

The writers and journalistswriting on his personality andcontributions will be awarded withtwo prizes of one lakh each, everyyear by the Haryana SahityaAcademy. g

Saurabh Duggal

The bronze medal of VijenderSingh in the Beijing Olympics

has earned international fame forBhiwani. Now it’s turn of Hisar tograb internationalacknowledgement. Pooja Dhanda ofHisar has won silver in theinaugural Youth Olympics inSingapore and placed the city on theworld map.

The 16-year-old wrestler hasopened the country’s account in thegames. She defeated three opponentswithout conceding a point beforelosing 1-3 to Baatarzorig Battsetsegof Mongolia in the final to settle forsilver medal in the 60 kg freestylecategory.

“From the day one, I wasconfident that Pooja will one daybring laurels for the country. Andfinally the day has arrived,” saidPooja’s coach Subhash ChanderSoni.

Subhash is a wrestling coachwith the Haryana SportsDepartment.

Before going for the YouthOlympics, Pooja had won the silvermedal in the Asian CadetChampionship in Thailand.

“After losing the final bout to theJapanese wrestler in the Asianmeet, Pooja was quite disappointedand she wanted to make up for theloss. And she did it. Though I wasexpecting gold from her, even silverin this big tournament is no meanaffair,” said proud father AjmerSingh.

Pooja’s passion for wrestling canbe gauged from the fact that afterclearing her Class X board examswith an impressive 87.5 per cent inthe year 2008, she could have easilyobtained admission in the muchsought-after science or commercestream, but she chose arts. Why?She wanted to devote more time towrestling. Her target is an Olympicmedal.

Even in her 12th board exams thisyear, Pooja has scored 86.4%.

“My daughter has made meproud. After the Youth Olympicmedal, I am waiting for the daywhen she will again grab a medal inthe London Olympics,” said AjmerSingh, whose son is pursuingengineering. But Ajmer had hisdoubts in the beginning.

“In starting when we used to stayin the village, even I was of theopinion that girls were not made forsports. But when we shifted to Hisarand I saw girls pursuing sports, mymindset changed,” said Ajmer.

Pooja had also tried her hand injudo and even won threeinternational medals, including goldin 2nd Youth Asian championship.But because of the success ofArjuna awardee Geetika Jhakhar inthe field of wrestling, Pooja is moreinclined towards the rural sport.

“I want to wrestle like Geetikadidi one day and earn name andfame like her,” said Pooja, a yearago. The day has arrived. g

The writer is Senior Sports Writerwith the Hindustan Times,

Chandigarh

Pooja Dhanda, 16-year-old

wrestler from Hisar

Girl wrestler brings fame to Hisar

ART AND CULTURE HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201044

Ravneet Kaur Brar

Competitions in various art formsare being organised at different

levels for spotting and nurturingtalent by North Zone Culture Centre(NZCC), Patiala. This time NZCC hasorganised round the year sculptorand painting camp at Kalagram,Chandigarh. Every fortnight, masterartists, painters and sculptors areinvited by North Zone CulturalCentre from all over India. This ishelping painters and sculptors toexhibit their talent in their respectivefields. The programme is organisedby director D S Saroya on a largescale. This has provided art lovers, arare experience as they can watchartists at work and can also interactwith them. In this, first chance wasgiven to sculptor Shiv Singh from

Haryana and painter Jodh Singh fromChandigarh. In the second fortnight,master sculptor Hriday Kaushal fromCharkhi Dadri of Haryana andpainter Malkeet Singh fromChandigarh participated. In the thirdfortnight, sculptor Mohammad Iqbalfrom Kashmir created a wisdomincarnate structure and masterpainter Som Dutt Sharma from Jindbrought life to Dushyant andShakuntala’s legend. Their worksprovided immense pleasure to thevisitor’s. John Keats believes, “Athing of beauty is joy forever.” So thework of these artists will leave adeep impact on the viewers. They willrelish the memories of thisexperience throughout their life. Inthis camp, two artists from Haryanarepresented their state and showedtheir skill.

MASTER SCULPTOR HRIDAY KAUSHAL

Rock and stone sculptures were themost common subjects for thedevelopment of art right from theMauryan period to the British period.Now this tradition is being carried onby youngsters of Haryana. HridayKaushal, a young sculptor, is acontemporary artist of Haryana.Carving, chiselling, melting andmoulding of metal came naturally toHriday, the first qualified sculptorfrom Charkhi Dadri in Bhiwani. He iscurently a cultural officer with theGovernment of Haryana.

