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Chief Minister
pays tribute to
martyrs
Page 40
September 2010, Vol 24 Issue 9 Rs 15
“
My dream is to see
India as a powerful,
independent and
selfreliant nation
standing in the
forefront among all
nations for the wel
fare of the people.
(20 August 1944 - 21 May 1991)
We pay our homage to the memory of young
and distinguished leader late Shri Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary
Bhupinder Singh Hooda
Chief Minister, Haryana
Information, Public Relations & Cultural Affairs Department, Haryana
HARYANA REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 2010
E D I TO R I A L
Performing arts
PATROn-In-CHIEF
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
not necessarily agree with the views of the
writers/contributors.
Website: www.haryanareview.com
Email: [email protected]
Printed at: Model Printing Press (I) Pvt Ltd, Ambala
wang in Sanskrit and Saang in popular
parlance in Haryana, nay in the north west
of the Indian sub-continent can rightly be
called precursor of movies. Swang is part of
the tradition of folk theatre that has
entertained people for generations with good
moral stories, powerful acting, songs and
dance. It has survived because of the interest of
the people. A film or a movie essentially is on
the celluloid what is otherwise presented on
the stage. Swang has limitations of many kinds
despite its popular appeal while the films have
inexhaustible possibilities even of creating a
complete illusion of reality.
S
In the current issue of Haryana Review, we
discuss Haryana’s contribution to both theatre
and films. This small state has provided
talented and charming actors and actresses,
sensitive directors and producers and many
musicians of excellence. While there have
been some good Haryanvi films, the overall
picture is not very encouraging and largely due
to commercial reasons. Films require huge
funds and investors expect attractive returns.
But for a dialect of a limited geographic area,
these possibilities are narrow. Yet, unmindful
of this problem, some have ventured and done
not too badly.
Haryana government has played its role in
promoting performing arts including theatre
and films through its Cultural Affairs
Department and other agencies. We present
this many faceted story to our readers.
During the Independence Day celebrations,
the Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda
honoured the 92 year old freedom fighter Babu
Nand Sharma at Narnaul. He is one of the few
surviving freedom fighters of his generation.
Read our special report. Also, special feature
on fast paced development taking place in
Ambala district.
We also present through our photo feature,
how our Grand Trunk Road or Sher Shah Suri
Marg pulsates during the night. g
2
CONTENTS
Mhare samay
mein hum kahaniya sunte
the, saang dekhte or
raamlila bhi...
Tau ib to sab
filmo mein aata hai or
cinema mein baith kar
mauj se dekho...
SPECIAL REPORT
Chief Minister pays tribute to martyrs
[8]
4
HISTORY
Haryana and the August Kranti
6
COVER STORY
The love of celluloid
The journey of cinema in Haryana
Laado: An unﬁnished success story
Haryanvi Films: An unending saga
8
10
13
14
State's contribution to Haryanvi
folk culture
Amateurs add lustre to arts
Folk Theatre: And the show goes on...
Makers of contemporary theatre in Haryana
Lights, camera, action!
The sound of music
Toast to two versatile actors
Saang: A perfect blend of entertainment
16
18
20
22
24
25
26
28
[11]
CONTENTS
[16]
The magic of dance
International ﬁlm festivals
Rohtak's rendezvous with stars
Plush multiplexes: New era cinemas
30
32
34
36
[35]
SPECIAL FEATURE
Ambala: Development on the forefront
Ghel Khurd: A model village
38
41
PROFILE
A votary of distinct Haryanvi culture
42
SPORTS
Girl wrestler brings fame to Hisar
43
[45]
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
A name in photography
54
55
Readers may send their comments to
[email protected] or to SCO 23, First Floor,
Sector 7-C, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh - 160 019
3
Chief Minister pays
tribute to martyrs
Independence Day was celebrated with fervour in Narnaul. On the
occasion the chief minister announced several welfare measures
Ruchi Sharma
his year the chief minister of
Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda
chose the town of Narnaul, located at
the southern tip of Haryana, to
celebrate the 64th Independence Day of
India. In an unconventional manner,
after the formal unfurling of the tricolour and other Independence Day
celebrations, he drove to the residence
of 92 year old Babu Nand Sharma, a
T
freedom fighter, and paid his respects.
Immediately a trust was formed in his
name with the contribution of
government and his family.
The Independence Day was
celebrated with full fervour in Narnaul.
The CM took the salute from
contingents of the Haryana Police,
Home Guards and NCC cadets. The
schoolchildren performed cultural
dance and music programmes.
Earlier, the Chief Minister visited
the War Memorial at Sainik Rest House.
He paid tributes to patriots Rao Tula
Ram, Pt Neki Ram Sharma, Dada
Ganeshi Lal, Lala Deshbandhu Gupta
and Lal Guni Chand, who were at the
forefront in the freedom struggle.
“In free India, visionary leaders like
Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur
Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv
Gandhi implemented revolutionary
development schemes. The nation is
now marching forward under the able
SPECIAL REPORT
5
Chief Minister's surprise visit to a freedom fighter
All the programmes were scheduled for Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda on Independence Day, apart from an unscheduled visit to the
residence of 92 years old freedom fighter, Sharma. He, because of weak
eyesight, could not attend the Independence Day celebrations in Narnaul,
where Mr Hooda was presiding.
During his meeting with Babu Nand Sharma, Hooda said, “I am
fortunate that I have got an opportunity to seek blessings of a great freedom
fighter.”
Babu Nand Sharma thanked the Chief Minister for increasing the
pension of freedom fighters and their widows. He also asked the Chief
Minister to extend help for the education of the wards of the freedom
fighters. Sharma told Hooda that he had met his father Ch Ranbir Singh
Hooda five-seven times and he had great admiration for him.
The Chief Minister announced to give Rs 51,000 to Babu Nand Sharma
and asked the Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Gupta to look after his family
and provide every possible help. Pawan Sharma, brother of Babu Nand
Sharma, said that he would contribute a sum of Rs two lakh and set up a
trust named after Babu Nand Sharma with a corpus of Rs 2.51 lakh.
Chief Minister Bhupinder
Singh Hooda seeking
blessings of Babu Nand
Sharma, 92 year old
freedom fighter on his
unscheduled visit to his
home at Narnaul
guidance of UPA Chairperson Sonia
Gandhi and the dynamic leadership of
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,”
said Hooda. He recalled the sacrifices
made by the freedom fighters and said
that the youth of Haryana still felt
proud in serving the country. He took
great pride in the fact that every 10th
soldier in the Army is from Haryana.
The festivities of Independence Day
also included new announcements by
the Chief Minster. On the auspicious
occasion, he declared raise in the
monthly pension of freedom fighters
and their widows from Rs 6,000 to Rs
11,000 per month. The decision would
provide additional financial benefit of
Rs 7.50 crore to 1,250 freedom fighters
and their widows.
Hooda said that the state
government was already providing a
number of facilities to the families of
martyrs, freedom fighters, serving
soldiers and ex-servicemen. The
scholarships given to their wards have
been increased as also the amount being
given for gallantry awards. Defence
colonies are being developed in major
cities. A second Sainik school has been
opened in Rewari and a defence
university is coming up at Gurgaon.
The state government, jointly with
the central government, has formulated
many revolutionary development
schemes. Every section of society
including farmers, women, traders,
Scheduled Castes and other backward
classes are provided with number of
concessions. Hooda said that the floodaffected people would be given adequate
compensation. A financial assistance of
Rs 1,346 crore has been sought from the
central government.
The state has also made remarkable
progress in the field of industry. An
investment of over Rs 53,000 crore has
already been catalyzed and investment
of more than Rs one lakh crore is in the
pipeline. The state infrastructure is
being strengthened. Many roads have
been constructed and several have been
improved. Nineteen railway over
bridges (ROBs) have been built. An ROB
has been constructed at a cost of Rs 24
crore in Mahendergarh. This year in
December, the construction of the
Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway
would be completed. Gurgaon has been
provided with metro connectivity and it
would be further extended up to
Faridabad and Ballabgarh. Four new
power plants have been set up to make
the state self-sufficient in power.
Haryana is emerging as a hub of
education. Rajiv Gandhi Education City
is being developed in Sonipat. Other
projects in the pipeline are Kalpana
Chawla Medical College at Karnal and
technical institutions at Kundli,
Murthal and Manesar.
The state government would give a
cash prize of Rs 7 lakh to sportspersons
from the state on winning gold medal in
Commonwealth Games to be held in
October at New Delhi. Players who will
win silver and bronze medals would be
given Rs five lakh and Rs three lakh
each respectively. Haryana would
extend its full cooperation to make the
games a success, Hooda added.
Hooda announced Rs 2.51 lakh for
the schoolchildren who took part in the
Independence Day function. He
honoured freedom fighters and their
family members with shawls. He gave
away tricycles and wheelchairs to the
physically challenged.
Magnesh Chand Jain, Vice
Chairman, Haryana Swatantrata
Senani Samman Samiti , expressed his
gratitude to the CM for increasing
monthly pension of freedom fighters
and their widows. He said, “The Chief
Minister is himself the son of a great
freedom fighter Ch Ranbir Singh and
his family has made a noteworthy
contribution to the freedom struggle. By
making a significant increase for the
first time in the monthly pension of the
freedom fighters, Mr Hooda has proved
that he holds freedom fighters in high
esteem.” g
6
HISTORY
Haryana and the August
Dr Atul Yadav
fter 1857, the Quit India
Movement of 1942 was the other
people-oriented uprising which
almost uprooted the British Empire in
India. In this way it was the second
biggest movement in the history of
India. The ‘Do or Die’ slogan given by
the Father of the Nation forced the
British to leave India at an early date.
On August 8, 1942 Indian National
Congress organised a grand function
in the Gwalia Tank in Bombay. The
recitation of “Saare Jahan Se Aacha
Hindustan Hamara” proved to be
creating a sound background where
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru proposed
Quit India Movement and Sardar
Ballabh Bhai Patel seconded it. In
history it is known as August
Resolution. On this very date
Mahatma Gandhi called it the ‘last
fight for independence.’ On his call,
“Do or Die”, crores of people rose in
revolt.
Gandhi asked the newspapers,
rulers of the native states, teachers,
students and government employees
to work for the independence of India.
He advised the masses to work for
A
independence whereever they live and
reside.
The Second World War was in a
crucial phase. The government would
not tolerate any revolt at such a
critical period. It started suppression
of common men to control this revolt.
As soon as congress aproved the
British leave India proposa,l the
government prepared a plan and the
next morning national leaders were
arrested. Gandhiji was interned in
Aaga Khan Palace at Poona. As soon
as the news of arrest of leaders
reached the public the common men
rose in revolt throughout the country.
Haryana, like the uprising of 1857
participated in a grand way in this
fight for freedom.
The revolt was at its maximum in
Haryana. Revolutionaries of district
Ambala participated in this revolt
with full force. The markets were shut
down and processions were taken out.
Here literature was prepared and
clandestinely passed on to the
armymen. They were urged to leave
the British government and work for
service of the country. In a pamphlet
of this nature entitled “Aajadi ka
Morcha” it was argued “The law
under which you are serving the
British is a bond of slavery, the salary
which you are drawing is bribe to
your soul to keep quite.” Some of the
revolutionary youngmen uprooted the
railway tracks, cut down telegraph
wires and damamged the government
buildings. Prominent among those
revolutionaries were Lala Dunichand
Ambalvi, Sardar Gurmukh Singh,
Babu Gulab Singh and Ishwar
Chander.
The revolt took an astonishing
scene in district Karnal. The public
was expressing anger against the illtreatment given to the leaders in a
peaceful way, then suddenly the police
lathicharged the public. Hundreds got
injured and prominent or not so
prominent congress leaders were
arrested and the masses were
threatened to remain away from the
struggle. However, this brutal plan of
the government failed miserably.
According to an entry in the diary of
a British Police Officer- “Day 16
August 1942, it was almost sun set.
The D.C. office was put on fire. Many
records were burnt. Hardly the fire
was controlled when a cloud of smoke
appeared from the court room of
Kranti
session judge which subsequently
turned into fire balls. A few hours
after this the post office also met the
same fate. The government tried its
level best to find out those responsible
for fire but failed to do so.”
Here also the young
revolutionaries damaged the
government property. A young
revolutionary Vishnu Dutt Aashri
prepared a bomb for assassinating the
Governor of Punjab. The Governor
was coming for a visit to Karnal
district and it was planned to
assassinate him near Pipli.
Unfortunately, the bomb blasted in the
very hands of Vishnu Dutt Aashri
and took his life. In this struggle for
freedom in Karnal district, the main
leading personalities were Nathi Ram,
Kaka Ram, Harnam Singh and Madho
Ram.
Rohtak led all other districts of
Haryana during the Quit India
Movement. Many incidents of
sabotage took place at many places in
the district. The enraged crowd put on
fire a railway train at Rohtak railway
station. Railway tracks were uprooted
near Gannaur. Telegraph wires
between Rohtak and Bahadurgarh
HISTORY
were cut down. In Haryana,
maximum arrests were made in
Rohtak district during the movement.
Pandit Shri Ram Sharma, Choudhary
Ranbir Singh, Gyan Singh, Banwari
Lal, Abdul Gani, Lekhraj, Fateh
Singh, Hardwari Lal, Ram Singh,
Badri Parsad, Gopi Ram, Mange Ram,
Tuhi Ram and Chiranji Lal were the
leading persons. Around 400
Satyagrahis were arrested in this
district.
Hisar also smouldered. Public
meetings were organised, processions
taken out and a call was given for
general strike. Revolutionary young
men damaged the railway lines near
Sirsa and put Hisar railway station on
fire. Like other districts ‘secret
literature’ was distributed here also.
Women and children played the
leading role in this struggle. Around
100 persons were arrested. These
included Raj Kumar Bithat, Nand Lal,
Kripa Ram, Balwant Rai Tayal, Devi
Lal, 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 Purna
Nand of Hansi was martyred in
Firojpur jail during the Quit India
Movement.
Gurgaon in south Haryana also
followed the pattern of other districts.
Rewari was the centre of the struggle.
Young students instead of attending
their schools started participating in
processions and strikes. People of
Rewari in particular and district
Gurgaon in general, socially
boycotted supporters of the British.
The Badli railway station was put on
fire. Khushi Ram, Jagdish Parsad,
Daya Ram and Dungar Mal were the
leading lights of the freedom
movement in this area.
The revolutionaries organised a
party by the name of “Bomb Party” in
Narnaul. This party kept the struggle
going in the city and surroundings.
The leading lights of the party were
Ram Kishore Oontwal, Bhagirath
Parsad, socialist leader Ayodhya
Parsad, Hari Krishan, Munshi Lal
and Duli Chand. Several government
buildings were damaged. So was the
fate of railway tracks. The telegraph
wires were cut and bombs were
hurled at the police station.
The Praja Mandal movement in
native states of Haryana played an
7
important part in the Quit India
Movenent. Hundreds of patriots of
Jind, Loharu, Pataudi, Dujana and
Narnaul offered arrests. The notable
names were Rao Gopi Ram, Pandit
Tara Chand, Hari Ram Arya, Rao Dev
Karan, Banarsi Dass, Mahashya
Ramji Lal, Thakur Bhagwan Singh,
Pandit Dayal Sharma, Chhote Lal,
Babu Mool Chand Jain, Babu Brish
Bhan [later to become chief minister
of PEPSU], Devi Dayal and Hans Raj
Rahbar.
During this movement in Haryana,
four railway stations were burnt. So
were 11 post offices. The telegraph
wires were cut at 45 places, bombs
were hurled at eight police stations,
railway tracks were damaged at six
places and 8000 incidents of damaging
government property took place.
School and college students left the
institutions to participate in this
movement. The farmers ploughed
their fields with the tricolour flags
bound to their ploughs. The
movement got strengthened from the
discussions held in village Choupals.
Gandhiji’s image rose high, so much
so influential that discussions on Quit
India Movement became a talk over
Hooka in villages. He had so much
impressed the masses of Haryana that
the bards started singing patriotic
songs likeKharya Rupya Chandi ka,
Raj Mahatma Gandhi ka,
Khari Chavni Chandiki,
Jai Bolo Mahatma Gandhi ki.
The Indian National Army (INA) of
Netaji Subhash Chander Bose
inspired the militant Haryanvis in a
huge way. More than 2,715 youth were
recruited from Haryana alone. As
many as 436 of them were martyred.
The Quit India Movenent reached
every nook and corner which
unnerved the British Empire. The
government dealt with people with
lathis and arrests. More than 3,000
persons offered themselves for
arrests. It can be safely concluded
that Haryana played a sterling role
and its contribution was in no way
lesser than other regions of India.
The spirit of sacrifice and love for
freedom generated during this
movement forced the British to leave
India in 1947. g
The writer is Assistant Professor of
History, Government P.G. College,
Ambala Cantt.
8
COVER STORY
The love of
celluloid
Cinema in its varied forms provides
wholesome entertainment and makes a deep
impact on audience
include the big screen and the silver
screen. The process of filmmaking has
developed into an art form and industry
that is powerful and influential.
Films are cultural artifacts. These
mirror different cultures, and in turn,
influence them. Film is an entertaining
art form. It could be a powerful method
for educating — or even indoctrinating
— citizens. There can be no film
without some ideology. Some films
attain worldwide attraction and are
shown to people from different cultures
by dubbing or subtitling the dialogues.
What makes a good film? Whole lot of
researched articles and books adorn the
shelves to delineate on the subject. Who
is a good filmmaker? A person with
creative mind, awareness of life and
arts and prolific talent could be one. Yet
a successful filmmaker would require
much more besides money to
experiment and gifted actors. Mastering
the many aspects of filmmaking
requires professional training and
technical skill. There are film institutes
across the world including India (in
Pune and many other cities), and many
private institutes too which are
imparting training in various aspects of
the art of filmmaking. These institutes
equip students with necessary skills
and teach the art and aesthetics of
filmmaking in addition to technical
expertise and economics of filmmaking.
FIRST FILM
Bhal Singh with comedian Mehar Mittal
Gobind Thukral
he love of cinema is in all of us. A
moving picture magnetises us.
Some take it passionately, some look
upon it with awe. Everyone remembers
the first movie, she or he saw.
