Written by Parul |Updated: February 17, 2019 12:27:16 am
Connecting the Dots
Theatre director and playwright Atamjit Singh, who recently received the Punjab Gaurav Sanmaan, on reaching new audiences through his translated plays and creating a stage for newer dialogue.
“I am an Indian playwright who writes in Punjabi, and I not writing only for Punjab and Punjabis, but for India. My greatest wish is that my people in my country, both readers and audience, should know me and my work. With my six plays now translated from Punjabi to Hindi, I know there will be a stage for new connects and dialogues,” says playwright and theatre director Atamjit Singh, who recently received the Punjab Gaurav Sanmaan.
Panch Nad Ka Pani, Fish of the Kamloops, The Red Prophet, Main Tan Ek Sarangi Han, Rishtian Da Ki Rakhiye Naa and Tum Kab Laut Ke Ayoge are now on book shelves in Hindi, with Singh hoping these would be at hand in English too in the near future. Recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Punjab Gaurav Sanmaan says Singh is another honour that he dedicates to the youth of Punjab.
Singh’s characters are from the real world, and his subjects are universal, though his plots may be inspired by his roots here in Punjab. As a playwright, he knows no boundaries or limitations, armed with in-depth knowledge of Western dramatic traditions and an honest, humane understanding of ours.
“I would like people to know how I look at my culture and country, they may know my name, but not my writing and in this context, these translations are vital. They may reject me, but I don’t want them to accept without reading. Like any other playwright I want to be staged in Hindi, so that hundreds of people at once can view my work,” says Singh, who has established a theatre group called Manchan Arts and Research Centre.
War, migration, displacement, lives of the Punjabi immigrant community, Partition, exploitation of women and narrow nationalism are the varied subjects of Singh’s plays, but the work is not linear or simplistic, as there are many layers and meanings that also make the plays tough to stage, though most his plays have been staged by various groups.
“When I write, I write as a director, for I understand the nuances of the stage, the metaphors, complexity of characters. Whatever your concern as a playwright, you want to showcase that. My themes are pitched in Punjab, but not confined to it,” Singh says.
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