But life was never a bed of rosesfor this hardworking spirit. Thoughborn in a lower middle class family,financial restraints never hamperedhis will to complete his studies.Whatever he is today, the credit goesto his determination. He had been anall-rounder in his college. He alwayshad a creative outlook and yearnedfor making use of his artistic outlook.Having an innate passion for art, hejoined Delhi College of Art. He didBachelors and Masters in Fine Artsin sculpture, despite little financialsupport. He would commute dailyfrom Charkhi Dadri to Delhi by train.He says, “There have been timeswhen I had to spend night in thecollege premises. I used to do part-time work to pay my college fee.Sometimes I had to walk to Delhi withheavy load on shoulders as I had nomoney to buy the bus ticket.” But allthese hardships made him morecommitted and serious towards life,and prepared him to face adversesituations. He became more observantabout life and this later helped him todevelop themes for his sculptures.

Today, Hriday is a successfulsculptor and holds regular camps,workshops and exhibitions of hiswork. He feels that he was not guidedproperly but he doesn’t want hisstudents to undergo same problem ashe is there to guide them. He is inlove with stones and is always readyto experiment with new ideas. Whenhe touches the stone, it appears as ifhe is moulding the wax into differentshapes. He is doing work in all themedia ; metal–casting, sand and lost-wax process, stone-carving, fiber-glass, silicon-rubber, leather, metalsheet, welding and others.

At NZCC, he made a sculpture in

Artists at work

Sculptor, Hriday Kaushal chiselling art out of stone

ART AND CULTURE 45HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

black and pink marble and gave it thetitle “Growth, never ending process”.The sculpture was in two pieces; atortoise in black and a sproutedfemale in pink on the top of (dome)tortoise. It represents the continuouslife cycle.

Other famous works of HridayKaushal are “Romance in nature”,“Successful growth”, and “Growthand Culture”. He has done lot of workon the concept of sprouted seed andgrowth. Thus, he represents hispositive outlook towards life throughhis art work.

The smooth surface of a sculpturedoes not show the hardships thesculptor has undergone during itscreation. But if one has a will set instone, one overcomes all thehardships.

MASTER PAINTER SOM DUTTSHARMA

Painting is a world full of colours andimagination. Master painter, SomDutt Sharma from Jind was a studentof Delhi College of arts in 1968 but hedropped out in fourth year from thecollege. He is a great painter ofHaryana. Being an expert in realisticart, he represents his feelings on his

canvass. His paintings appear ashaving life. He spelled a magic withhis painting at Kalagram in NZCC. Herepresents invisible art of Haryanaall over the world and many of hispaintings have been exported tovarious countries.

Som Dutt Sharma's talentremained hidden for long as he didn’tmention his name on his paintings.He has magical skills in his hands.There is an element of grace that isportrayed in his paintings. He hastaken part in numerous groupexhibitions and displayed hiscollection of paintings. One day itwas suggested to him to paintDushyant and Shakuntla, while hewas in Kalagram and he immediatelystarted painting it. He has usednatural colours to highlight thebrightness of their life. The paintingis such that it forces the viewer totravel in the era of Dushyant andShakuntla.

“Snake Charmer” and “Music insoul” are his masterpieces. Hisremarkable feature is that he makeshis canvass himself. He is specialistin oil and water colours. The passionof art developed in him through hisfather. “It was a big moment for mewhen in 1968 my first oil painting was

sold. Since then most of my paintingshave been sold abroad,” he says . Thisproves his popularity across theworld. His paintings got internationalacclaim. A series of importantexhibitions followed, with muchappreciation from the press and artlovers. He has magic in his hands.The urge for any creation, flames hisspirit and inspires him to work.

Painting is often regarded as aliving discourse which speaksdirectly and unequivocally. He infusesspirit into his paintings with hisvisionary artistic outlook. He feelsthat an artist is absolutely free to tryout newer styles, techniques andvisual idioms with the usage ofunconventional surface and mediumas it catches his fascination. It isunfair to restrict him in anyparticular category. He should beallowed to fly with wings ofimagination. He believes that first ofall one should be an expert inrealistic form and then experimentwith abstract ideas. Here he comesclose to the ideology of M F Hussain.