The world of cinema in its myriad
forms is upon us. It could be in the
shape of feature films, full length with
all the sub plots, songs, enchanting
storylines, tantalising dialogues or
documentaries of various themes and
sizes. Television has brought cinema to
our drawing rooms, nay bedrooms, to
our moving cars, buses, trains and
airplanes. You may watch a film on
your computer screen. Cinema means
good story telling. It offers delightful
music, songs and an enthralling action.
But it could be sheer propaganda.
T
Therefore, cinema is more open to those
who take it critically.
Films consist of series of frames.
Experts tell us that “When these move
in rapid succession, we have an illusion
of a constant motion as we can observe
the flickering between frames due to an
effect known as persistence of vision; a
phenomenon of the eye by which an
afterimage persists for one twenty-fifth
of a second on the retina. Viewers
perceive motion due to a psychological
effect called beta movement.” The
visual elements of cinema give motion
pictures a universal power of
communication. Even a small child gets
mesmerised.
We call this picture, or moving
picture and even a photoplay and flick. A
common name now is movie. In Europe,
cinema is preferred. Other names
‘The Oberammergau Passion Play’
(1898) was the first commercial film
ever produced. Other films soon
followed, and took the world by a storm.
Raja Harishchandra (1913), by
Dadasaheb Phalke, was the first silent
feature film made in India. By the 1930s,
the industry was producing over 200
films per annum. The first Indian sound
film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931),
was a major commercial success.
India has not looked back. It is the
second largest producer of films. It is
now a separate industry that commands
more than its share. Dedicated theatres
and companies were formed specifically
to produce and distribute films, while
film actors became celebrities,
commanding enormous fees for their
performances. By 1917, Charlie Chaplin
had a contract that called for an annual
salary of one million dollars. In India,
film actresses and actors, many of them
part of political life, get attention like
real life heroes. They get well paid and
are even courted by big time politicians.
COVER STORY
9
A still from film ‘Laado’
Some actors and actresses have been
and are still ministers. One even leads
an important South Indian state.
The Indian cinema consists of films
produced across the country. It includes
the cinematic culture of Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Kerala, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu
and West Bengal. Indian films have
strong viewership throughout South
Asia and West Asia. Expatriates in
countries such as the United Kingdom
and the United States continue to give
rise to international audience for films
of various languages; Telugu, Tamil,
Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Bengali
and Hindi.
In the 20th century, Indian cinema,
along with the American, Indian and
Chinese film industries, became a
global enterprise. Enhanced technology
paved the way for upgradation. It
radically altered the established
cinematic norms of delivering
products. Indian cinema that uses most
sophisticated technology and spends
huge sums on filmmaking has spread
its tentacles to over 90 countries where
films from India are watched with
interest.
India is the world's largest producer
of films. In 2009, India produced a total
of 2,961 films, which include a
staggering figure of 1,288 feature films.
The provision of 100% foreign direct
investment has made the Indian film
market lucrative for foreign investors.
Tax incentives to multiplexes have
aided the multiplex boom in India.
Many production companies have been
listed in the National Stock Exchange,
making the commercial presence of the
medium felt.
The Indian Diaspora consists of
millions of Indians overseas for which
films are made available both through
mediums such as DVDs and by
screening of films in their country of
residence. These earnings, accounting
for some 12% of the revenue generated
by a mainstream film, contribute
substantially to the overall revenue of
Indian cinema. Its net worth was Rs 100
billion in 2009. Music in Indian cinema
is another substantial revenue earner.
WHY HARYANA LACKS GOOD
FILMS?
We can count a few good films in the
Haryanvi dialect. Not many have
succeeded at the box office or as art
films. Only a few stand out. There are
valid reasons. Haryanvis write in Hindi
or Punjabi and some, of course, are
good in English too. Haryanvi is as yet
not a full-fledged language with its own
script. The state is bestowed with
different variants of this dialect. The
dialects spoken in the villages from
Bangru, Baggar, Deswal and Ahirwal
are different. And again, since Hindi
cinema is appreciated all over the state,
the necessity of typical Haryanvi films
becomes less attractive in terms of
spectators and profits. Haryana is
blessed with great actors, directors and
musicians. But they have mostly
contributed to big time Hindustani
films.
The government, in fact, can do little
to promote what can be called typically
Haryanvi films. It can grant
concessions in entertainment duty and
it often does. It can reward actors and it
has done it in various ways. It has been
helping film festivals, theatre
workshops and stage performances.
Some universities have theatre
departments to encourage students. The
government is setting up a state-of-theart State Institute for Film and
Television at Rohtak on the pattern of
the Film and Television Institute, Pune.
It has built theatres and plans to add
more all across the state to help nurture
a movement for good theatre. But these
efforts cannot create commercially
successful Haryanvi films. It is the
economics that dictates. g
10
COVER STORY
The journey of
cinema in Haryana
A first person account from a director and a film buff
Ashwini Chaudhry
dangerous to the cultural growth of
the state and its undoing as well.
first heard of cinema from my
Not only did the state resist
cousin Prem when I was six years
‘external’ impacts on its cultural
old. He boasted of watching Jal Bin
life, it failed in capitalising on its
Machali Nritya Bin Bijli five times
own strengths as well. Whereas folk
in a row (Years later, when I saw this
forms like Jatra or Nautanki played
film in Delhi I knew why). He
a very important role in early 50s in
became something of an outcast and
Bengal or Hindi heartland, Swang, a
a butt of ridicule for everybody else
Haryanvi folk theatre form,
in the village ‘Chautala’ where we
remained confined to the Jat belt
hailed from. Chautala abounded in
mainly because of its vernacular
opium, poppy and country wine. My
themes and dialect.
uncles and cousins, like all others in
One of the main sources of
the village, were neck deep into
inspiration in any language is its
these intoxicants and frequently
literature. Cinema, in its nascent
A still from film ‘Chandrawal ’
crossed the state border to get their
stage, draws from this reservoir and
daily fix. So did Prem, but his nasha
generally learns to find its own
was a tad different – he was hooked
grammar and feed-offs as it grows.
to cinema and would catch any
Haryanvi language, till today,
Hindi film in the neighbourhood
remains a dialect and Haryanvi
town of Sangaria. Prem came in for
literature is largely non-existent.
heavy tongue-lashing – daaru
Therefore, there is absence of an
(liquor) and opium were
instinctive or regulated theatre
understandable but films!! Only
movement in Haryana drawing from
‘bhaands’ or people with ‘lowly
its own literary tradition. The states
character’ could have anything to do
with strong and popular theatre
with naach gaana and filmbaazi –
movements contributed
such was the mantra.
significantly to the growth of Hindi
Even today in major parts of
cinema. Films like Dharti Ke Lal,
rural Haryana, cinema continues to
Mother India and Pyaasa were made
evoke same sentiments –
possible by Indian People's Theatre
synonymous with corruption of
A scene from film ‘Mhari dharti mhari maa’ Association (IPTA) at that time.
mind and character. It is neither an
At the end of the spectrum are
honourable invocation nor a preferred
Indian cinema took birth with Alam
the film societies which played a huge
indulgence. Therefore, much lower
Ara in 1937. Today, India produces more
role elsewhere in the country, in
down on the agenda of this patriarchal
than 2000 films per year in all
promoting and encouraging good
society and polity.
languages. Indian cinema today
cinema. The first film society was
I shifted to Mumbai some ten years
includes the cinematic tradition of
formed in Mumbai in 1943 followed by
ago to try my luck in films (after
South (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
Satyajeet Ray Film Society in Bengal in
making my first feature film in
etc), of Maharashtra and Gujarat, of
1947. By 1970 there were more than 150
Haryanvi- Laado) and met a veteran
West Bengal and Kerala, of Punjab and
film societies all across India but not a
producer K D Shoury (actor Ranbir
Rajasthan. Haryana does not find a
single film society was formed in
Shoury’s father). His first advice to me
mention in this list. The reasons are not
Haryana. Though I would love to be
was to go back to my native state as
difficult to indicate. For this we have to
proved wrong but there is not even one
Haryanvis and cinema have nothing in
look at the main sources that enriched
such conglomeration of like- minded
common. That is how Hindi film
the mainstream Hindi cinema over the
gentlemen, united for their love of
industry looks at Haryana. And this
years.
cinema in the state of Haryana.
cynicism is not entirely unfounded.
Half knowledge proved to be
1960s marked a huge leap forward in
I
the annals of Indian cinema. On one
hand, the mainstream Hindi cinema
was growing in leaps and bounds and
on the other hand, regional films were
making their presence felt. A number of
established film stars, directors, writers
and producers actually started their
career with regional films back then.
Significantly, the first Haryanvi film
saw the light of the day in 1984 - a good
18 years after the formation of Haryana.
Twenty six years later, as Indian and
regional cinema and its progenies make
a mark in international cinema, in
chartbuster commercial successes and
international marquees, Haryanvi
cinema still remains in its nascent
stage. There are people and
personalities who have risen from these
ashes on the basis of their own merit,
strength and fire-in-the-belly.
An existing merit list of luminaries
from the state has to ideally begin with
Pandit Jasraj and his family. They have
been synonymous with music tradition
in the classical realm for years together
and the front-runners in leaving a
lasting impact on music in Hindi
cinema. Pandit Jasraj, the
contemporary doyen of north Indian
vocals from the Mewati gharana is a
native of village Peeli Mandori in
Fatehabad district. Conferred with
numerous awards including Padam
Bhushan, Pandit Jasraj composed
music for Hindi films in early stage of
his career. His disciples include singer
Sadhana Sargam, his music director
son, Sarang Dev and singer daughter
Durga Jasraj.
Jatin Lalit, the leading music
composers, are again from Peeli
Mandori, Fatehabad. Blessed with an
envious pedigree, Jatin Lalit are
nephews of Pandit Jasraj and sons of
classical singer Pandit Pratap Narayan.
They have composed music for box
office biggies like Dilwale Dulhaniya le
Jayenge, Kucch kucch Hota Hai,
Khamoshi The Musical, Fanaa etc.
Their music of DDLJ has been rated as
top Hindi soundtrack of all times. The
brothers’ primary asset and
contribution is their originality. Their
sisters, Sulakshana Pandit and Vijeta
Pandit have sung and acted in number
of Hindi films. Vijeta Pandit became a
household name when she was
launched opposite to Kumar Gaurav in
‘Love Story’ in 1981.
Another music composer who made
a mark in Hindi film industry is J P
Kaushik. He started his musical career
COVER STORY
11
Famous Classical Vocalist, Pt Jasraj tying a Rakhi on the wrist of Haryana
Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda
with legendry K A Abbas in Shehar Aur
Sapna. He composed music for more
than 50 Hindi films including Amitabh
Bachan’s debut film, Saat Hindustani.
Sonu Nigam a native of Faridabad,
started his career with cover versions of
Mohammad Rafi songs and is today the
top most playback singer of Hindi films.
He rose to fame with the song Sandese
aate hain from the film Border and
never looked back. Winner of numerous
Filmfare and Screen awards, Sonu has
also released a number of Indi- pop
albums and acted in a couple of Hindi
films. Richa Sharma and Himani are
two other names from Haryana who are
known for their signature style of
playback singing.
Satish Kaushik hails from district
Mahendergarh. He is an actor, writer,
director and producer of repute in
Hindi film industry. Better known as
the character ‘Calendar’ from Mr India,
he has written dialogues for the cult
film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and has
directed films like Tere Naam, Hum
Aaapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Milenge
Milenge etc. His performances in films
like Masoom and Brick Lane have been
widely appreciated.
The face of parallel cinema in India Om Puri- was born and brought up in
Ambala. An alumuni of NSD and FTII,
Om Puri started his film journey with
Ghasiram Kotwal and then went on to
do films like Bhawani Bhavai, Sadgati,
Ardth Satya, Mirch Masala, Dharvi,
Dev, Dhoop etc. He won the National
Award for best actor in Ardh Satya. Om
has done a number of international
films like ‘East Is East’, ‘City Of Joy’,
‘Wolf ’ etc and is critically acclaimed
internationally also. Awarded with
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
and Padamshree and immortalised with
legendry performances (Who can forget
the butcher of Tamas or the victimised
tribal of Akrosh?),Om puri stands tall
as Haryana’s biggest contribution to
worldwide cinema.
Another legend of Hindi cinema,
Sunil Dutt, hails from a small village
–Mandoli, on the banks of river
Yamuna in Yamunanagar. Dutt shot to
stardom in 1957 with Mother India. An
actor, producer, director, Sunil Dutt is
best remembered for his performances
in films like Sadhana, Sujata, Muje jene
do, Padosan, Waqt etc. Dutt proved that
he his ahead of his times when he made
12
COVER STORY
Om Puri with Shabana and Patrick Swayze in City of Joy (1992)
Yaadein in 1964- the film had just a
single character played magically by
Dutt himself. Sunil Dutt gave Indian
cinema a different style, sophistication
and genre of acting.
Hindi cinema’s most patriotic hero,
Bharat Kumar aka Manoj Kumar is
from Indri, Karnal. He started his film
career with Kaanch Ki Gudiya and then
did films like Voh Kaun Thi, Haryali
Aur Rasta, Himalay Ki God Mein. Manoj
Kumar brought nationalism and
patriotic fervour to the front row in
Hindi cinema. He institutionalised
himself as the ideal romantic patriotic
hero with films like Shaheed, Upkaar,
Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapda Aur
Makaan and Kranti. Manoj Kumar is
recipient of Phalke Ratan,
Padamshree,and Filmfare Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The Mukhiya of Champaner village
in the Oscar nominated film Lagaan is
Rajendra Gupta who is from a business
family in Panipat. His other noteworthy
films are Saleem Langde Pe Mat Ro,
Main Zinda Hoon, Laado, Sehar, Guru
etc.
Another memorable character in
Lagaan, ‘Laakhaa’ was played by
Yashpal Sharma of Hisar. An alumni of
NSD, he is today one of the leading
villains of Hindi film industry. His
performances in films like Ab tak
Chhappan, Apharan, Gangajal, Kisna
and Shool have been highly appreciated.
Randeep Hooda, from village Jaseya
in Rohtak was first noticed in ‘Monsoon
Wedding’ in 2001 for his role as an NRI.
He followed it up with films like Risk, D
Company and Rubaru. Randeep is in
news these days for his stellar
performance in Once Upon A Time In
Mumbai.
There are others like Mohit Ahlawat
(Shiva, James, Shaagird) who is on the
fringes of fame but there in filmdom,
nevertheless.
Mallika Sehrawat, Haryana’s
torchbearer and enfant terrible, hails
from Rohtak. She started her tryst with
stardom with TV commercials and went
on quickly to star in Khwahish in 2003.
She came to limelight,however ,with
Anurag Basu directed Murder in 2004.
Her films like Pyaar ke side effects,
‘Hisss’ and ‘The Myth’ with Jackie
Chan are much discussed and spoken
about.
Another jat girl from Haryana who
also started with TV commercials and
landed in Hindi films is Minissha
Lamba. She began her journey with
critically acclaimed Yahaan in 20005
and followed it up with Bacchna e
haseeno, Shaurya and Well Done Abba
by Shyam Benegal..
Writing in Hindi cinema has only
one only flagbearer – Girish Dhamija
from Hisar. He has scripted films like
1920, Gangster, Footpath, Raaz,
Sangharsh, Dushman, Zakhm etc. He
also went on to direct two films –
Yakeen and Phir in the last few years.
Manmohan Singh, the renowned
director of photography, also known as
‘The poet with a camera’, is from Dhela
Kalaan in Sirsa. He has shot films like
Dil Waale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge,
Betaab, Chandni, Lamhe, Maachis and
Waaris. Today, he is one of the leading
producer directors of Punjabi films and
has given a new lease on life to Punjabi
cinema.
So much for the collective worth of
Haryanvis in cinema; but the million
dollar question is – “Is there a way out
to add to this strength and clout?” How
come those who have made it big in
Mumbai never own up Haryana or why
does Haryana not own them as their
own? Why does a Pandit Jasraj open a
music academy in Ajmer and not in
Ambala? Why didn’t a Sunil Dutt or
Manoj Kumar come back to the state to
produce / direct a Haryanvi Film ?
Political apathy and the absence of
popular culture have a lot to do with the
problem and the solutions have to come
from these quarters only. The moneys
being made in industrial hubs of
Gurgaon and Faridabad have never
found their way to art and artists in the
state simply because there is no routing
mechanism in place. Talent needs
fertile grounds to bloom in. Do the
groundwork and Haryana shall make
its mark in Indian cinema. g
The writer is a noted film director in
Mumbai. He directed award-winning
film ‘Laado’ besides other films.
COVER STORY
13
Laado: An unfinished
success story
The film Laado which could have brought a new lease of life to
Haryanvi cinema unceremoniously died midway
Ashwini Chaudhary receiving the National Award for the best first feature film
of a director in open category for ‘Laado’ by the then President KR Narayanan
Swati Sethi
aado was released in May 2000
when cinema in Haryana was in a
state of reluctant activity over the past
one decade. The state of Haryana was
formed in 1966 and the first Haryanvi
film Beera –Shera was made in the year
1973. A year later, another attempt was
made in the form of Jat Harphool
Singh. Both the films failed in finding
an audience in their own home state.
It was after a long gap that
Chandrawal was released in 1984 and
became a runaway hit. From 1984 to
1994 around two dozen Haryanvi films
were released. All of them failed to
make any dent at the box-office or leave
any mark on the cultural landscape of
the state.
Many reasons can be ascribed to
this failure. Neither substance nor
strategy was visible in creation,
production or release of these films. In
a way it would have been too much to
expect any of this from a state that had
L
no wherewithal to create a talent pool
that would produce noteworthy
cinema.There was neither knowledge,
nor infrastructure or trained
manpower for cinema in this barren
land.
It was in this backdrop that Laado
was produced and released in the year
2000. Produced by Kumud Chaudhary
and directed by Ashwini Chaudhary,
the film was based on a short story
written by Surinder Chaudhary, a
native of Sonipat who taught direction
in Pune Film Institute. Laado focusing
on a woman’s plight did not embellish
the narrative either with only pretty
faces or so called Haryanvi humour to
highlight the contradictions existing
in a traditional male dominated society
like Haryana. Laado questioned the
values, traditions, customs and the
sociopolitical milieu which professes
concern for women but aborts every
move aimed at their empowerment.
The music of the film was a big hit
even before the release of the film; its
songs are played even today in
marriages and school, college
functions.
Another first was added to its credit
before its release when it was conferred
with the National Award for the best
first feature film of a director in open
category in 46th National Awards in
2000. The producer director duo was
honoured with Golden Lotus Award.
Laado is the only Haryanvi film which
got critical acclaim in Film festivals in
India and abroad.
The reasons for the plight of
Haryanvi cinema, apart from obvious
reasons like absence of strong cultural
movement, problem of various dialects,
small commercial territory and lack of
infrastructure, came to fore when
Laado after getting recognition acclaim
and awards came to its own state and
people. The makers of the film were
cold shouldered by the government in
power. Even after getting clear
instructions from the Information and
Broadcasting ministry, Laado was not
granted tax exemption in its own state.
After a long struggle with the
government, the makers went ahead
and released the film in Haryana on
May 5, 2000 without tax exemption.
This release ended the stalemate of
Haryanvi Cinema. There was palpable
excitement and terrific response to the
film. At all four centres where it was
released in the first phase, the tickets
were sold outright. After years, hordes
of women were seen in cinema halls.
There were murmurs of protest from
sections, which propagated that the
film raised ‘bold’ and ‘new-age’ issues
and was a threat to the social balance
between the sexes in the conservative
state.
Laado did not have a fruitful run in
the state. The film which could have
brought a new lease of life to
Haryanvi cinema unceremoniously
died midway. g
14
COVER STORY
Haryanvi films:
An unending saga
A scene from
Phool Badan
Nishant Prabhakar
ilmmaking is an art par excellence.
It needs whole lot of planning from
selecting actors, writers, music
composers, directors, locations to dress
designing, art direction, screenplay,
dialogues, cinematography and post
production editing and publicity. Each
one of these aspects has its own
importance and major role in
completing a film before it's taken to
the audience. And if the producer does
not keep these technical aspects in
mind, the chances of a film meeting
F
success at the box office remain dim.
After independence, films have
become one of the most powerful
mediums of entertainment in India.
Besides the Hindi film industry, a
remarkable progress has been made in
regional films as well. South India and
West Bengal have attained a
remarkable position in producing
regional films, depicting the cultural
heritage of the various regions.
However, the progress of making
regional films in the Hindi belt of
North India remained slow due to the
fact that the Hindi-knowing people of
various states of the Hindi heartland
have been getting entertainment
through Hindi films.
The root of Haryanvi films can be
traced to the 1970s when Beera Shera
was released. It was a love story based
in Haryanvi setting made by Anoop
Singh. Then came Harphool Jat Julane
Wala in 1976 under the direction of
Anand. This was the first movie
having Haryanvi dialect as its main
language. Both these films did not get
the desired success at the box office. In
1970s, though numerous Haryanvi
films were produced, but they lacked
in the rustic cultural element of
Haryanvi culture and hence were not
appreciated in Haryana.
The golden period of Haryanvi
cinema began in the 1980s which
continued till mid 1990s. In 1981 came
Bahurani which can be regarded as the
true Haryanvi film. It was produced by
a society of 40 film lovers of Haryana
under the aegis of ‘Haryana Rajya
Chahitra Vikas Sahkari Samiti’
formed in 1979 with Usha Sharma as
its chairperson. The film was based on
the screenplay of Devi Shankar
Prabhakar and music was given by J P
Kaushik. Although there was some
struggle amongst the society members,
the movie did well at the box office and
its songs became popular.
Devi Shanker and his dancer wife
Usha came with Chandrawal in 1984. It
became a blockbuster and created a
stir in the film industry. Chandrawal
broke all records on the box office in
Haryana, Western UP, Delhi and parts
of Rajasthan. In due course of time,
Prabhakar films banner came with
three more films like Lado Basanti
(1985) Phool Badan (1986) and Jaatni
(1991).
The success of Chandrawal gave
new life to the Haryanvi film industry.
After this, many films like Panghat,
Premi Ramphal, Bhavar Chameli,
Mahra Pihar came which did good
business but couldn’t become super
hit. Then in 1987 came the movies like
Dhan Paraya, Phagun Aya Re, Chora
Jaat Ka, Jhanakdar Kanga and after
this Chandro, Beri, Shayona,
Lambardar and Chori Sapare Ki. Then
in 1991 came Jar Joru Jameen. The
music my Ravinder and wonderful
work done by the technicians in
production made the film successful at
the box office. Further, movies like
Yari, Yeh Maati Haryana Ki and
Ghoonghat ki Phatkar were released in
the same year. Director and actor
Subhash Jain made Chano and the
hero of the film Chandrawal , Jagat
Jhakhad made Suklava. Encouraged
by the success of Haryanvi film
industry, Gurdas Mann also made a
Haryanvi flick Chora Haryanae Ka.
In 1992 Pingal Bharthari was
released which was made in a
historical setting and then came Jaatni
under Prabhakar films. A big budget
film, Veeri was released the same year
and film Jaat by Swarn Singh followed
suit. After this, it seemed that the
Haryanvi film industry was slowly
COVER STORY
15
A scene from
Jar Joru Jameen
going towards it death grave. But in
2000, Ashwani Chaudhary directed and
Kumad Chaudhary and Harvinder
Malik co- produced movie Laado was
released. This movie was of big budget
and shot in cinema scope and its songs
were sung by Udit Narayan and Alka
Yagnik. This movie got national award
in regional film category.
After this film, there was a virtual
flood of Haryanvi films like Piya,
Chand Chakori and Bhali Karge Ram
but all of them turned out to be major
flops. Hence, the Haryanvi film
industry slowly came to a standstill
and its death bed. None of the
Haryanvi films could do the business
like that of Chandrawal. This is
primarily due to the reason that a tag
of Haryanvi was used in most of the
Haryanvi films but they didn’t depict
the true essence of Haryanvi culture.
There were also drawbacks in
direction and technical aspects which
resulted in a flop show of many films.
Moreover, the period from 1980s to
mid 1990s can be termed Golden period
of Haryanvi Cinema but it was more
so in terms of the number of releases.
Most of them, except a few, floundered
at the box office. Films were made by
non-serious producers who didn’t have
any experience in the art of film
making or any remotest connection
with art field. They saw films as a
proposition for easy minting of money
and in due course suffered huge losses.
This not only undermined the quality
of Haryanvi films but resulted in
virtual death of the whole industry.
Further, the Haryanvi film industry
loosed out its streams by mid 1990s
because of a peculiar situation where
there was no encouragement or
support from the State government
which failed to revive it. Then there
was competition faced from the
mainstream Hindi films which were
better produced and had star appeal.
Now there is a new start to revive
the almost redundant Haryanvi Film
Industry. This year Muthbed: Planned
Encounter, produced by Sanjay Sharma
and directed by Suraj Bhardwaj would
be released by year end. Similarly for
next year Prabhakar Films of
Chandrawal fame have announced
their next production Chandrawal-2,
first ever sequel in Haryanvi films. It is
to be seen how the audience would
reciprocate once these two films are
released.
However, just private effort is not
enough to boost Haryanvi cinema;
some help should come from the State
government. There should be a
coherent policy like the one which is
being followed in Maharashtra;
Gujarat and West Bengal. Further, the
exhibitors in the state should fix
particular duration of days in a year
when the private cinema halls and
multiplexes have to show Haryanvi
films on a compulsory basis. Moreover,
the state government should give
monetary incentive if 80% of the film
is shot in the State during production;
this will go a long way to help a
producer to meet his costs in post
production. This is the only way we
can help revive the Haryanvi film
industry. g
16
COVER STORY
State’s contribution to
Haryanvi folk culture
Ruchi Sharma
aryana is a small state. The
state’s boundary touches five
different states on its four sides.
Therefore, those border districts
carry the influence of adjoining
states on their language, culture,
dance and songs. It’s only the heart of
Haryana that carries the typical
Haryanvi culture.
In the Mughal era, court poets
enjoyed a great status. Kings and
priests used to entertain themselves
through the dance and music
performance of court artists. Every
form of art thus received impetus
from the then kings and supremes.
There have been many poets from
Haryana who entertained British and
promoted the rich Haryanvi folk
culture. Deep Chand, Baje Bhagat,
Hardeva and Mange Ram are the
prominent names.
Swang is a unique stage and its
H
zealous folk style is different from
other forms of folk theatre in the
whole country. Chamola, nautanki,
khayal, mimicry, jatra are the
different forms of folk theatre. Deep
Chand and Pt Lakhmi Chand
enhanced the splendour of Swang.
Earlier, the female characters in
Swang were only played by men as
they could present acts of jumping on
stage easily which women could not
present in a similar manner. But now
this tradition has seen a change as
many school and college girls are
lending support to Swangs in a new
way.
Raagini is an important part of
Swang which is a combination of
song and story as per the situation. It
is the famous Haryanvi style of
singing and generally of four stanzas.
There are different forms of raaginis
like Kathopakathan, Doha, Kafiya,
Sawaiya which evolved out of the
contributions of famous old Haryanvi
Artists performing on Haryana Day
function at Raj Bhawan
poets. Kathopakathan (question and
answering) through raagini was
introduced by Pt Lakhmi Chand.
Later, other poets followed this trend.
Pt Lakhmi Chand is also known as
Surya Kavi (Sun Poet) in Haryanvi
raaginis. He is the most celebrated
guru ever in this field. He improved
the raagini style of singing.
There have been great poets in
raaginis and there are numerous
anecdotes associated with them like
fauji (soldier) Jat Meher Singh. He
was very fond of singing raaginis and
composed many raaginis upon the
prevalent situations around. His
family members were fed up of his
over involvement in singing.
Therefore, one day to do away with
their routine interference he joined
army. In army, he believed he could
pursue his passion freely. His passion
for singing raagini was so strong that
even when he got shot while fighting
in 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 a
favour by informing my family
through a letter that I sacrificed my
life for the country)
In another anecdote of Seth
Tarachand, Tarachand leaves
COVER STORY
Chandragupt who is sleeping on an
island, in his house (which is
mortagaged) while he is enjoying
with his friends.
“Byah shadi ka zikar chalya jib
naar tale ne go key,
Jaan sake dut ka marya bheetar
bar gaya ro ke...”
Folk dances and music which were
an integral part of our village life
were lost long time ago but the state
government is trying to revive them
back. The important events of the
State are celebrated with the
Haryanvi folk dance and music
performances. These are performed
by youngsters in proper Haryanvi
dress, odhni, daman and choli.
Way back in eighties, when the
first colour TV was introduced by
state-owned broadcaster,
Doordarshan (DD) to time with the
1982 Asian Games which India
hosted, at that time the Haryanvi lok
nritya and song “Meri chunar
mangadey oh nandi key veera....” was
telecasted on television. It became the
most popular Haryanvi dance track.
Based on its music, Bhappi Lehri
composed a song “Mujhey naulakha
mangadey rey.....” which became a big
hit. Haryanvi folk music had great
charm that attracted many from
Bollywood. Raj Kumari, singer of
Rohtak had sung a song “Sun bairi
balam sach bol rey ib kyaa hogaa ...”
This song has its own charm and is
liked even today. Roshan music
director’s song “Chand sa mukhada
kyun sharmaya...” and “Kabhi alag
na hogi alag kaya sey kaya...” also
became popular. Even today, the latest
movies and music albums make use
of Haryanvi music and songs like
“Tu raja ki raj dulari” in Oye Lucky!
Lucky Oye! , “Bam lehri” by Kailash
Kher, “O pardesi” in Dev D.
Many villages have been named
after the raaginis of Haryana. For
example, Pillu village was named
after Pillu raag. This was never found
in any other state of the country.
The state has prosperous Haryanvi
culture and the state government is
taking steps to promote it. “Every
year, on Haryana Day, new
performances in dance, song and
theatre are organised and contestants
are honoured with cash awards in
order to encourage promotion of
Haryanvi culture in Haryana. Last
year, cash worth Rs 21,000 each was
17
given to a total of 19 boy and girl
artists. Important and appreciable
steps have been taken to encourage
the artists by our chief minister,”
said Bhal Singh Balhara, Project
Director, Department of Information,
Public Relations and Cultural Affairs.
“Language has been a barrier in
enhancing the popularity of Swang in
other states. Therefore, we are trying
to reinvent Swang. Its language and
dress has to undergo a change. We
need both men and women as actors
to participate. It will make it more
popular among all sections. This
year the state government has given
Rs one crore for the encouragement
of cultural activities,” said Shiv
Raman Gaur, Director of
Information, Public Relations and
Cultural Affairs.
There are theatres in Rohtak,
Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Hisar and now
government is thinking to open a
theatre in Gurgaon. Haryana Urban
Development Authority has played a
major contribution in constructing
them. In many parts of the state,
there are small or big auditoriums
where from time to time cultural
programmes are held with the help of
local natak mandalis. The members
of mandali are college students. With
their performance, they instill in
other fellow Haryanvis the love for
the culture of their state.
The Department of Cultural
Affairs has even recruited cultural
and art officers in the field of theatre,
dance, music and art who organise
programmes, workshops and
experiment with new ideas. Rafi Nite
in Rohtak is a regular feature of the
department. Here youngsters are
auditioned to be a part of cultural
performances.
Kala Academy and Kala Parishad
also have an important role in
promoting the culture of Haryana.
Every year, cultural programmes are
organised by Kala Parishad as per the
calendar events in Indradhanush
auditorium and others theatres in the
state. It also takes Haryanvi folk
dance and music to other states.
Every year, state level dance, music
and raagini competitions are held
where winning teams are given cash
awards for first three positions.
In the whole country, Haryana is
the only state which is giving a cash
award of maximum Rs 1 lakh in
order to promote state culture. g
18
COVER STORY
Amateurs add
lustre to arts
Artists of Hisar Rangmandal
giving stage performance
aryana is a place of
diversified beliefs and faiths.
The people have preserved their
culture in the form of dance,
drama, music, art and celebration
of various fairs and festivals
throughout the year. These
seasonal fairs and festivals bring
affability among the people.
Haryanvis take great delight in
Swang (in Sanskrit) or Saang in
common parlance which is a folk
dance with variants like Chhathi,
Khoria, Dhamaal, Ghoomar,
Jhoomar, Gugga and Loor. They
relish Raaslila, Raamlila and
dramas during these occasions.
Swati Sethi travels to different
parts of the state to gauge
community effort in theatre,
dance and singing.
H
THEATRE GROUPS
Haryana does not have a theatre group
carrying appeal across the state, though
smaller groups have been doing
commendable job at the local level in
district, subdivision and town levels. At
several places, theatre groups conveying
social messages have been active for
long and even the authorities have been
using them for creating awareness on
social issues like literacy, sanitation,
drug addiction and female foeticide.
For areas like Hisar and
surrounding, known for cultural
drought, a few theatre groups are like
springs of water in the desert. The
history of theatre is quite old in Hisar.
About 40 years back, the first theatre
group was started in the town. At
present, two big theatre groups are
functioning in Hisar. The theatre groups
Hisar Rangmandal and Opera have been
providing an opportunity to young
artists to showcase their talent in
acting.
Started two years back, Hisar
Rangmandal started with its first
performance of a Russian writer,
Anton Chekhov’s play, Seduction.
Other plays performed by them are
Lakeerein written by Gulzar, Holi
and Karoron Mein Ek. Karoron Mein
Ek is written by famous movie
writer, actor and director Makrand
Deshpande.
Anoop Goyal Michoo, Founder
Director of the Hisar Rangmandal,
says, “We started our theatre group
two years back and so far we have
done more than 13 plays. Soon we
are going to start our new play
Lagaan, written by famous writer
Bhisham Sahni. We are also
planning to organise a one week
theatre festival of Nadira Babbar
here in which two plays, Sakku Bai
and Yaar Bana Badi will be staged.
We are also planning to invite
Yashpal Sharma and Sarita Joshi
for this festival.”
In Fatehabad, the Jatan Natya
Manch started its journey in 1986.
The group started their plays with
the theme of national unity and
integrity and against
communalism. The Jatan Nayta
Manch enacted plays in the years
1992 to 1996 during the ‘Literacy
Drive’ in Fatehabad. Some of their
famous plays Apharan Bhaichaare
Da, Beti Padh Kar Kya Karegi and
Nashedi Chacha received an
immense response, wherever
staged. Vinod Kakkar, Director Jatan
Natya Manch, opines, “In 2004, we
started a campaign against drug
addiction. We did more than 30 shows of
the play Nashedi Chacha on different
places. These were street plays where
the actors presented the show in village
Chaupals, slum areas of the town and
other public places amidst appreciative
audience.”
He further says that he had to close
the Jatan Natya Manch because the
artists who worked with the Manch
were amateurs and they settled in
different professions and cities with the
passage of time. Theatre is not very
popular in this part of the country and
hence one cannot make a living out
of it.
Though in Sirsa city there is no
theatre group but in Dabwali, situated
at Punjab border in Sirsa district, a
theatre group named Natyam Group
Mandal is working for the last six years.
The group started its journey in 2004.
They have so far staged 35 plays. Some
of the plays performed by this group
are Kudrat De Sab Bande, Chand Jab
Roti Lagta Hai, Jab Main Sirf Aurat
Hoti Hun, Hum Sab Abhimanyu Hain,
Rabba Rabba Meeh Barsa, Panchi Hun
Kidhar Nu Jaan, Zindagi, Hum Sab Ek
Hain, Kalakh Hanere and Baal
Bhagwan.
Sanjeev Shaad, Director, Natyam
Group Mandal informs, “Our theatre
group has performed a street play Do
Boondan Zindagi Diyan for Polio
awareness. We have also performed a
dance drama on awareness against
female foeticide in different cities and
villages. We have been awarded with Rs
21,000 by Chief Minister Bhupinder
Singh Hooda in Sirsa. We organise a
Natak Mela every year in Dabwali.”
Haryana government is constructing
an open air theatre in Dabwali.
SINGING
Haryanvi raaginis are very popular
among people throughout the state.