Both these artists with their skill,hardwork and dedication have madeHaryana proud. They have setthemselves as role models for thecoming generations. g

Master painter Som Dutt Sharmagiving colours to his imagination

PHOTO FEATURE HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201046

THE GRAND that nev

Sher Shah Suri Marg or National Highway No 1 or a plainGrand Trunk road, call it what you may. It once linkedPeshawar with Kolkata. Haryana part begins at Shambuand crosses Delhi. Once it had only two night halts, mostlyfor truck drivers ---- Pipli and Murthal. It is now dotted allthrough with Dhabas, restaurants, pubs, havelis and hotels.

PHOTO FEATURE 47HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010

TRUNK ROADer sleeps

The night is as good as the day; rushing buses, speedingtrucks and cars on the four lane highway which will soon bea six lane. G T road never sleeps. It offers sumptuous anddelicious meals, magic shows and folk music.Our photographer Randeep Singh travelled twice tocapture mood on this ever bustling road.

A sumptuous meal on the way

A satisfying meal

49PHOTO FEATURE

Garama garam roti

HARYANA REVIEW,50 PHOTO FEATURE

Music for the soul

Food for the belly

Illuminated settings

Entertaining through magic

HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201052 BOOK REVIEW

Randeep Wadehra

Ten years with Guru Dutt:Abrar Alvi’s journeyby Sathya SaranPenguin/Viking, Pages: xii+203. Price: Rs 499/-

Cinema is a very sophisticatedundertaking. Often described as

the director’s medium, it just cannotdo without the contributions fromother creative persons like story andscreenplay writers, music directors,singers, actors, editors, camerapersons etc. In other words, a movie isthe end product of the efforts put inby variegated talents. Guru Dutt is atowering icon of Indian cinema whohas a dedicated international

following to this day. The highstandards that he had set forfilm production ensured thathis movies like Pyasa,Kaghaz Ke Phool etc carvedout permanent niche as alltime great movies. However,the genius of Guru Dutt wasably complemented by thehighly talented writer andideation expert Abrar Alvi.His screenplays forChaudhvin Ka Chand, KaghazKe Phool, Baharein Phir BhiAayengi, Pyaasa, Sahib BiwiAur Ghulam etc are testimonyto his immense talent.

Sathya Saran has portrayedvarious aspects of the twopersonalities. Most of thematerial comes from herinterviews with Alvi whodwells upon Guru Dutt’sprofessional as well aspersonal life not to mentiontheir decade long associationas friends and colleagues.Dutt emerges as aperfectionist who would notmind junking entire stock offilmed reels if he was notsatisfied with the endproduct, or had been suddenly

struck with a better idea. Dutt wasmost particular about song sequences,which he always shot himself.Another thing he was very particularabout was the “mood” of a scenewherein lighting and camerapositions played prominent role. Herespected talent. This was the reasonwhy he chose the unknown Abrar Alviover the more seasoned writers for hismovies only because he had witnessedAlvi give a long lecture on acting andcharacterisation during an argument.

There are descriptions ofdifferences and arguments betweenthe director and the writer; of how,when Dutt asked Alvi to direct SahibBiwi…, he still wanted to shoot thesong sequences himself, which led to

confrontation between the two. TheGeeta Dutt-Guru Dutt-WaheedaRehman triangle too figures in thenarrative, but Alvi dismisses thewidespread rumours that Waheedawas the cause of Guru Dutt’s suicide.He blames the downswing in financialfortunes for the tragedy although hedoes hint at the Geeta Dutt factor too.According to Alvi, Geeta had refusedto send her daughter to visit GuruDutt despite several requests from thelatter who then issued a veiled threatto commit suicide – a threat that wasnot taken seriously. And that was thelast time the Dutt couple had talked toeach other.

Be that as it may. It would beinteresting to speculate whether GuruDutt’s creative genius would havetouched the sublime heights withoutthe ballast and boost provided byAlvi’s writing and ideating skills.Would the now classic movies haveattained their present stature if onetakes out the Abrar Alvi factor?Conversely, would Alvi have been ableto get the sort of recognition heeventually did, earning manyaccolades as writer-director, if he hadnot met Guru Dutt?

There are various humorous asidesin this book that highlight SDBurman’s kanjoosi (miserliness) aswell as touchiness; and Mehmood’sdesperation to be a part of Dutt’scharmed inner circle or Tanuja andMala Sinha’s propensity for playingpractical jokes on Alvi. There are alsopoignant moments, when MeenaKumari’s not-so-happy married life isdescribed or when Alvi talks of thelast time he had seen Guru Dutt alive,and then the scene immediately afterhis death.