While residents of Hisar district have
the Haryanvi ethos, those living in Sirsa
and Fatehabad have the mixed culture
of Punjab and Haryana due to their
geographical locations. Both districts
share their boundaries with Punjab as
well as Rajasthan. Among the raagini
singers in this part of Haryana, Madhu
Sharma is a household name. Over the
past some years, Madhu Sharma’s name
has become synonymous with raaginis.
At present, working in Haryana
electricity board, Madhu Sharma
started singing at the age of nine and
COVER STORY
19
Rohit Kaushik, a Fatehabad based
stage artist, has made his mark in
the field of drama. A resident of
Bhiwani, Rohit has been active in
the field of theatre in the area for
quite some time. Rohit Kaushik
staked his claim for a new world
record for the longest duration of
stage performance by enacting a
play, Chhata Pandav, continuously
for 24 hours and 8 minutes during
which he staged the play 25 times.
Rohit started his performance in the
local Manohar Memorial College of
Education on March 7, 2009 at
11:55 am and finished at 3:27 pm
today. During this period, he
staged Chhata Pandav 25 times,
taking a rest of five minutes after
each performance. His name has
been entered in the Limca Book of
Records for the year 2010.
“The earlier world record stands
in the name of a duo, Krishana
Bhorkar and Sanvinder Mukesh,
who staged a play, ‘The Blame’, 16
times on May 28, 2007, in 13
hours and 15 minutes, of which the
actual performance time was 10
hours and 40 minutes, the rest
being the time of intervals,”
Kaushik claimed.
writing songs at the age of 13. An
exceptionally talented artist, Madhu
Sharma has so far won many awards
during her singing career.
These include winning awards in a
state level raagini competition held in
Kurukshetra on the occasion of Geeta
Jayanti in 1994 and in a national
cultural programme held in Himachal
Pradesh in 1996, Dr Ambedkar
Fellowship during 20th National
Conference of Dalits in 2004 and the
best singer award on Haryana Day in
2006.
Madhu Sharma says, “I got
inspiration of singing and writing
songs from Karam Pal Sharma, a folk
singer from Uttar Pradesh and from my
father. I have so far performed in
thousands of stage shows including one
during a visit of Sonia Gandhi and
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
during elections’ time and several visits
of chief minister.” One can see her
singing in the programmes organised
by the government in Hisar. Audio
cassettes of her songs are doing brisk
business in the market. She has sung
three songs in a forthcoming Haryanvi
film, Muthbhed.
Rajnish Kaur, a versatile singer from
Fatehabad is a well-known name in the
area. She has equal command over
Haryanvi as well as Punjabi folk.
Considered the duplicate copy of
Pakistani singer Reshma, she sings Sufi
songs with equal ease.
Rajnish started singing at college
level. Later she opted for music as
profession. She learnt classical music
from Bakshi Ram in Sirsa. She sang for
Delhi Radio station and then migrated
to Rohtak Radio Station. After
marriage, she learnt vocal music from
her husband Anil Sharma, a music
teacher in Fatehabad. She is also wellversed with the art of dancing and
trains students of colleges for youth
festival.
CINEMAS
Cinema has undergone several shifts in
its fortunes in the last two or three
decades. Cinema halls used to attract
huge crowds initially and people used to
see the first shows of all good movies
even by purchasing tickets for a
premium. Then came the television
boom and cinemas stopped attracting
much crowds. Cinema halls received
only lower class visitors for years and in
the process, several of them were
closed. However, a new trend of
multiplexes started in the last one
decade gave a new impetus to cinema in
Haryana.
In Hisar, although there are four
movie theatres but only two of them are
able to grab audience. One is Sun City
Mall which has two movie screens and
other is Nand Talkie Town owned by
Zee Group. Other two theatres are Elite
Cinema and Neelam Cinema.
Upmarkets’ Parijat Complex and Sheila
Complex have come up at the sites
where once Parijat Cinema and Sheila
Theatre existed as the owners were
unable to attract enough customers.
In Fatehabad, there were two cinema
halls but now both have been closed.
People of Fatehabad go to Hisar and
Sirsa for movies. In Sirsa, there is one
multiplex, OHM Cine Garden which has
two movie screens. g
20
COVER STORY
Folk Theatre:
And the show goes on...
hal Singh Balhara’s
devotion to culture is
well-known. What is now a
little less known is that he is
a versatile actor and singer.
He loves old culture while
appreciating and
encouraging new trends.
Here is his first person
account as related to our
staff writer
Ruchi Sharma.
B
Today, there are numerous
mediums of entertainment available
for all age groups. But there was a
time in Haryana, when the word
‘entertainment’ for people simply
meant Swang. The craze of Swang
was so much that people used to
travel from far to witness it. The
drama was performed by males only
where female part was also played by
them.
The ten days of Ramleela
contributed immensely in the
evolution of theatrical performances.
All actors were males. This
discouraged women from fully
participating and taking up the roles
like that of Sita.
There used to be different
excitement among the village
audience. They would finish off their
chores early so that they could go
and watch the Ramleela which was
their only source of entertainment
in those days. Later, Krishna janam
(Birth of Lord Krishana) also
became part of performance by the
artists. Consequently, theatrical
performance took shape of Swang.
In those days, poor families in
order to marry off their daughters
used to organise Swang for ten days
that helped them make good money
for their daughter’s marriage even
after paying off the Swangi’s share.
This way the Swangi had a very
important role in society. Sometimes,
money collected through Swang was
used for a social cause like in
Kaithal, Rs 7 lakh were earned by
organising Swang for opening a
gaushala.
In folk theatre- Swang, the
popular names are Pt Lakhmi Chand,
Baaje Bhagat, Rai Dhapat Singh, Pt
Mange Ram, Sultan, Khema, Pt Ram
Krishan Beas, Kishan Lal Bhaat, Ali
Baksh, Bansi Bhatt and others.
Pt Mange Ram had first started
Swang in village Kiloharad in
Sonipat. Pt Mange Ram and Lakhmi
Chand wrote Swang on Krishna,
Ramayana, Pingla Bharati and
others. Swang on Pingla Bharati
showed how Pingla Bharti who was a
king, lost everything and was
reduced to a mere pauper due to his
vice of drinking. This Swang gave
out a strong message against
drinking of alcohol.
The origin of Swang is traced to
Kishan Lal Bhaat, who some two
hundred years ago is said to have
laid the foundation of the present
style of folk theatre. Ali Baksh of
Rewari was another notable early
pioneer who successfully staged
plays like Fasanai, Azad and
Padmawat. Deepchand Bahman of
village Sheri Khanda in Sonipat was
the most celebrated artiste in
Haryana. He is still popular with
public and popularly known as
‘Shakespeare or Kalidas of Haryana’.
He refined the style of Ali Baksh and
gave this folk art a new form. His
COVER STORY
Damyanti, Meera Bai, Satyavan
Savitri, Poorjan, Seth Tara Chand,
Puran Bhagat and Shashi Lakarhara.
In Swang, the instrument players
sit in the middle of the stage and in
the front, artists perform by moving
in circles with enthusiasm. In olden
times, the zealous performance of
the artists used to prompt audience
to dig in their pockets and gratify
them with money for entertaining
them to the core. Swangs are not just
entertainment based but follow
themes of morality, folk tales, lives of
inspiring personalities, stories from
Indian mythology and themes of
current times like health and
hygiene, literacy, AIDS awareness
and women empowerment. Every
drama ends with some message to
the society with good values winning
over the evil values.
There have been many Swangs
that enacted love stories but those
love stories were different. Such love
stories cannot be seen and felt these
days. The element of emotion
involved in the stories used to play
an outstanding impact on the
audience.
REVIVAL OF THEATRE
performance had combined elements
of music, dance, pantomime,
versification and ballad recitation.
He entertained the British and was
honoured with the title of 'Rai
Sahib' by the British government.
Voice culture and voice modulation
were his outstanding contributions
to Swaang.
Pt Lakhmi Chand of Jatti Kalan in
Sonipat is known as Surya Kavi (Sun
Poet) in Haryanvi raaginis. Most of
Swangs and raagnis have stamp of
his name in poetry. Important
Swangs staged by him are Nal
This old folk theatre and its flavour
have been lost in the sand of times.
With hard efforts of officials of
Department of Cultural Affairs,
Haryana, the remaining saangis were
searched for in districts, tehsils and
other areas. After much labour, five
saangis were found. The old saangis
had switched to some other
occupations as performing in Swang
was not enough to feed their
families. Earlier, whole group of
saangis used to earn Rs 4,000 per
show which was very low. Saangis
are a group of 16 people, of which
some perform on stage, some play
music instruments and some sing
raaginis. Now each saangi can earn
up to Rs 25,000.
The Department of Information,
Public Relations and Cultural
Affairs, Haryana, revived the folk
theatre in 2006. Though the
youngsters of Haryana were not
completely aware of Swang, but in
the very first event of seven days’
Swang organised by the department,
the whole auditorium was fully
packed to the capacity. Even the
Punjabi brothers had also dropped in
to witness the event. As the Swang
21
gained popularity, the inflow of
spectators also increased day by day.
Huge response among the people
prompted the department to organise
another show in another auditorium
at Kala Gram in Chandigarh.
Every year Swang festival is
organised twice by the Cultural
Affairs Department in the different
districts of Haryana. One Swang
festival happens in July and the
other in the month of September.
The government is promoting the
culture of Haryana by organising
such folk events so that youngsters
can reunite with their roots.
This year in July, the department
has organised 90 Swangs in eight
districts namely Rohtak, Hisar,
Bhiwani, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra,
Sonipat and Gurgaon. Swang which
had lost its charm has regained its
fame among people. The programmes
generated a good public response.
Lot of emails came in appreciation of
the Swangs organised. Many
demanded more of Swangs. Saangis
also got a chance to enhance their
earning through such events.
The Chief Minister of Haryana,
Bhupinder Singh Hooda has taken
appreciable steps to encourage all
saangis. He has given them a grant of
Rs 60 lakhs and each saangi has
received Rs 50,000. The support of
KK Khandelwal, the Financial
Commissioner and Shiv Raman Gaur,
the Director of Department of
Information, Public Relations and
Cultural Affairs has been very
inspiring in the revival of folk
theatre of Haryana. Liberty is given
to innovate and experiment with new
ideas in order to present the lost
culture of Haryana in its right form.
Language has been a barrier for
many to understand Swang. In
coming times, Swangs would be
presented in simple Hindi language
so that it does not lose its Haryanvi
flavour and youngsters can also
easily understand it.
In the year 2008, Chief Minster
Hooda himself came to watch the
Swang programme at Indradhanush
auditorium at Panchkula. He
appreciated the efforts of the
department and the saangis who are
collectively helping in retaining the
old culture of Haryana. He
announced Rs 34 lakh to the
department for coming up with more
such shows in future. g
22
COVER STORY
Makers of contempora
Tania G.S. Chauhan
ontemporary’ denotes ‘of one’s
own time’. This is quiet an
ambiguous adjective because our
parents’ generation remembers the
1950s and 1960s as contemporary,
whereas our children define it as the
present. Somewhere in the middle, as
always lies the most acceptable
meaning, unless we broaden it
historically to cover everything since
1947. However, we can state
categorically that some major theatre
personalities-regarded as
‘contemporary’ a decade ago-thereby
get left out of the picture now. In this
article we wish to discuss the makers
of the contemporary theatre in
Haryana.
‘C
Vishnu Prabhakar (June 21, 1912 –
April 11, 2009) was a Hindi writer. He
had several short stories, novels, plays
and travelogues to his credit.
Prabhakar's works have elements of
patriotism, nationalism and social
messages. He was awarded the Sahitya
Akademi Award in 1993, Mahapandit
Rahul Sankrityayan Award in 1995 and
the Padma Bhushan (the third highest
civilian honor of India) by the
Government of India in 2004. Along
with his work he pursued an interest
in literature. He also joined a Natak
company in Hisar. His literary life
started with the publication of his first
story Diwali in the Hindi Milap in
1931. He wrote Hatya Ke Baad, his first
play in 1939. Eventually he took up
writing as a full-time career. Although
mainly a story writer, Vishnu
Prabhakar has written in all the
genres of literature with the only
exception being poetry. He did not let
himself limit to any special school of
thought and it is reflected in his vast
variety of works. He was initially
influenced by Munshi Premchand but
later started following Sharatchandra.
His works are said to be a mirror of
modern Indian society. Prabhakar's
works concentrate on the problems of
today's Indian society. In his drama,
Tootate Parivesh, he writes about a
modern family in which gaps between
younger and older generation are
increasing. His novel Koi To tells how
corrupt politics has become in modern
times.
Prabhakar was influenced by the
principles of non-violence of Mahatma
Gandhi. This can be seen in his
writing very often. In some of his
works, oppressed female characters
talk like philosophers and even dacoits
who usually are expected to have
negative roles are full of humanitarian
values. This is the reason why some
critics labelled him as a Gandhian
ideologist. Prabhakar was also affected
by foreign authors. He had studied Leo
Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy, Charles
Dickens, O'Henry and O'Neil in-depth.
In an interview, he said that Tolstoy's
War and Peace had influenced him
very much.
Among his novels were- Dhalti Raat,
1951, Nishikant, 1955, Tat Ke Bandhan,
1955, Swapnmayi, 1956, Darpan Ka
Vyakti, 1968, Parchhai, 1968, Koi To,
1980, Ardhnarishwar, 1992. His stories
included- 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 Ab
Bhi Ghoom Rahi Hai, 1959, Safar Ke
Saathi, 1960, Khandit Pooja, 1960,
Sanche Aur Kala, 1962, Meri Tentis
Kahaniya, 1967, Meri Priya Kahaniya,
1970, Pul Tootne Se Pehle, 1977, Mera
Watan 1980, Meri Lokpriya Kahaniya,
1981, Khilone, 1981, Aapki Kripa (Short
Stories), 1982, Meri Kahaniya, 1984,
Meri Kathayatra, 1984, Ek Aur Kunti,
1985, Zindagi Ek Rehearsal, 1986. His
plays were Naprabhat, 1951, Samaadhi
(Gaandhar Ki Bhikshuni), 1952, Doctor,
1961, Yuge-Yuge Kranti, 1969, Toot-te
Parivesh, 1974, Kuhaasa Aur Kiran,
1975, Tagar, 1977, Bandini, 1979, Satta
Ke Aar-Paar, 1981, Ab Aur Nahin, 1981,
Shwet Kamal, 1984, Keral Ka
Krantikari, 1987 and Vishnu Prabhkar :
COVER STORY
23
ry theatre in Haryana
Sampurna Natak (Part-1,2,3), 1987.
Jai Nath Nalin is one of the most
reputed names in the playwrights of
Haryana. His one act plays which
included Nawabi Sanak, Haathi Ke
Daant, Nishant, Naye apardey Naye
Drishya, Timir Bhanwar mein Uga
Chand, Rang Navrang, Sone ke
Hathkari, Phool toot gaye and Toofani
raat ka Gulabi Suraj have been
published by Haryana Sahitya
Academy in one act compilation
Navrang. Yagya Vidhwans is a satire
on the Guru Shishya Parampara. Jai
Nath Nalin worked in a college of
Bhiwani for many years. He has been
awarded by the Government of
Haryana for his contribution to Hindi
language and literature.
Dr Kanwal Nayan Kapoor holds a
pivotal place among the makers of
contemporary theatre in Haryana. He
has penned down the following series
of one act plays- Yatra aur Yatra (1978),
Aao mere saath (1990), Hum (1988). His
plays Panchitatharam Prakriti Parv
and Shav Pooja were well-known. Shav
Pooja was a play based on a folk tale
which was staged with modern
techniques. His plays have completed
300 shows. Though his mother tongue
is Punjabi but his mode of writing is
Hindi. He has always tried to represent
the historical characters in a modern
way. From the point of design his plays
have a strong co-ordination between
Sanskrit theatre, Western theatre and
Folk theatre of India. His landmark
productions were Lanka Dahan, Janta
aur Chuhiya, Aao mere sathi. Research
has been done on the works of Dr
Kanwal Nayan Kapoor. At present, he
is working as a professor in M N
College, Yamunanagar.
Amrit Lal Madan- holds an
important place in the Haryanvi
literature. His known works are Tootta
Hua Aakash, Zindagi aur Natak,
Tathasthu Ek Sidharth (Plays
collection), Talaash Jaari hai (awarded
by Haryana Sahitya Academy),
Zindagi aur Natak, Suno ye awazein
and Miyan j eke juen, Mrigtrishna (one
act play), Kala Vardan (awarded by
Information and Public Relations
Department, Himachal Pradesh).
Chupan Chupai and Aastheen ka
saamp were awarded by the language
department of Punjab and Haryana.
Swadesh Deepak is a popular
Indian playwright, novelist and shortstory writer. Deepak has been active on
the Hindi literary scene since the mid
1960s and is best known for Court
Martial, a path breaking play that he
published in 1991. Deepak's most recent
book is Maine Mandu Nahin Dekha, a
volume of memoirs. Deepak's work has
appeared in all major literary
periodicals of India, and he has more
than 15 published titles to his credit.
Several of his works have been staged
and made into television programmes.
The first collection of stories that
Deepak published in the 1973 was
Ashwarohi (The Rider), which marks
the birth of his grim, dark storytelling
style on the literary scene. Over the
next few years, Deepak wrote some of
his most popular stories--Aheri, Mara
Hua Pakshi, Maatam, Jaihind, Kyunki
Main Use Jaanta Nahin, Kisi Ek Ped
Ka Naam Lo, Kyunki Hawa Padh
Nahin Sakti, Tamaasha and Paapi Pet,
to name just a few. Deepak also
published two novels in Hindi, Number
57 Squadron and Mayapot (The
Phantom Ship). The latter evoked
mixed response from readers and
critics. A collection of the finest
stories of Swadesh Deepak, titled
Pratinidhi Kahaniyan (Representative
Stories) was published in the mid
1980s. Swadesh Deepak was widely
recognised as one of the finest
playwrights in the country after the
publication of ‘Court Martial’. The
play hits hard the roots of casteism in
the Indian Army. Court Martial has
been staged close to 2000 times in India
by well-known Indian theatre directors
Ranjeet Kapoor, Arvind Gaur, Usha
Ganguli, and Abhijeet Choudhary.
Deepak is one of the few playwrights
to win the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Award 2004, the most prestigious
award conferred to a performing artist
in India. He is, undoubtedly, the best
known writer that Haryana has
produced, and one of the finest in his
generation.
Indra Swapna, Om Prakash Rahat,
Krishna Manav, Jamanadas,
Manmohan Gupta ‘Moni’, Dr Ramesh
Gupta, Kahmere Lal Jakir, Raghuveer
Singh Mathana, Kumar Ravindra,
Pooranchand Pandey, Parvati devi,
Surendra Nath Saxena, Dr
Rattanchandra Sharma, Gurmeet
Ramal (Meet) are other renowned
Haryanvi writers. g
The writer is Cultural officerTheatre, DIPRCA, Haryana
24
COVER STORY
Lights,
camera,
action!
Haryanvi films are a mirror of the culture of Haryana
THE JOURNEY OF HARYANVI FILMS
Renu Hooda
ilms are cultural artifacts created
by specific cultures, which reflect
those cultures, and, in turn, affect
them. Film is considered to be an
important art form, a source of popular
entertainment and a powerful method
for educating citizens.
The folk culture, dialect, festivals
and prosperity of Haryana attract one
and all but these can be glimpsed in
their composite form in the Haryanvi
films made 20-25 years back.
Chandrawal (1984) gives one a spectacle
of the culture, music, folk songs and
humour of Haryanvi life. Chandrawal
not only turned out to be a living
example of local culture for the modern
youth but familiarised states like
Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
with Haryanvi culture. It celebrated its
silver jubilee throughout North India.
There would be no exaggeration in
saying that it outdid even the
contemporary blockbusters like Sholay
and Bobby. Made in
Rs 5 lakh only, this film earned a
business of three crores. Even today,
the people are found humming the
songs of this film which are often heard
on festive occasions like marriages and
other parties.
F
Going down the alleys of history of
filmmaking in Haryana, we find that so
far 40 films have been made. Beera
Shera, a black and white film marked
the beginning of Haryanvi filmmaking
during the seventh decade of the last
century. But since the cast of this film
was not from Haryana, it did not do
well. Even Harphool Jaat Julane Wala
(1976) did not come up to the
expectations of the viewers. Then in
1981, Arvind Swami made Bahurani
with J P Kaushik as music director and
Bhal Singh Balhara as playback singer.
The hero of this film was Bhal Singh
Balhara while the heroine was Sumitra
Hooda. Following the success of
Bahurani and Chandrawal, some other
producers also started making films
and then there was a spate of Haryanvi
films. In 1989, Jar Joru Jameen was
made by Harish Arora and O P
Haryanvi. Late Jayant Prabhakar
directed it.
Bhal Singh Balhara, the hero of
Bahurani and Mhari Dharti Mhari Maa
opines that it is imperative to interlace
Haryanvi films with chastity of dialect
and introduce native artists for
rejuvenating them. Only then they will
be able to attract the viewers. The films
like Chhabeeli, Chhail Gabhru, Chhail
Gailya Jaangi, Chaand Chakori,
Chandrawal, Chandro, Chhora Jaat Ka,
Gulabo, Jaatani Ke Supne, Laado
Basanti, Peehar Saasra, Mhari Dharti
Mhari Maa, Muklava, Panghat,
Phagun Aye Re, Phool Badan, Premi
Ramphal etc were liked and wellreceived in Rohtak, Sonipat, Kaithal,
Hisar, Jind, Bhiwani, Karnal,
Kurukshetra, Gurgaon and Rajasthan.
The songs and dances of these films
also 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 directed
many films which exhibit social
injustice in society. He has taken the
initiative of promoting the culture of
Haryana through his films like Chhail
Gailyaan Jaangi, Chhail Gabbroo,
Chora Jaat Ka, Barri and Mhari Dharti
Mhari Maa.
He got 'Devi Shankar Prabhakar
Award' by Haryana Government for his
excellent contribution to filmmaking in
2009. He has also made many TV serials
and even casted Shahrukh Khan in a
serial Adhuri zindgi based on drugs and
eye donation.
Harvinder Malik is a talented artist
in the field of television and cinema. He
has always been doing his best to
promote the Haryanvi culture by
making music videos and films.
Harvinder Malik was the first one to
conceptualise and present the Haryanvi
folk as Haryanvi Pop and produced
many super hit Haryanvi Pop music
albums like Git Pit Git Pit Guturghun.
Usha Sharma, the heroine of Phool
Badanand Chandrawal admits that to
attract the viewers once again towards
the Haryanvi films, their standard will
have to be raised. Therefore, Usha
Sharma wants to make Chandrawal- II
i.e. the sequel of Chandrawal. She is
awfully engaged in filmmaking these
days.
There is no dearth of art and artists
in a prosperous state like Haryana. The
artists of Haryana viz Randip Hooda,
Pardeep Hooda, Jaydeep and Meghna
Malik are making a niche for
themselves in Hindi cinema today. The
folk dance and folk music of Haryana
have made their presence felt
throughout the world. g
The writer is Art Officer, DIPRCA,
Haryana
COVER STORY
25
The sound of music
Haryanvi films have played an important role in popularising the
folk music and folk tunes of Haryana
regional films was that even the
illiterate and aged members of the
family could also enjoy them fully.
They were inspired with the message
enshrined in them. Through films,
the music of different states reached
different parts of the country.
Haryana too, did not lag behind in
this field. Here also full screen films
like Chandrawal, Bahurani, Panghat,
Bateiu, Chhail Gabhru, Chhail
Gailya Jaangi, Jar Joru Jameen and
many more were made. The
peculiarity of films in Haryanvi
dialect lay in their respective plots
which were chosen from the folk life
of this region. Most of the films
dwelt on the themes like land feuds,
exogamous matrimony or love-affair,
the generations old family disputes
Music director JP Kaushik
Dr Deepika Walia
aryana has since antiquity, been
the nucleus of Indian culture. Its
folk culture is reflected in the varied
forms of its folk life. There has been
a very rich tradition of folk songs
and folk dances in Haryana. It is
perhaps the only state in India which
has several of its villages named
after Ragas. It clearly indicates that
there must have been a welldeveloped music tradition here in the
past.
Folk music is known to be an
integral part of our folk life. Folk
music has a specific and vital role to
play in the cultural praxis and
tradition of a region. The
musicologists composed Ragas based
on the folk music of many a province
e.g. Pahadi, Maand etc. In modern
times, the electronic devices like
radio, television, films, cassettes,
CDs etc have turned out to be potent
sources of spreading the melodies far
and wide.
Enchanted by the popularity of
Hindi films, the regional films also
came into existence. The most
noticeable characteristic of these
H
Haryanvi films gave
the folk music a good
musical composition
and studio voice
quality. This has
added to its
mellifluousness.
and rich-poor conflict. It was only
these films which made our folk
music and folk tunes transgress the
provincial boundaries and spread
their sweetness far and wide in the
country.
Although all the Haryanvi films
were not box-office hits, yet
Chandrawal made a nationwide
impact. Notable music director J P
Kaushik composed the music for this
film while playback singers were
Bhal Singh Balhara and Dilraj Kaur.
Almost all the Haryanvi films
include traditional female folk songs
along with the newly written songs
and group-dances. The new songs are
dominated with the spirit of romance
e.g. “Mere Paachhe paache aavan ka
bhala Kaun sa matlab tera sai” (What
do you mean by following me like
this?) or “Nain Katore Kaajal dore
main to tan mann varr gaya” (Your
eyes are no less than cups of kohl.
I’m just dying for you) etc.
Women’s folk songs are
predominantly romantic in nature
and at the same time have social
content also. The songs like “Meri
Patli Kamar nada Jhubbedar liayo”
(I have a slender waist. Please bring
an ornament ‘nada’ for me) and
“Mera daaman sima de re o nandi ke
beera” (You! the brother of my sisterin-law, please get a daaman stitched
for me) are the best illustrations of
folk songs used in films sweetened
with the voice of stalwarts like
Suresh Wadekar, Bhal Singh Balhara
and Dilraj Kaur. These songs have
become an everlasting heritage of
Haryanvi film music.
Haryanvi films gave the folk music
a good musical composition and
studio voice quality. This has added
to its mellifluousness. Despite the
dominance of romance in them,
these songs can be relished even in
the company of family members.
Their subject matter is essentially
social and cultural in nature.
Film Laado was directed by
Ashwini Chaudhary and all its songs
were hit in those times and even
today they are equally popular
among all. A raagini of this film
“Pani aali pani piyadey…..” sung by
Rajinder Kharkia is so popular that
it is sung in almost every function of
Haryana. Two songs of this film
“Aadhi si Raat meri neend uchhatt
gayi …”, “Mahari gali mein aaya ri
sapera….” are the popular songs
which are also sung by youngsters at
state level functions of Haryana.
These songs are appreciated even at
international level. If popularity of
Haryanvi folk music continues to
grow like this, then Haryanvi folk
music will soon top national and
international music charts. g
The writer is Cultural OfficerMusic, DIPRCA, Haryana
Toast to
two
versatile
actors
Ravneet Kaur Brar
OM PURI
THE MAN AND HIS JOURNEY
His friend for decades, the multifaceted
actor, Naseeruddin Shah once movingly
summed up the life of an equally
versatile actor, Om Puri as “born with a
wooden spoon in his mouth.” His wife
Nandita’s granular biography reveals,
Puri has no birth certificate either and
does not in fact know when he was
born. What is sure is that it was
Ambala where he was born, did
schooling up to matriculation and that
too with the help of some generous
relative.
Early memories of Om Puri
resemble those of Charlie Chaplin;
demeaning poverty and grinding
menial work. His early memories are of
his hands tied to his bed to prevent him
from scratching his smallpox ulcers or
of eating some rotten mangoes and
washing dirty cups in a local tea dhaba.
He was destined to grow as a plain
man from Ambala. It was plain luck
that his acting talent was recognised
early and was encouraged by friends
and well-wishers at every stage. The
Punjab theatre group director found
him the job of a lower division clerk, so
that he could devote himself to theatre
at night. Then Ebrahim Alkazi helped
him overcome his embarrassingly poor
English and helped him shine at the
National School of Drama. Girish
Karnad, the then director of the Film
and Television Institute of India took
him on for the acting course even when
other selectors were doubtful just
because of those pork marks and his
buddy Naseeruddin helped him
throughout in the ever competitive
killing world of Mumbai cinema.
Om Puri has, however, not been just
plain lucky. He had talent and
perseverance to master talent for
acting. The result is masterpieces
which now form mileposts in the
history of Indian cinema. Aakrosh,
Ardh Satya, Bhavani Bhavai, Sparsh,
Mirch Masala, Sadgati and Jaane Bhi
Do Yaaro testify his versatile genius.
When he found the spaces for
parallel cinema diminish, Puri used his
malleability to move on to mainstream
cinema. He is part of successful films
like Maachis, Hera Pheri, Chachi 420,
Dev and Maqbool. From Satyajit Ray to
Mani Ratnam, the country’s most
significant directors have found him
valuable to cast. Now he can claim to
have conquered the west. He has
worked with names like Richard
Attenborough, Mike Nichols, Jack
Nicholson, Ismail Merchant and
Michael Winterbottom.
His performances in British films
like ‘Brothers in Trouble’, ‘My Son the
Fanatic’ and ‘East is East’ are equally
significant to those in Aakrosh, Ardh
Satya or Mirch Masala.
Filmmakers who gave Om Puri
powerful roles to go with his
unconventional traits never regretted.
His talent only added to the triumph of
their films.
SUNIL DUTT
THE MAN WITH MANY BEAUTIFUL
HATS
Sunil Dutt had all those qualities which
made a successful actor. He was tall,
handsome and talented. Born in
Jhelum and settled in a Yamunanagar
village, he had the spirit of adventure
that took him to politics and social
activism. He proved to be a great
performing actor, a powerful, honest
and committed politician and devoted
to peace.
Born as Balraj Dutt, he later came to
be known as Sunil Dutt. He was born
on 6 June 1929 in Khurd, Jhelum
District of Punjab in Pakistan. He was
brought up in a village Mandoli in
Yamunanagar, Haryana. Whenever he
found time, he visited this village and
offered his ready help. For peace in the
trouble torn Punjab, he led a risky
padyatra and did not care for the
booming guns which were turning the
fields red with the blood of the
innocent and not so innocent.
DEBUT AS ACTOR
After working as an announcer in the
Hindi Radio channel, Radio Ceylon,
Dutt got a chance to enter the film
world, when director Ramesh Saigal
offered him the hero's role in his Nalini
Jaywant starrer Railway Platform
(1955).
Ek Hi Raasta (1956), marked the start
of a long association with director
producer B R Chopra. But his true
breakthrough came with Mehboob
Khan's magnum opus, Mother India
(1957). Interestingly, Nargis was one of
the most celebrated beautiful actresses
he met in the course of his work. His
portrayal of Birju, Nargis’ rebellious
younger son, portrayed a raw energy.
Dutt's association with Nargis in the
movie resulted in a more serious one,
when he married her after the release
of the film.
He worked some of the hit films like
Gumraah (1963), Waqt (1965), and
Hamraaz (1967). From 1960 to 1970 he
has given several hits like Sadhna
(1958), Sujata (1959), Mujhe Jeene Do
(1963), Khandaan (1965) and Padosan
(1967). He acted in writer Aghajani
Kashmeri movies like Ghazal, Mujhe
Jeene Do, and Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke.
Dutt's role in female oriented films
like Sadhna(1958), Sujata(1959) and
Main Chup Rahungi(1962) won acclaim.
Noted filmmakers like Bimal Roy,
Hrishikesh Mukherjee and B R Chopra
dared to change Dutt's established
rebellious Birju image and cast him as
a sensitive lover.
In 1964, he appeared in film Yaadein,
which led to the entry of his name in
the Guinness Book of World Records in
the Fewest Actors in a Narrative Film
category. The actor produced the film
named Man Ka Meet (1968) and cast
brother Som Dutt in the lead role. He
also directed and acted in a film,
Reshma Aur Shera (1971) which flopped.
But soon he came up with hits like
Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974),
Nagin (1976), Jaani Dushman (1979),
and Shaan (1980). He has also acted in
some of the Punjabi movies like Man
Jeete Jag Jeet (1973), Dukh Bhanjan
Tera Naam (1974) and Sat Sri Akal
(1977).
He received the Filmfare Best Actor
Award for films like Khandaan and
Mujhe Jeene Do. He was honoured with
the Padma Shri, and Lifetime
Achievement Award from Filmfare,
Star Screen and Zee Cine. Dadasaheb
Phalke Academy honoured him with
Phalke Ratna Award in 2005.
Sunil directed his son Sanjay's debut
film Rocky. This film was a huge
success but at the same time brought
the sad news of Nargis' death due to
cancer. Parampara (1992) and
Kshatriya (1993) were among his last
releases and after some years he
appeared in Munnabhai M.B.B.S. (2003)
starring Sanjay Dutt. This was Sunil's
last film.
In all he acted in 102 films, directed
six and also produced another six
films, many of them box office hits.
The couple had three children -Sanjay
Dutt, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt
(Anju).
Sunil was a minister in the
Manmohan Singh government for
Youth Affairs and Sports. He joined
Congress in 1984 and became a Member
of Parliament later. In 1982, he held the
position of Sheriff of Mumbai.
This versatile actor and politician
passed away in 2005 after a heart attack
in Mumbai. g
COVER STORY
MALLIKA SHEHRAWAT
The Bold And The Beautiful
Swati Sethi
Haryanvi girl having grown in a
small town like Rohtak has
made it big in Indian cinema. Earlier
known as Reema Lamba, she adopted
the screen name of Mallika to avoid
confusion with other actresses
named Reema. She completed her
school education at Delhi Public
School, Mathura Road and obtained
a degree in Philosophy from
Miranda House, Delhi University.
A small-town girl, Mallika always
had stars in her eyes and was
determined to pursue the glamour
profession. Even though her
conservative father was against her
decision, Mallika defied his wishes
and moved to Mumbai to carve a
niche for herself in the big world of
showbiz. She also walked out of her
marriage with Jet Airways pilot
Captain Karan Singh Gill in Delhi to
pursue her dream. Mallika had
married Karan soon after she
completed her graduation.
She started her career as a smalltime model and actress from Delhi.
Before coming to films, she acted in
television commercials of BPL with
Amitabh Bachchan and of Santro
with Shahrukh Khan. She also acted
in a music video Lak Tunoo Tunoo
A
27
by Surjeet Bindrakhiya. She debuted
in films with a small role in Vashu
Bhagnani's Jeena Sirf Mere Liye,
where she was credited as Reema
Lamba.
Although she started her career
in films with Jeena Sirf Mere Liye, it
was Khwahish that brought her fame
in Bollywood. In 2004, she starred in
Murder for which she got nominated
for the Best Actress in the Zee Cine
Awards. In 2005, she acted in a
Chinese film ‘The Myth’ co-starring
with Jackie Chan. She played the
role of an Indian princess in this
film. ‘The Myth’ was her first
International film. Her appearance
at the Cannes Film Festival to
promote the film grabbed a lot of
attention with Time Magazine's
Richard Corliss calling her "the next
big thing".
Her performance in the 2006 film,
Pyaar Ke Side Effects won her praise
from around the industry. She also
played guest role in Mani Ratnam's
Guru and Himesh Reshammiya's
Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story.
Her release in 2007, Welcome also did
well at the box office. Her 2008
releases were Ugly Aur Pagli and
Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam. Both
films were not successful at the box
office.
In 2009, Mallika finished shooting
for a Hollywood film named ‘Hissss’
directed by Jennifer Lynch. The
film, based on the legend of Naga, is
an independent co-production
between the United States and India.
Endeavour Independent has bought
the distribution rights of ‘Hisss’.
Mallika promoted the film with live
snakes at the Cannes Film Festival
2010. She also finished shooting for
another Hollywood film, ‘Love,
Barack’, directed by William Dear.
She plays Aretha Gupta, a devoted
Obama, volunteer coordinator. The
film is a romantic comedy set during
Barack Obama's campaign for the US
Presidency. First look of Love,
Barack was unveiled by Mallika at
Cannes 2010.
She won the 2008 Renaissance
Artist Award at the 16th Annual
Diversity Awards held in California.