Sathya Saran has given usinvaluable insights into the psyches ofa cinematic genius like Guru Dutt anda hugely talented writer like AbrarAlvi. This book would be of greatinterest to researchers and cinemabuffs.

Three titans ofIndian cinema

53HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010 BOOK REVIEW

The man who speaksin picture: Bimal Roy edited by Rinki Roy BhattacharyaPenguin/Viking, Pages: xxxiv+250/-,Price:Rs. 499/-

Born in a landed aristocratic familyof a village in what is nowBangladesh, Bimal Roy is countedamong independent India’s pioneerneo-realist filmmakers who usheredin the New Wave during 1950s. Hehad made his mark both in Bengalias well as Hindi movies. His firstfilm, Udayer Pathe, revolutionisedIndian cinema as he was the firstfilmmaker to introduce shades ofgrey into what was till then a “blackand white” cinema. Thus, we see himcoming up with such classics asDevdas, Sujata, Parineeta andMadhumati. Who can forget the“rickshaw race” in Do Bigha Zameen?Its protagonist, Shambhu that wasplayed by Balraj Sahni, became atemplate of the underdog in Indiancinema – a poor villager caught inthe struggle for survival in thesoulless urban milieu. And Bandini’sKalyani, played by Nutan, endures asa part of cine buffs’ collectivememory even today.

This book is a collection ofarticles written by such literary andcinematic luminaries as Mahasweta

Devi, Tapan Sinha, Shyam Benegal,Nayantara Sehgal, Naseeruddin Shahetc. In these writings he comes acrossas a reticent person in real life whopreferred to articulate hisconvictions through the medium ofcinema. His cinema articulated thepathos of the marginalised and yetlent their characters a certaindignity – it is not easy to createpositive symbiosis among penury,perseverance and pride. Although heis considered as a director whounderstood and depicted humancondition in all its shades and asbelonging to the ideologically radicalstream, his critics say that Roy neverwent “far enough”. Shyam Benegalrebuts these allegations by pointingout that Roy represented “a certainkind of evolution of the urbanmiddle class or what I would call theevolution of the middle classintelligentsia…”

Whatever the differences invarious perceptions regarding thisgenius auteur, one thing can be saidwithout the fear of beingcontradicted – he gave to Indiancinema, and the society at largehumanist values that moulded manya cinematic mind among thesucceeding generations.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan was born intoan affluent agriculturist family thatwas part of the aristocratic uppercrust. His family belonged to avillage near Adoor in Kerala (thenthe State of Travancore).

However, his childhood wasmarred with the separation betweenhis parents. As a sensitive child,Gopalakrishnan displayed rarecreative talent in literature,especially theatre. All attempts by hiselders to get him interested inmedicine and engineering failed. Infact, he preferred to study atGandhigram than get “mainstream”education. Later on, at the Pune FilmInstitute (renamed as Film andTelevision Institute later)Gopalakrishnan impressed histeachers with his talent forscreenplay writing and other relatedcreative forms.

After graduating from the institutehe struggled for five years beforemaking his first movie,Swayamvaram, which unequivocallyannounced the arrival of animmensely talented avant-garde filmdirector. Then, there have been otherlandmark movies like Mathilukal,Vidheyan, Kathapurushan,Mukhamukham, Naalu Pennungal etc.

He too, like Bimal Roy, isconsidered a neo-realist filmmakerwho, though influenced by theprogressive-leftist values, preferredto carve out his own humanisticcinematic idiom that is often closerto Gandhian ideology. Some criticsplace him in the Satyajit Ray schoolof cinema, while others see theinfluence of Ritwik Ghatak. However,it is generally accepted that his filmsportray Indian reality.Gopalakrishnan avers in thisbiography that his movies faithfullyrecord the history of a particularperiod, the time in which they areset. He makes sure of theauthenticity of facts and materialsused. For example, for creating theright ambience in the prison scenesof Mathilukal he got hold of a jailadministration manual of the 1920s.

It is no wonder that AdoorGopalakrishnan is looked upon as afilmmaker who set new paradigmsfor Indian cinema whereinexperiments with novel metaphorswere conducted with great success. g

The writer is a poet and columnist

Adoor Gopalakrishnanby Gautaman BhaskaranPenguin. Pages: xviii+218. Price: Rs. 599/-

HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 201054 GUEST COLUMN

Ranbir Singh

The Haryana Encyclopaediapublished this year in six volumes

in Hindi presents valuable informationincluding significant data about thestate that often remains concealed ingovernment’s files. In the arena ofpublishing documents through public-private partnership, this publicationbecomes an example for others tofollow. In fulfilling the long-felt need ofresearchers and scholars for makingavailable most of the informationabout Haryana at one place, theauthorities as well as the academicshave demonstrated the competence todeliver a correct stuff.