On 14 August 2009, Mallika received
a career recognition Honorary
Citizenship of Los Angeles for her
career achievements and charitable
efforts.
28
COVER STORY
Saang:
A perfect
blend of
entertainment
Swang (in Sanskrit) or Saang in common parlance is a popular folk theatre form of Haryana
which incorporates suitable theatrics and mimicry accompanied by song and dialogue
Tania G S Chauhan
n the quiet north Indian night, the
sound of the nakkara drums
summons the spectators to a
performance of Swang. In town or
village, the clatter of the drums is all
that is necessary to announce that a
performance is about to take place, for
the sound of the nakkara carries for
miles through the night air, even above
the voice of the city street.
I
Swang has been for decades a
popular form of theatre in the northern
regions of India – Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Bihar.
It is characterised by lusty singing and
spirited dancing. It is sometimes lewd
and slightly disreputable. In large cities
like Rohtak and Kurukshetra, a large
male audience fills the tent or courtyard
to hear the singing of the traditional
tunes of this operatic theatre form.
Swang plays have a strong story line.
Tales taken from the great epics,
popular legends, historical events and
contemporary society are played before
audience of diverse religious
backgrounds. The form is nonetheless
secular in spirit and its objective is
primarily entertainment. Swang is
narrative in structure, operatic in style
and secular in spirit.
Swang has its roots in the genesis of
the Indian theatre tradition. Since
women did not participate in the dance-
drama form, men enacted their roles.
As Swang is an all-men show, it involves
elaborate make-up and costumes to
disguise the men who play the roles of
women. After the make-up and change
of dress, a sudden transformation
occurs and the actors start looking and
behaving like women. And during the
performance, nobody recognises the
actors dressed as women.
The change which overcomes these
men during the performance is truly
amazing. Their manliness vanishes,
shed with their male garb. Every one of
them behaves as if they were born as
women and would eventually die as
women.
The performers of Swang, in the
past, supported themselves with their
earnings, but few are able to do so today.
When there are no performances, they
supplement their income with other
work.
As a dance-drama form, 'Swang' also
incorporates suitable theatrics and
'nakal' (mimicry) accompanied by song
and dialogue. As is the case with any
folk performing art of India, 'Swang',
too, is dialogue-oriented rather than
movement-oriented. And judging from
the raucous laughter it evokes, the
uninhibited and loud dialogue is much
appreciated.
THEATRICALITY IN SWANG
The term theatricality in Swang seems
to point towards spectacle rather than
referring back to textuality insofar as it
usually covers only those aspects of
dramatic representation that go beyond
the script. However, performative signs
remain firmly imbedded in the script,
though some directors may neglect
them. Thus, the text has precedence in
any critical assessment of theatricality.
For this reason, the approach towards
theatricality in Swang can be defined
under four headings: Actor’s training in
Swang, Rendering of the text, Music
and Physical attitudes of the actor.
Actor’s training in Swang
Swang actor is not limited to any
physical and verbal training systems.
He is intellectually aware of his sociopolitical surroundings and develops a
critical attitude towards the happenings
around.
To do this, the artists normally sit for
two hours every day and practise
certain lines and sometimes even
improvise. They discuss on a particular
Swang performance. Different directors
COVER STORY
of Swang or Saangis have their own
way of dealing with a particular Swang.
Some Saangis are expert in Pandit
Lakhmichand’s Swang, some in Pandit
Mangeram’s Swang and so on.
The Saangi always demands
elements of entertainment and
information from his actors while
improvising certain scenes of Swang.
The instrument to achieve this is
borrowed for Brecth’s theatre - the use
of A-effect.
Sometimes during the rehearsal, the
roles are swapped so that actor’s are
benefited by each other’s insight and
can get what they need form one
another.
The actor of Swang masters his
character by paying critical attention to
his manifold utterances. He needs to
sing and speak clearly.
Rendering of the text in Swang
The script furnishes the dialogues for
producing and acting the play. But the
script is not the complete play. The way
it is communicated to the audience,
decides the point of focus or the
purpose of its manifestation. The
exposition of the story and its
communication by suitable means
constitutes the theatre of Swang.
Swang has strong reservations for
speech technique.
Fixation of notes
The language of Swang text has varied
influences as well as many original
elements. This lends the language a
29
different charm.
Addressing the audience directly
breaks the illusion of empathy and any
unwanted hypnotic tension.
The separation of emotion and the
text is an important aspect of Swang.
Use of music in Swang
Swang music is meant for Swang only.
Swang is mainly meant for mass
audience, audience of rural
background. Swangs are Kissa based
performances. Here music plays an
integral part.
Music in Swangs is folk based. It has
various performance elements. These
include songs of struggle, songs of
rituals, satirical songs, songs of
description etc. where everyone in the
audience participates along with the
singers.
Music plays an important role in
communicating the meaning. It sets
forth the text.
Orchestra is placed in full view of
the audience.
Physical attitudes of the actor
Physical attitudes of the character
shown by the actor in Swang are based
on how he needs to show a particular
class and social aspect of the character
thereby all the time making a social
comment. The gestures are thus
generated from the actor’s
understanding of the contemporary
socio-political situation. g
The writer is Cultural Officer-Theatre,
DIPRCA, Haryana
30
COVER STORY
The magic of dance
Dance is the life and spirit of a film which looks dull and drab in its absence
our prosperity and culture because
through dance forms one can portray
the lifestyle of that particular area by
cladding dancers in traditional outfits
and jewellery.
In Haryana, the songs used in the
films came to be called film songs and
dances as film dances, even if they were
neo-classical and folkloric in nature.
The viewers and spectators had glimpse
of the vastness and variety of Haryanvi
music and dances through films.
In films, the dance-direction is
according to the composition of song
and dance. The dance direction involves
sequences like the amusing moments
between jija-sali, devar-bhabi (sister-inlaw and brother-in-law), husband-wife
etc. as also the dances based on the
songs on the subject of festivals and
pertaining to seasonal changes. Even
the elders of the village are enthralled
on watching these dances and songs.
Dance is the need of a film. It adds
Bhal Singh while shooting for a song of his latest album 'Chhora Jaat Ka'
Suman Dangi
ance is an art that makes
everybody swing on his heels.
Every country or region has its own
classical and folk dances which are
influenced by the local culture and
tradition. These very dances when
presented in films in their new form
and colour are known as film dances.
Dance and music have a great role to
play in the films. There are a few films
which are without music and dance.
But undoubtedly, music adds charm to
D
any film. In the absence of music and
dance, it won’t appeal to the viewers
and will look dull and lifeless. Some
films become a great success only due
to music and dance inspite of a not-sogood storyline. There are few
blockbusters which are based entirely
on dance like Pakeezah, Aaja Nach le,
Kalpana etc. In Haryana, about 40 films
have been made and in each of them
dance has its own vital role.
The dances are part of our rich
culture and very much a part of the
soul of people. They are the symbols of
to the beauty of the film as a whole.
Dance becomes a medium of presenting
romance as well as the pangs of
separation. It brings about continuity
in the film and draws the viewer
towards entertainment by disengaging
him from emotionality. Dance depends
on the nature of the plot and the
director keeps the viewers spell-bound
in a very effective manner.
In Haryanavi films, Pandit Ved Vyas,
Usha Sharma, Late Ram Lubhaya
Sharma, Dr Neera Sharma, Budh Ram,
Chinnu Shikari and Nihal Singh have
contributed a lot towards the domain of
dance direction. Usha Sharma has done
a wonderful work in choreography in
the films like Chandrawal, Laado
Basanti, Jaatni and Phool Badan. Film
Jaatni begins with music.
Gaya-gaya ho balam thara raaj
Zamana aaya bahuya ka……….
(Jaatni)
Even today, songs of Chadrawal are
on the lips of everyone.
Jija tu kala, main gori ghani
Photu khichwade donno jane…….
Mera daaman sima de, ho
COVER STORY
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 and
Chhail Gabroo, choreography is done
by Nihal Singh. In Mumbai, he is a
renowned artist and works with Badri
Prasad. Well-known songs
choreographed by him are:
Phagan ke din aaye ho, Log lugai
mastaaye ho… (Chhora jaat ka)
In “Rang Basanti khetyan ke maah”,
daph form of Haryana’s dance is
presented in a graceful manner.
Cheenu Shikari has choreographed
in various films like Bairi, Mhari
Dharti Mhari Maa
Rang basanti khetan ke maah,
Sarsam phooli khetan ke maah…
(Mhari Dharti Mhari maa)
Laado film was choreographed by
Bali. In this film, there were seven
songs and one raagini. Out of these,
four songs were dance based which
were appreciated by all. Some of the
31
famous songs from Laado are:
Banna giri chuyare chhol
Par banri na bol
Banna aage paachhe dol
Par 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 also
received national award.
In Haryanvi cinema, the folk dances
of the state were presented with a little
alteration in the form through
choreography. Without dance, the films
look sapless. The dance and music of
films like Chandrawal, Laado, Laado
Basanti, Mhari Dharti Mhari Maan,
Jaatani, Chandro, Chhail Gailya Jaagi,
Gulabo, Chand Chakori, Bairi, Bateiyu,
Chhora Jaat ka, Phoolbadan, Bahurani
became so famous that even today the
songs of these films are played on
marriages.
Thus, dance is the life and spirit of a
film which looks dull and drab in its
absence. g
The writer is Cultural Officer-Dance,
DIPRCA, Haryana
32
COVER STORY
International
film festivals
After two successive international film
festivals, the third event is all set to hit
Yamunanagar again this October
Ruchi Sharma
he seven-day third International
Film Festival is all set to be hosted
in October this year at DAV Girls
College, Yamunanagar after the success
of two previous international film
festivals.
The idea to hold such an
international film festival is to create
awareness and taste for quality cinema
among the students. It was initiated
with a purpose to give students of
Haryana an exposure to international
films and possible career options in
filmmaking.
The first International Film Festival
that was held in December 2008 was
showed in two parts; one part was film
screening and the other was film
appreciation course. The first
introduction of the course saw great
interest among students and as many
as 217 students attended the course.
Besides Indian films, movies from
countries like Iran, Pakistan, China
and Hong Kong were screened during
the festival. A separate section on NRI
films, the films of famous directors
such as Meera Nair, Gurinder Chaddha
and Nikhil Kaushik were shown. In an
T
international film section, Iranian
films were screened and regional film
section had screening of Haryanvi
films.
‘Children of Heaven’, an Iranian
film by Majid Majidi was the opening
film of the festival. The film was
nominated for the Academy Award for
Best Foreign Language Film in 1998.
Satyajit Ray’s film Pather Panchali won
eleven international prizes including
Best Human Document at the Cannes
Film Festival. Vittorio De Sica’s ‘The
Bicycle thief ’ is amongst the most
celebrated films of neo-realistic age in
Rome. Film Yatra by Gautam Ghose,
starring Nana Patekar and Rekha, is
based on a journey of a celebrated
writer to Delhi to receive a prestigious
award. Paar film is based on
exploitation of rural Bihar, starring
Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi.
Wong-Kar-Wai’s, ‘In the mood For Love’
is based on two next door neighbours
in Hong Kong striking up friendship
when their spouse is away on work.
The special screened films were
Feroz Abbas Khan’s ‘Gandhi, My
Father’, Uday Prakash’s Asha Amar
Dhan and Swaraj by Anwar Jamal.
‘Gandhi, My Father’ film exploreds the
troubled relationships between Harilal
Gandhi and his father Mahatma
Gandhi. The movie bagged many
awards in 2008 in different categories.
The film Swaraj by Anwar Jamal is
based on real life tragedy of Leelavati,
a panchayat member in Madurai,
Tamil Nadu. She lost her life while
opposing the tanker mafia in getting
water to her village.
French movie, ‘The 400 Blows’ by
Francois Truffaut is based on a boy in
his early teens who has troubles both at
home and school.
Iranian movie, ‘Colour of Paradise’
is directed by Majid Majidi. The film is
based on a Mohammad who is blind
since birth and his world is composed
of sounds and smells alone. ‘Modern
Times’ by Charlie Chaplin portrays
Charlie Chaplin as a factory worker.
Other films screened were ‘Taste of
Cherry’ by Abbas Kiarostami, ‘Andrei
Rublev’ by Andrei Arsenyevich
Tarkovsky, ‘Breathless’ by Jean- Luc
Godard, ‘Citizen Kane’ by Orson
Welles, ‘Good Bye Lenin!’ by Wolfgang
Becker in 2003 and Trisha by Sushen
Bhatnagar. The Chinese movie ‘Hero’
by Zhang Yimou was the closing film of
the fest.
Gautam Ghose, a renowned film
director, Sanjay Sahay, an eminent
script writer, Pankaj Raag, Director,
Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII), Pune, Abdul Hameed Ziaei,
Director, Iran Cultural House, Embassy
of Iran, Prof Bhim S Dhaiya, Former
Vice Chancellor, Kurukshetra
University, Vinod Bhardwaj, an
eminent film critic, Amrit Sadhna,
Editor, Osho Times, Vimal Kumar, poet,
Ajay Brahmataj, film critic, Feroz
COVER STORY
33
“The events of International Film Festival received a lot of appreciation
and media is also giving them good coverage. I am looking forward to
generate response from public on a larger scale, where the event
lagged a bit due to financial constraints.
As soon as the second International Film Festival ended, we started
working on the next successive event. We are working whole year for
the preparations of this event that includes inviting eminent personalities
in films much ahead of time due to their shooting dates' problem. We
contacted Anupam Kher to join the event but unfortunately, due to his
pre-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 of
actor 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 make
it a regular popular event.”
Abbas Khan, a renowned film director
and many others were among the
guests.
The successive second International
film festival was held in December 2009.
The event was graced with many
eminent personalities of the film world
that included K Bikram Singh, a
renowned film director and writer,
Yashpal Sharma, a renowned actor,
Vinod Bardwaj, film critic, Girish
Kasaravalli, a renowned director,
Paresh Kamdar, renowned director, M
K Raina, renowned actor and director,
Anwar Jamal, film director, Harjit
Singh , director and critic of Punjabi
cinema, J P Kaushik (renowned
musician), Arvind Swami (renowned
director) and many others.
Students showed great interest in
the film appreciation course. The
number of students which was 217 in
the first event rose to 250 in the second
event. And in the forthcoming third
event, it has been decided to cut down
the seats to 120; this would be done
after screening of students who are
serious in this area.
The second event had four venues
for film screening, seminars, regional
section and film appreciation course. In
seminars, discussions were held on
topics like media and films, women
directors, Punjabi cinema and the likes.
Last year, two students from Jat
College, Hisar seriously pursued
filmmaking as a subject. They attended
three months' appreciation course in
filmmaking in FTII, Pune. Some
students prepared documentaries.
‘Osama’, a Persian film was
screened at the inauguration of the
event. It was directed by Siddiq
-Dr Sushma Arya, Organiser of the international film festivals,
Principal, DAV Girls College, Yamunanagar
Barmark in 2003. It is a story of a
young girl, who disguises as a boy,
Osama and shows life under the
Taliban. This was the first film shot
entirely in that country since film
creation was banned in 1996.
Films under the grand Haryana
premiere were Chintu ji by Ranjit
Kapoor, Khargosh by Paresh Kamdar,
‘Dream of a dark night’ by Anwar
Jamal, ‘Johnny, Johnny –Yes Papa!’ by
Paresh Kamdar, Wo Subah Kidhar
Nikal Gai by Tripurari Sharan. In
children's section, ten children films
were screened. ‘Blue Umbrella’ by
Vishal Bhardwaj is based on popular
novel by Ruskin Bond. Nanhe
Jaisalmer by Sameer Karnik, is a story
of a ten year old boy, who used to earn
his living by giving camel ride to
tourists around Jaisalmer. Safed Hathi
by Tapan Sinha, ‘Ice Age 3’ by Carlos
Saldahha, ‘Tom & Jerry Vol 4’ by
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera,
‘Scooby-Doo’ by Jim Spenstrum were
other children films screened.
‘Citizen Kane’, directed by Orson
Welles, was the first feature film
nominated for Academy Awards in
nine categories. Meghe Dhaka Tara by
Ritwik Ghatak, revolves around a
young beautiful girl, who is selfsacrificing and constantly exploited by
everyone around including her own
family. ‘No Man’s Land’ by Danis
Tanovic reflects on the futility of war
between Bosnia and Serbia as two
enemy soldiers are forced to share a
wary trust for one another. Shoaib
Mansoor’s, Khuda Kay Liye is about
difficult situations in which Pakistanis
in particular and Muslims in general
were caught up since 9/11. ‘Matir
Moina, the Clay Bird’ by Tareque
Masud is a film about the turbulent
period in the late 60s leading up to
Bangladesh’s independence from
Pakistan. ‘The Great Dictator’ by
Charlie Chaplin, Tarpan by K Bikram
Singh, Chinese film, ‘Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon’ by Ang Lee, ‘The God
Father’ by Francis Ford Coppola, Jo
Mere Nahin by K. Bikram Singh,
‘Anwar- A Dream of Darknight’ by
Anwar Jamal, ‘Gulabi Talkies’ by
Girish Kasaravalli, ‘Home 2009’ by
Yann Arthus Bertrand, ‘All about My
Motherland’ by Pedro Almondovar,
‘Babel’ by Alezandro Gonzalez Inarrito,
‘Wild Strawberries’ by Ingmar
Bergman, ‘Meenaxi: A Tale of 3 Cities’
by M.F Hussain, Khamosh Pani by
Sabina Sumar and many other films
were part of the film screening.
This year, it has been decided to
focus on Marathi films in the regional
films section as they are rich in theatre.
This time children section would have
movies on large scale. The embassies of
Japan and Bangladesh are being
contacted for the screening of Japanese
and Bangladeshi movies. The film
festival will have four venues – for film
screening, seminars, children's sections
and appreciation course in filmmaking.
The performas for the colleges to
participate have already been sent.
Such events help students of
Haryana and others watch the best of
the cinema. g
34
COVER STORY
Rohtak’s rendezvous
with stars
A five days’ cultural festival was organised in MDU,
Rohtak for the first time and was a great success
Swati Sethi
or five evenings, Tagore Theatre at
the sprawling campus of Maharshi
Dayanand University, Rohtak had a
rendezvous with cine stars, singers
and playwrights. Rohtak, the political
hub of Haryana lived to its old
tradition of being a devotee of arts.