The information printed on about7,000 pages of the neatly bound tenparts of the encyclopaedia coversmajor as well as minor topics in broadspectrum; geography andphysiography, culture, literature,history, modernisation and indicatorsof development, in addition to visual

version of the landscape and thevibrant life of the people of Haryanathrough two hundred colouredphotographs.

Soon after the conceptualisation ofthe Haryana Encyclopaedia,administrative and financial sanctionsfor producing it were readily obtainedby the Department of Public Relations.

Apart from huge amount ofinformation that could be compiledthrough the resources of the stategovernment, the number of authorsthat submitted original contributionswent beyond 150. The task ofscrutinising the huge mass of papersand shaping it in presentable form wasa gigantic one. Editing of the scriptsand technical aspects posed a realchallenge as the sources and referenceshad to be often accessed forauthentication.

The volumes were thematicallydesigned to cover the different aspectsof Haryana. These deal with ancienthistory based on archaeological

evidence and spatial maps and satelliteimageries of vegetation, ground andsurface water resources, irrigation anddrainage system and mineral wealth inthe geographical volume (two parts). Inaddition to the gradual evolution of thefood habits of the people, modes oftransportation since the ancient times,there is information on water relatedarchitecture (masonry well, masonrytank, Baoli, Kund and Tankaa), floraand fauna and architectural heritage.There is a list of all the valorous anddecorated persons from Haryana whoserved the armed forces since theBritish period and descriptive accountsof the people and places thatparticipated in the First War ofIndependence in 1857.

Other topics include traditionalcostumes and ornaments, the literarypursuits of ancient scholars and theircontributions, sages and preservedmanuscripts that shaped the life andculture of the people of Haryana sincethe Vedic times. Heritage museums and

Haryana Encyclopaedia:Adding to knowledge

Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda releasing the ‘Haryana Encyclopaedia’. Accompanying him are it’s Chief Editor,Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Information and Public Relations Department, Dr K K Khandelwal,Editor Dr Shamim Sharma and other members of editorial team

55HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010 GUEST COLUMN

crafts’ fairs, domestic architecture andwall paintings, traditionalentertainers, fairs and festivals arewell related. Information onlitterateurs and academicians andtheir contributions to the growth ofliterature as well as journalism,publications from Haryana Serai andDharmshalas military traditions,language and linguistics, folk art andfolk songs and various reformmovements such as Arya Samaj andNamdharis is there. History of Khaps,of reputed educational institutions andof development and decline of cinemaas industry is also given. Then there isa brief historical sketch of all thedistricts and data tables for revealingvarious important facts, agriculturaltraditions, land reforms and revenuemanagement, tourism, villagemanagement and Panchayats. Theencyclopaedia also gives details onmodern icons of Haryana,urbanisation and its impact on societyand Haryana as new educational andknowledge hub.

The most conspicuous are thedevelopment volumes that containinformation in regard to the rise ofmodern Haryana from agricultural toan industrial power. The photographsnot only pictorially represent variousaspects of ancient history andarchaeology, art and architecture,ornaments and costumes, agricultureand life in the countryside, flora andfauna but also folk arts, crafts,lifestyles and decorative arts. Anattractive feature of the encyclopaediais inclusion of the natural andsociological histories of about 150village estates representing everydistrict of the state. It also includes thehistory of the ancestral villages of allthe former chief ministers of Haryanaas well as that of the incumbent CM.

Even though precaution has beentaken for making the publicationexhaustive and error-free, but there aresome deficiencies and discrepancies inregard to chronology, references, proofreading and designing. These can beremoved in the revised edition, infuture.

If the publication is converted intoportable file format (pdf) as digitisedversion and uploaded on the WorldWide Web, it can be made accessible toinformation seekers, globally. g

The writer is Public Relations Officer,Indian Council of Medical Research,

New Delhi

A name inphotography

Sheela

Rajkishan Nain is a name in thefield of photography, literature

and rural journalism. He has beenconferred with theprestigious/coveted awards such asBest Presidents’ Scouts in 1971 by V V Giri, Karmyogi Sammaan in2006-07 by Haryana Institute of FineArts and Babu Balmukund GuptSammaan in 2007-08 for literaryjournalism by Haryana SahityaAcademy, Panchkula.