On the first day of the cultural
festival, a Haryanvi programme of
folk dances and folk singing was
organised to make our young
generation aware of the traditional
folk dances and singing of different
regions of Haryana.
On the second day, a play 'Broken
Images' was enacted by legendary
F
Shabana Azmi. The play, written by
Girish Karnad and directed by Alyque
Padamsee, was a psychological thriller
that rips the mask off a celebrity. The
21st century is the age of the
electronic image. From every corner
of our world, electronic images fling
themselves at us, entertaining,
educating, enticing and offering us a
virtual world.
Manjula Sharma, the protagonist of
the play, is not a very successful Hindi
short story writer. She suddenly
becomes wealthy and internationally
famous by writing a best seller in
English. The question haunting
Manjula is, whether in opting for the
global 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. The
most powerful element was Shabana
Azmi’s acting and design of lighting,
which makes the inner conflict of the
character very clear and reaches to
the heart of audiences. The
auditorium was jam-packed.
On the third day, a play Sakubai,
written and directed by Nadira Zahir
Babbar, founder director of Theatre
Gourp Ek Jutt Mumbai was
performed. Sartia Joshi, known
film/TV and theatre actress of
Marathi and Hindi, played the role of
COVER STORY
35
Sarita Joshi playing the
role of ‘Sakubai’
Shabana Azmi enthralls audience
in her play ‘Broken Images’
Sakubai and made the audience laugh
through her acting skill, making
serious and satirical comments.
Sakubai is a story of a maidservant
who deals with the most trying
circumstances with strength and
endurance. Maidservants have been
around in our life for years. In our
country they are called Bai, Aaya,
Aamma, Khan Sami or maidservant in
general terms. We survive because of
their unsung efforts, grief, sorrows
and hidden pains. Sakubai is a
metaphor of a common person of our
society.
On the third day of the festival, a
play Kabir written, directed and
enacted by internationally acclaimed
actor, singer and writer Shekhar Sen
was presented. The play is based on
the life of Saint Kabir who
revolutionised the religious thoughts
and trends in his time about 600 years
back. The orthodox thinking of the
common man and exploitation by
Pandits and Mullahs was on its peak
at that time and Saint Kabir
throughout his life tried his level best
to make people aware about the truth
of God’s existence. Shekhar Sen
rendered the play beautifully through
his unmatchable acting and singing
skills.
On the last day of the festival, a
Rafi Night was organised under the
name Mujko Mere Baad Zamana
Dhundega. The songs of the legendary
singer Mohammad Rafi were sung by
young singers between the age group
of 18-30 from different parts of
Haryana. The singers, boys and girls
were selected through an intense
audition by a committee of music
experts. The aim of the programme
was to acquaint the young generation
with the singing style of Mohammad
Rafi and the way he used Sur-Taal
with utmost ease. The programme
was highly appreciated by the
audience.
This five days’ cultural festival,
organised in Rohtak for the first time,
was a great success and has become a
landmark in the history of cultural
events organised in Haryana. g
Plush multiplexes:
New era cinemas
According to Excise and Taxation Department, Haryana, “There are 64
cinemas and 24 multiplexes with 83 screens in the state. Entertainment
tax charged in the state is 30 per cent.”
Ravneet Kaur Brar
arlier people didn’t have as many
sources of entertainment as are
available today. They entertained
themselves through street plays,
Ramleelas, puppet shows, snake
charmers, magic shows and the likes.
With the advent of cinemas, people
turned to cinemas for entertainment.
But the frequency of watching movie
in a cinema hall was less. Once in a
while, when a good movie was released,
people used to have a glimpse of their
favourite actors on big screen. It was a
matter of great excitement to watch a
movie in the cinema hall.
The first Indian chain of cinema
theaters was owned by the Calcutta
entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji
Madan. At that time, around 10 films
E
were released annually. Audiences
thronged the cinema halls for
entertainment as prices were
affordable.
Gone are those days of single screen
cinema. Now, traditional cinema halls
are gradually being replaced by
multiplexes which are overpowering
the cinema industry. People also don’t
like visiting halls with single screen.
These single screen cinemas are poorly
maintained as the owners find it
difficult to renovate and upgrade their
facilities due to unavailability of
resources. The deteriorating quality of
these cinemas acts as a dampener for
the viewers. Moreover, now they have a
better option-- the swanky multiplexes.
Multiplex is a building where
several activities occur in multiple
units at the same time. It is a large
cinema complex comprising of many
movie theatres. Now, one need not plan
in advance as to which movie he should
watch. One can enter the multiplex and
make a choice right there out of 3 - 4
movies running simultaneously under
one roof.
The first multiplex Priya Village
Roadshow (PVR) was started in 1997 in
Delhi.
Most of the cities and towns of
Haryana have a good number of movie
theaters for its cine lovers. At present,
condition of single screen cinemas is
deplorable and audience cannot go in
for a movie in these cinemas. Most of
the cinema houses in the state are
showing old, dubbed or explicit adult
movies. Because of high entertainment
tax, pirated CDs, invasion of cable
network and poor standards of the
halls, about half of the cinema halls
have closed in the past few years.
Earlier entertainment tax was 50 per
cent in the state, now it has been
reduced to 30 per cent. Many owners of
these cinema halls are either planning
to shut down these or to turn them into
multiplexes, marriage halls or
godowns.
The single-screen theatres are dying
due to lack of audience. People are
queuing up at multiplexes that sell
tickets at almost five times the prices
prevailing at single-screen theatres.
This fact provides ample testimony to
the increasing prosperity as well as the
consumers’ willingness to pay for
superior-quality entertainment. For the
multiplex sector, the target group is the
age group of 15-45 years, who visit the
theaters more often than others.
Viewers are also attracted to other
sources of entertainment like DVDs,
TV, sports and others.
Most of the multiplexes in the state
are built on international lines,
offering viewers a number of
entertainment options under the same
roof. Sitting comfortably in the cushy
seats and enjoying a movie on the hightech projector systems of the
multiplexes with a glass of cold drink
and pop corn in hand is a marvellous
experience. After watching a movie,
one can also shop and relish delicious
meals. One can enjoy a wide variety of
options that are available at the snacks’
counter outside the halls such as
salads, sandwiches and other foods
along with cold and hot beverages.
COVER STORY
There are many multiplexes in the
state. Shalimar Multiplex at
Panchkula, PVR Cinemas at Crown
Plaza, Faridabad, PVR at the
Metropolitan mall, Gurgaon, a sevenscreen Multiplex Cinema, are few of
them.
PVR Cinema in Faridabad is one of
the best places in the city to watch a
movie. The advanced technology, the
audio and the visual system and the
plush seats make movie watching a
memorable experience. Some other
notable cinema halls in Haryana are
Payal Cinema in Gurgaon, Jayanti
Films Private Ltd, Gurgaon and others.
The D T Cinema Multiplex located
opposite Metropolitan mall is one of
the most visited cinema halls in
Gurgaon. It is situated within the DLF
City Centre of the city. It offers three
fully air- conditioned halls. The
multiplex is spread out on an area of
48,000 square feet and can seat up to a
total of 1,100 people. It offers a number
of facilities to its viewers. One can
book the tickets through telephone, net
and SMS booking. It also offers home
delivery of tickets in Gurgaon, Delhi
and other NCR regions. D T Cinema
Multiplex adheres to the highest
standards of safety. Some of the finest
fire safety equipments such as heat
detection sensors and smoke extraction
machines have been imported.
The persons of every age group are
interested in going for a movie in the
multiplex. Multiplex operators are
providing combination of movie with
food courts, shopping and gaming
37
facilities for children. An audience full
of passion rushes towards multiplex
for new releases. On weekends these
multiplexes are fully packed. In the last
few years strong economic growth in
the state has fuelled multiplexes’ boom
in Haryana.
In today’s scenario, many true
lovers of cinema cannot watch the film
in the very first week of its release
because so many times it is released
only in multiplexes. Single screen
cinema halls can’t afford to pay for a
film of normal budget and also
cinemas situated in small cities are not
given the prints. Haryana is a state
with highest per capita income and a
large number of its population can
afford to watch movie in a multiplex.
So this large number of cinematic
audience factor, has played a great role
behind the popularity of multiplexes in
the state.
Luxurious lifestyle does not suit
every pocket. Therefore many go to
single screen cinema halls available in
the state. Jagwinder Singh, a student
from Sirsa says, “Being a student it is
not very reasonable to go for a movie in
multiplex. Single screen cinema halls
should have good infrastructure so that
audience may enjoy the experience of
watching the film there and that too at
lower prices which suit their pockets.
Single screen cinema halls need
improvement in facilities so they can
also catch the attention of increased
viewers. Government can help them to
rise again.” Young audiences, who are
financially capable to watch all the
films in multiplex can spend this
money but what about the rest of the
middle class audience who have no
other option left with them.
When there are no good releases, it
affects the business of multiplexes as
well as cinema halls. Generally,
multiplexes remain full on weekends
but during working days there is less
sale of tickets, so owners offer gift
vouchers, and discount coupons to
attract viewers.
New techniques of printing,
recording and fixation of broadcast or
recorded programmes have emerged,
making it easy for the pirates to carry
on their illegal activities. It is affecting
the business of multiplexes owners to a
great extent.
All these things apart, but the
multiplex industry is sprawling like a
spider’s web all over the state and this
culture is here to stay. g
38
SPECIAL FEATURE
Ambala: Development
on the forefront
Ravneet Kaur Brar
mbala was constituted as a district
in 1847. There are number of
stories behind how the district got its
name 'Ambala'. According to one, this
town was founded in the 14th century
by one Amba Rajput. According to
another anecdote, the town is named
after the Goddess Bhawani Amba. Yet
other story claims that the town was
originally called Amb Wala i.e. Place of
Mangoes, and over a period of time got
the present name of Ambala.
The city is located on the border of
Haryana and Punjab. It is divided into
two sub-areas: Ambala Cantonment and
Ambala City. It has a large Indian Army
Base in its cantonment area. Air Force
Base, Ambala is one of the oldest.
Ambala City is a divisional
headquarters of the Northern Railway
Zone and is an important railway
junction.
The economy of the district largely
depends on agriculture. People have
small land holdings. They cultivate
cash crops like wheat and rice. The
other sources of income are: trade,
commerce, manufacturing and
household industry etc. It is also
famous for its wholesale cloth market,
which sells one of the best clothes in
the region at the cheapest prices. People
from far and wide come here to buy
clothes for weddings and other
occasions. Products in every category
ranging from apparel to accessories for
men, women and children, stationery,
toys, footwear, plastics, home care
products like bed and bath linen, home
appliances, gift articles, food and
groceries are available.
Gopi mixer grinder manufactured at
Ambala is exported throughout the
world. There are factories of mats
(durries) in the district. The small scale
industries here export 20 per cent of
the total scientific instruments
manufactured in the country.
The administration of Ambala is
making efforts to make it a clean city.
A
Avtar Singh, District Information and
Public Relations Officer, says, “Dairies
in Ambala City would be shifted out of
the urban areas to adjoining villages.
The administration has taken this step
because the large number of dairies
were mucking the urban areas. The
government has allotted plots to dairy
owners on subsidised rates so that
small dairy owners can easily shift
there.”
Ambala is excelling in the
administration of Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNREGS). The district was
selected for the award under the
Scheme of Award for Excellence in the
MGNREGS administration in 2008-09.
Four gram panchayats have been
awarded with Nirmal Gram Puraskar
for the year 2008-09 and 80 gram
panchayats have been proposed for NGP
for the year 2009-10.
There are many shrines in and
around Ambala--Kaali Mata Mandir,
Bhawani Amba Temple and Radha
Kishan mandir. The district is home to
many gurudwaras, some of which have
historical importance too. It is an
important area not only because of
trade but also due to its being the
busiest junction and presence of army
headquarters. The Haryana
government has planned to club
together the Ambala city, Ambala
cantonment and 27 villages into a
corporation; it will help in the smooth
functioning of administration and
development of the district.
EDUCATION
The district is leaping forward in the
area of education. The literacy rate in
the district is 76.2 per cent. Several
educational institutions are imparting
modern education. There are around 12
self-financing professional institutions
where about 25,000 students are
studying. There are two polytechnics,
one medical and one engineering
college in the city. Maharishi
Markandeshwar University, a deemed
university has changed the educational
scenario in this region. The university
campus is extended in over 200 acres,
comprising medical, dental,
engineering, law, physiotherapy,
nursing, pharmacy, hotel management
colleges and others. The university also
runs one international school.
Dharamvir Singh, assistant project
officer says, “Earlier students of the
region had to commute to the other
cities for pursuing higher education,
but with the opening of several colleges
and a university it is the other way
round; now students from different
parts of country come here for better
educational opportunities.”
There are total 825 government
schools in the district. In 2009-10, a
budget of Rs 26.16 crore was sanctioned
for the school education. Text books
and cycles were distributed to the needy
students. There are 46 bachpanshalas
for early childhood care and education.
A budget of Rs 6.48 crore has been
sanctioned for civil works for
constructing separate toilets for girls
and installing safe drinking water
tanks in the schools. Medical
assessment camps are organised for
needy students at block level.
AGRICULTURE
The soil of the district is fertile and
useful for all kind of crops. The main
SPECIAL FEATURE
39
Renu S Phulia, Additional Deputy
Commissioner, Ambala, says, “It is one of
the developing districts but life has been
disrupted by floods. Heavy rainfall, threw
normal life out of gear and left almost the
entire town flooded. The incessant rainfall
had flooded several areas in the region,
besides affecting power supply and road
traffic. Heavy flow of water flooded the
residential areas and people lost many of
their belongings. Relief work is going on
in flood affected areas. A total of 100 safai karamchaaris are recruited
in the city and cantonment so that Ambala can be cleaned and
protected from outbreak of any epidemic.”
crops grown are wheat in rabi season
and rice, maize and sugarcane in kharif
season. Out of total geographical area
of 1,53,731 hectares, area under
agriculture is 1,35,029 hectares. The
percentage of net sown area to total
cultivable area is 92.3 per cent, which is
very much close to state average of 93.1
per cent. In the city, people mostly grow
cash crops; the main reason for this is
small land holdings. The major chunk
of land is irrigated by tube wells and
small areas by river water. Organic
wheat is also grown in the region. The
main reason why people are going for
organic wheat is that it has helped in
increased production per hectare.
Land is stable for vegetable farming
also. Hybrid varieties are used by the
farmers. The farmers prefer
underground pipe system as it saves the
land area and government provides 50
per cent subsidy on this. Panjeton
village tops in district for potato
production. Farmers of this village use
modern techniques of agriculture.
Natural resources like rainfall, climate,
texture and fertility of the soil are good
and useful. The district is suitable for
growing fruits like mango, guava,
papaya and all sorts of vegetables.
Potato and onions are also extensively
grown here.
HEALTH
Well-being of the residents is also
another priority area of the state
government. Government hospital in
the city has capacity of 200 beds. The
new causality wing set up with the
help of Special Investment Plan fund
has all the facilities (including 18 beds
capacity). HIV patients are given
medicines free of cost. Public Health
Centres and Community Health
Centres provide 24 hours' service.
The district has a good number of
private nursing homes as well which
provide specialised clinical service to
the urban and rural population,
whosoever are able to afford it. The
district health and family welfare
society has been formed at the district
level and 18 other Swasthya Kalyan
Samities in other parts of Ambala.
There are 102 ambulances available for
the service of people in the district,
and three more ambulances are in
planning.
A project amounting Rs 7.28 crore
had been sanctioned by the
government of India under central
rural sanitation programme in 2004-05
which will continue till 2010-11.
All the health institutions have
installed invertors; now frequent
power cuts no longer hinder the
hospital work. To promote and
strengthen institutional deliveries and
other health services, helpers (Dai)
have been kept, one at each sub-centre.
They are given an honorarium of Rs
300 per month. Under the school
health programme, students are given
iron and multi- vitamin tablets. A
total of 2,200 sulabh shauchalayas
would be constructed by Sulabh
International in the slum areas of the
region.
SPORTS
The district is excelling in sports. Good
sports infrastructure has been created
to support sports activities. A total of
six stadiums that have been constructed
in six blocks by marketing board are
given name of Rajiv Gandhi stadiums.
At present, these are conditionally
undertaken by department of sports.
Each stadium is provided with a grant
of Rs 60,000 - 70,000 by the department
for upgradation. There is DRM stadium
of railway department. Gandhi
Maidaan is also contributing a lot in
sports. There are no permanent coaches
in these stadiums. They are sent
according to the requirement by the
authorities. Physical trainers have been
recruited in the sport’s department.
Navodaya Vidyalaya has a huge
stadium. All the senior secondary
schools and some of the colleges have
stadiums. There are well maintained
stadiums in four central schools. There
is Kharga stadium which is under the
control of Army and from time to time,
events of national level are organized
here. Recently, a marathon race was
organised by the Army at Kharga
Stadium, to educate the people about
the Commonwealth Games. Kewal
Bindra, Assistant Informationa and
Public Relations Officer of Ambala,
says, “Authorities are doing a lot to
encourage sportspersons. The gymnasts
from the city have achieved success
internationally and they are given due
credit for their performance.”
Anju Dua is one of the most wellknown coaches in gymnastics in
Haryana. Her achievements are far
greater since she is a special person
being both deaf and dumb. An Arjuna
Award winner of 1998, Anju Dua has
been working as an Assistant
Gymnastic Coach with the Haryana
Sports Department at War Heroes
Memorial Stadium in Ambala for the
last nine years. She was provided with
job under special policy by Haryana
government despite her being deaf and
dumb. Similarly, Sunita Sharma, also
an Arjuna Awardee in gymnastics was
given employment on the basis of her
applaudable performance in sports.
INDUSTRY
Ambala has a significant commercial
relevance in the Indian economy. Some
of the industries here have a
widespread base, like scientific and
surgical instruments industry which
supplies goods to prestigious colleges of
India as well as other countries. The
city is famous for microscopes,
laboratory equipments, optical
instruments and electronic equipments.