He was born on October 27, 1956 toShri Risal Singh Nain in villageAjaib of district Rohtak. Nain'sancestral occupation was

agriculture. He obtained post-graduate degree from PunjabUniversity, Chandigarh andthereafter devoted major portion ofhis lifetime in pursuing photographyand expanded his faculties to becomean art-cum- cultural historian.Hisdeep involvement in photographyhas made him a renownedphotographer. He has publishedseveral books on photography likeAgfa Gaevert Photo Gallery, ZoomPhoto, Indian Cinematography andPhotography, Lenslight, Mirror andThe Sun.

He is one of the exceptional photo-artists of our country living in avillage who has persistently

Parrot and a photographer- Rajkishan Nain

‘World Photography Day’ (19th August)August 19 is celebrated as the ‘World Photography Day’ across the globe. This was the

day when the French introduced the modern photography through Daguerreotypephotographic process that was invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839. Since then,

every year this day is celebrated as World Photography Day.

56 GUEST COLUMN

pioneered and captured the life andtimes of the people of India,particularly Haryana. So as a mark ofpersonal honour to him, photogalleries depicting folk life and cultureof Haryarna were exclusivelyestablished in his name in theKurukshetra University atKurukshetra and Maharshi DayanandUniversity at Rohtak. Several excellentphotographs with attractivecomposition from his kitty adore thewalls of the office of the HaryanaSahitya Academy housed in AcademyBhawan building at Panchkula.

Nain's photographic sojourns tookhim to cover Himalayas, the TharDesert, the shores of the mightyIndian Ocean, enchanting and life-sustaining agricultural landscapes ofIndia and the natural forests, whichbrought him recognition andnumerous laurels from variousinstitutions of the country. Throughhis novel ways of exploring thecountryside he has been able to revealthe essential but unfamiliarcharacteristics of Indian culture andethos -particularly the village life,prominently featuring Haryana.Although there was progressivedecline in his vision (about 80 per cent)over the years yet he continued tomake admirable contributions in thefield of art-photography and tread thecountryside in order to capture in hiscamera the images of India thatremains as ‘incredible’ even today as itwas ages ago.

For Nain, work is worship. Hisethical standards in pursuingprofessional art are worth emulating. g

Sheela is a Rohtak based writer

Guarding his crop All smiles

Furrows of life

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Chief Minister, Haryana

A MESSAGE FOR TEACHER’S DAY

Teachers are builders of nationThe birthday of our former illustrious President and a

great philosopher Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on

September 5, is celebrated as Teacher’s Day throughout

the country.

On this day, I offer the entire teacher community my

greetings and good wishes. India has a hoary tradition

and history of giving highest place of honour to the

teachers. A teacher is a creator of a nation. Teacher, like

a sculptor, moulds his/her students into fine creative

human beings. They can learn to face the challenges of

life successfully and are able to fulfill their duties

towards their country and the people.

Our youth today, faces many serious challenges, so it is

necessary that the teachers in these rapidly changing

circumstances help the new generation to meet these new

challenges. The society and the students should give the

same respect and honour to a teacher which is given to a

guru.

Respecting the services rendered by teachers, our gov-

ernment over a period of time has been offering incen-

tives and facilities to them. We are looking after them as

our greatest asset. We have increased three times the

awards for the teachers. We want to create Haryana as a

leading model state in the sphere of education. During

the last five years, we have brought in revolutionary

changes keeping in view the needs of the present times.

This day offers teachers an opportunity to rededicate

themselves to the noblest cause.

I earnestly hope that teachers' community will strive to

raise a higher standard of education in the state.

(5 September 1888 - 17 April 1975)Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India, RNI No 10412Postal Regd No CHD/123/2009-11

by Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud Sink your roots deeply into the Earth

Reflect the light of a greater source Think long term Go out on a limb

Remember your place among all living beings Embrace with joy the changing seasons

For each yields its own abundance The Energy and Birth of Spring

The Growth and Contentment of Summer The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall

The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the sun And delight in their presence Look up at the moon that shines down upon you And the mystery of the stars at night. Seek nourishment from the good things in life Simple pleasures Earth, fresh air, light

Be content with your natural beauty Drink plenty of water Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes Be flexible Remember your roots

Enjoy the view!

Advice from a Tree

Documents

Sept HR Haryana Review 6.qxd - S A M V A D ::haryanasamvad.gov.in/store/document/haryana_review...Bhupinder Singh Hooda Chief Minister, Haryana We pay our homage to the memory of young