Other than this, there are metal casting,
kitchen mixer grinder, submersible
motor pump, readymade woolen
garments and hosiery manufacturing
units and a wholesale cloth market.
Manufacturers and exporters of
handwoven rugs and durries are in
large number in Ambala.
Saha industrial growth centre in 300400 acres is under construction. Ambala
is also developing as a centre of food
processing industry. Sushil Kumar, a
businessman from the district, opines,
“Ambala is growing into an industrial
hub. One major reason for its booming
industrial sector is its geographical
location; it is a good trade centre for
Haryana as well as Punjab.” g
SPECIAL FEATURE
Ghel Khurd:
A model village
41
a young panch, opines, “We have
proposed to government for opening a
library in the village where we can
place books of various kinds
including religious books. This will
help in developing reading habit
among children and adults.”
Electricity cuts are infrequent.
This has made the residents' life easy.
There is proper water supply. A well-
Ravneet Kaur Brar
hile 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 town
with all the facilities. The households
in the village have replaced their
thatch-and-mud dwellings with brickand-cement houses. Well-constructed
streets, properly maintained drainage
system and pakka houses create an
illusion of a town. The village is neat,
clean and has peaceful surroundings.
If one moves out of the village there
are green fields spread far and wide. It
is a serene and calm place untouched
by the hullabaloo of cities. It is Ghel
Khurd village of Ambala district.
One of the model villages of
Haryana, Ghel Khurd is a small
village with a population of 783. The
village was provided with a grant of 2
crore 25 lakh for development
purposes by the state government.
The Ghel Khurd gram panchayat had
been selected for the third state-level
award under the State Incentive
Scheme on Sanitation (SISS) 2008-09.
There is well-maintained sewerage
system. Special attention is given
towards sanitation in the village. It
also received Nirmal Gram Puraskar
for individual toilets constructed in
all the houses, ensuring 100 per cent
sanitation and getting rid of the
despicable practice of open
defecation. There are slogans
published on the walls of buildings in
the village like “Beti biahungi waha,
niji shauchalya ho jahan” (My
daughter will only get married to a
family where there is toilet).
The village is surrounded by pakki
boundary known as Phirni. Trees are
planted in large number in the
village. Eucalyptus trees have been
planted in two and a half acres of
panchayat land. There is one
government tubewell which feeds the
village in case of emergency. There is
an old age home. Stitching training is
W
given to girls in Silai Kendra of the
village; around 15 girls attend the
classes. It helps in making them selfdependant.
Surinder Kaur is the sarpanch of
village and rest of the panches are
young members. Elections are
conducted only for sarpanch whereas
panches are elected unanimously by
the villagers. Sarpanch was aware of
the development in the village.
There is a primary school in the
village with 125 students and two
teachers. The school has 100 per cent
enrollment of children that very well
portrays that people are aware of
their wards’ education.
The village was awarded with a
prize of Rs 17 lakh by Sampooran
Swasthaya Vibhag. Surinder Kaur
says, “Whatever funds we are granted
by the government, we spent it for the
development of the village. We want
our village to hold distinction in
every sphere.” There is private clinic
in the village where all necessary
medicines are available for the
welfare of the families. Baljeet Singh,
maintained chaupal in the village is
an exclusive common meeting place
for the villagers, where they discuss
various problems related to their
village and find their solutions. Every
household has gas and cylinder but
along with this, there are traditional
chulhas also. Cattle of every
household have a separate place
which is also surprisingly kept neat
and clean. All residents are
cleanliness- conscious.
The anganwadi in the village looks
after the children below the age of
six. Gurjeet Kaur, an anganwadi
worker says, “We provide a learning
environment to children aged
between 3-6 years. There are around
14 children in the village anganwadi
and they are served with nutritious
meals. Children are weighed
regularly to keep a check on their
health and nutrition status.’’
The village is well-planned with all
the modern amenities. It can rightly
be termed as an ‘urban village’. The
village is setting an example for other
villages of the state to follow. g
42
PROFILE
A votary of distinct
Haryanvi culture
Lala Deshbandhu Gupta
(14 June 1901- 21 November 1951)
Ravneet Kaur Brar
ala Deshbandhu Gupta was a
stalwart of freedom movement.
He was a true patriot, selfless
journalist and great social worker.
Deshbandhu was a freedom fighter
and a supporter of Gandhiji in the
Non-Cooperation Movement. He
wrote articles for ‘Vande Mataram’, a
newspaper of Lala Lajpat Rai. He was
the founder of the newspaper ‘The
Tej’. He also owned the News
Chronicle (now known as Indian
Express), along with Ram Nath
Goenka. His 109th anniversary was
celebrated on 14 June 2010.
Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first
prime minister of free India while
giving shoulder to his bier said,
“Today Delhi has lost its soul.”
Deshbandhu Gupta died in an air
crash on 21 November 1951, leaving
behind his followers in grief. He
followed the principle, “One should
work for the welfare of the people
without any selfish motive.” He
preached that everyone should live
peacefully and maintain unity of the
country.
Lala Deshbandhu was the first
L
leader to raise the issue of
separating Punjab and Haryana in
1927. He thought that this way they
could work for the development of
Haryana. Later, he was supported by
Chaudhary Ranbir Singh. They
together remained in jail thrice while
fighting for India’s freedom.
On October 22, 1920, Deshbandhu,
while hearing Gandhiji addressing
people during the Non-Cooperation
Movement in Bhiwani district of
Haryana, was so influenced that he
left his college and jumped into the
freedom movement. He came in
contact with patriots like Lala Lajpat
Rai, Munshiram (Swami
Shradhanand) and Bhai Parmanand.
He became trustworthy person of
Lala Lajpat Rai due to his dedication
and hardworking attitude. Lala
Lajpat Rai handed over to him the
task of writing and editing of ‘Vande
Matram’ at the young age of 20. He
went to jail at 19. At the age of 50, he
became a member of the Punjab
Assembly before Independence. He
became Member of Parliament from
Delhi and remained on important
positions in the Congress party.
Impressed by the culture of
Haryana, he gave a historical
comment about the separate
indentity of Haryana from Multaan
jail-- Haryana’s geographical location
is bound by natural boundaries and
its culture has a distinct identity.
People of Haryana live a simple life
and never mingle with the Punjabis.
The lifestyle of people of Haryana is
quite different from Punjab. Vishaal
Haryana should be carved out as a
separate state. Deshbandhu believed
the merging of Haryana province
with Punjab in 1858 was a tragedy
and demanded Haryana to be
separated.
He twice invited Father of Nation,
Mahatma Gandhi to Panipat and
tried to ignite the spirit of unity
among the people of India. He went
to jail seven times during national
liberation movement.
He was the first to demand
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda releasing books on Lala
Deshbandhu Gupta
Sanskrit University in Kurukshetra
and sent this proposal to Dr Rajinder
Prasad and it was established in 1956.
He kept on raising the issue of
separating Haryana from Punjab
from 1927-1951. After becoming
member of legislative assembly he
not only worked for the development
of his area but for the development of
Haryana as a whole.
He was a renowned journalist and
even today he is remembered with
respect by the journalists and the
general public. He remained
Managing Editor of ‘The Tez’
throughout his life. He favoured
freedom of the press. He was
nominated as the President of Akhil
Bhartiya Samachar Pattar.
Indian Post released a
SPORTS
43
Girl wrestler
brings fame to Hisar
Saurabh Duggal
he bronze medal of Vijender
Singh in the Beijing Olympics
has earned international fame for
Bhiwani. Now it’s turn of Hisar to
grab international
acknowledgement. Pooja Dhanda of
Hisar has won silver in the
inaugural Youth Olympics in
Singapore and placed the city on the
world map.
The 16-year-old wrestler has
opened the country’s account in the
games. She defeated three opponents
without conceding a point before
losing 1-3 to Baatarzorig Battsetseg
of Mongolia in the final to settle for
silver medal in the 60 kg freestyle
category.
“From the day one, I was
confident that Pooja will one day
bring laurels for the country. And
finally the day has arrived,” said
Pooja’s coach Subhash Chander
Soni.
Subhash is a wrestling coach
with the Haryana Sports
Department.
Before going for the Youth
Olympics, Pooja had won the silver
medal in the Asian Cadet
Championship in Thailand.
“After losing the final bout to the
Japanese wrestler in the Asian
meet, Pooja was quite disappointed
and she wanted to make up for the
loss. And she did it. Though I was
expecting gold from her, even silver
in this big tournament is no mean
affair,” said proud father Ajmer
Singh.
Pooja’s passion for wrestling can
be gauged from the fact that after
clearing her Class X board exams
with an impressive 87.5 per cent in
the year 2008, she could have easily
obtained admission in the much
sought-after science or commerce
stream, but she chose arts. Why?
She wanted to devote more time to
wrestling. Her target is an Olympic
medal.
Even in her 12th board exams this
year, Pooja has scored 86.4%.
T
commemorative stamp on the birth
anniversary of Deshbandhu Gupta on
14 June 2010. The Haryana
government has taken major
decisions to commemorate his
contribution towards the state. The
Mini Secretariat in Panipat is named
after him. The work of installing a
statue of Lala Deshbandhu,
broadening a road named after him
and construction of a chowk is in
progress. The government has
established Deshbandhu Gupta
National College in Panipat.
The writers and journalists
writing on his personality and
contributions will be awarded with
two prizes of one lakh each, every
year by the Haryana Sahitya
Academy. g
Pooja Dhanda,
16-year-old
wrestler from Hisar
“My daughter has made me
proud. After the Youth Olympic
medal, I am waiting for the day
when she will again grab a medal in
the London Olympics,” said Ajmer
Singh, whose son is pursuing
engineering. But Ajmer had his
doubts in the beginning.
“In starting when we used to stay
in the village, even I was of the
opinion that girls were not made for
sports. But when we shifted to Hisar
and I saw girls pursuing sports, my
mindset changed,” said Ajmer.
Pooja had also tried her hand in
judo and even won three
international medals, including gold
in 2nd Youth Asian championship.
But because of the success of
Arjuna awardee Geetika Jhakhar in
the field of wrestling, Pooja is more
inclined towards the rural sport.
“I want to wrestle like Geetika
didi one day and earn name and
fame like her,” said Pooja, a year
ago. The day has arrived. g
The writer is Senior Sports Writer
with the Hindustan Times,
Chandigarh
44
ART AND CULTURE
Artists
at work
Sculptor, Hriday Kaushal chiselling art out of stone
Ravneet Kaur Brar
ompetitions in various art forms
are being organised at different
levels for spotting and nurturing
talent by North Zone Culture Centre
(NZCC), Patiala. This time NZCC has
organised round the year sculptor
and painting camp at Kalagram,
Chandigarh. Every fortnight, master
artists, painters and sculptors are
invited by North Zone Cultural
Centre from all over India. This is
helping painters and sculptors to
exhibit their talent in their respective
fields. The programme is organised
by director D S Saroya on a large
scale. This has provided art lovers, a
rare experience as they can watch
artists at work and can also interact
with them. In this, first chance was
given to sculptor Shiv Singh from
C
Haryana and painter Jodh Singh from
Chandigarh. In the second fortnight,
master sculptor Hriday Kaushal from
Charkhi Dadri of Haryana and
painter Malkeet Singh from
Chandigarh participated. In the third
fortnight, sculptor Mohammad Iqbal
from Kashmir created a wisdom
incarnate structure and master
painter Som Dutt Sharma from Jind
brought life to Dushyant and
Shakuntala’s legend. Their works
provided immense pleasure to the
visitor’s. John Keats believes, “A
thing of beauty is joy forever.” So the
work of these artists will leave a
deep impact on the viewers. They will
relish the memories of this
experience throughout their life. In
this camp, two artists from Haryana
represented their state and showed
their skill.
MASTER SCULPTOR
HRIDAY KAUSHAL
Rock and stone sculptures were the
most common subjects for the
development of art right from the
Mauryan period to the British period.
Now this tradition is being carried on
by youngsters of Haryana. Hriday
Kaushal, a young sculptor, is a
contemporary artist of Haryana.
Carving, chiselling, melting and
moulding of metal came naturally to
Hriday, the first qualified sculptor
from Charkhi Dadri in Bhiwani. He is
curently a cultural officer with the
Government of Haryana.
But life was never a bed of roses
for this hardworking spirit. Though
born in a lower middle class family,
financial restraints never hampered
his will to complete his studies.
Whatever he is today, the credit goes
to his determination. He had been an
all-rounder in his college. He always
had a creative outlook and yearned
for making use of his artistic outlook.
Having an innate passion for art, he
joined Delhi College of Art. He did
Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts
in sculpture, despite little financial
support. He would commute daily
from Charkhi Dadri to Delhi by train.
He says, “There have been times
when I had to spend night in the
college premises. I used to do parttime work to pay my college fee.
Sometimes I had to walk to Delhi with
heavy load on shoulders as I had no
money to buy the bus ticket.” But all
these hardships made him more
committed and serious towards life,
and prepared him to face adverse
situations. He became more observant
about life and this later helped him to
develop themes for his sculptures.
Today, Hriday is a successful
sculptor and holds regular camps,
workshops and exhibitions of his
work. He feels that he was not guided
properly but he doesn’t want his
students to undergo same problem as
he is there to guide them. He is in
love with stones and is always ready
to experiment with new ideas. When
he touches the stone, it appears as if
he is moulding the wax into different
shapes. He is doing work in all the
media ; metal–casting, sand and lostwax process, stone-carving, fiberglass, silicon-rubber, leather, metal
sheet, welding and others.
At NZCC, he made a sculpture in
ART AND CULTURE
45
Master painter Som Dutt Sharma
giving colours to his imagination
black and pink marble and gave it the
title “Growth, never ending process”.
The sculpture was in two pieces; a
tortoise in black and a sprouted
female in pink on the top of (dome)
tortoise. It represents the continuous
life cycle.
Other famous works of Hriday
Kaushal are “Romance in nature”,
“Successful growth”, and “Growth
and Culture”. He has done lot of work
on the concept of sprouted seed and
growth. Thus, he represents his
positive outlook towards life through
his art work.
The smooth surface of a sculpture
does not show the hardships the
sculptor has undergone during its
creation. But if one has a will set in
stone, one overcomes all the
hardships.
MASTER PAINTER SOM DUTT
SHARMA
Painting is a world full of colours and
imagination. Master painter, Som
Dutt Sharma from Jind was a student
of Delhi College of arts in 1968 but he
dropped out in fourth year from the
college. He is a great painter of
Haryana. Being an expert in realistic
art, he represents his feelings on his
canvass. His paintings appear as
having life. He spelled a magic with
his painting at Kalagram in NZCC. He
represents invisible art of Haryana
all over the world and many of his
paintings have been exported to
various countries.
Som Dutt Sharma's talent
remained hidden for long as he didn’t
mention his name on his paintings.
He has magical skills in his hands.
There is an element of grace that is
portrayed in his paintings. He has
taken part in numerous group
exhibitions and displayed his
collection of paintings. One day it
was suggested to him to paint
Dushyant and Shakuntla, while he
was in Kalagram and he immediately
started painting it. He has used
natural colours to highlight the
brightness of their life. The painting
is such that it forces the viewer to
travel in the era of Dushyant and
Shakuntla.
“Snake Charmer” and “Music in
soul” are his masterpieces. His
remarkable feature is that he makes
his canvass himself. He is specialist
in oil and water colours. The passion
of art developed in him through his
father. “It was a big moment for me
when in 1968 my first oil painting was
sold. Since then most of my paintings
have been sold abroad,” he says . This
proves his popularity across the
world. His paintings got international
acclaim. A series of important
exhibitions followed, with much
appreciation from the press and art
lovers. He has magic in his hands.
The urge for any creation, flames his
spirit and inspires him to work.
Painting is often regarded as a
living discourse which speaks
directly and unequivocally. He infuses
spirit into his paintings with his
visionary artistic outlook. He feels
that an artist is absolutely free to try
out newer styles, techniques and
visual idioms with the usage of
unconventional surface and medium
as it catches his fascination. It is
unfair to restrict him in any
particular category. He should be
allowed to fly with wings of
imagination. He believes that first of
all one should be an expert in
realistic form and then experiment
with abstract ideas. Here he comes
close to the ideology of M F Hussain.
Both these artists with their skill,
hardwork and dedication have made
Haryana proud. They have set
themselves as role models for the
coming generations. g
46
PHOTO FEATURE
THE GRAND
that nev
Sher Shah Suri Marg or National Highway No 1 or a plain
Grand Trunk road, call it what you may. It once linked
Peshawar with Kolkata. Haryana part begins at Shambu
and crosses Delhi. Once it had only two night halts, mostly
for truck drivers ---- Pipli and Murthal. It is now dotted all
through with Dhabas, restaurants, pubs, havelis and hotels.
PHOTO FEATURE
TRUNK ROAD
er sleeps
The night is as good as the day; rushing buses, speeding
trucks and cars on the four lane highway which will soon be
a six lane. G T road never sleeps. It offers sumptuous and
delicious meals, magic shows and folk music.
Our photographer Randeep Singh travelled twice to
capture mood on this ever bustling road.
47
A sumptuous meal on the way
A satisfying meal
PHOTO FEATURE
49
Garama garam roti
50
HARYANA REVIEW,
PHOTO FEATURE
Music for the soul
Food for the belly
Illuminated settings
Entertaining through magic
52
BOOK REVIEW
Three titans of
Indian cinema
Randeep Wadehra
Ten years with Guru Dutt:
Abrar Alvi’s journey
by Sathya Saran
Penguin/Viking, Pages: xii+203. Price: Rs 499/-
inema is a very sophisticated
undertaking. Often described as
the director’s medium, it just cannot
do without the contributions from
other creative persons like story and
screenplay writers, music directors,
singers, actors, editors, camera
persons etc. In other words, a movie is
the end product of the efforts put in
by variegated talents. Guru Dutt is a
towering icon of Indian cinema who
has a dedicated international
C
following to this day. The high
standards that he had set for
film production ensured that
his movies like Pyasa,
Kaghaz Ke Phool etc carved
out permanent niche as all
time great movies. However,
the genius of Guru Dutt was
ably complemented by the
highly talented writer and
ideation expert Abrar Alvi.
His screenplays for
Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Kaghaz
Ke Phool, Baharein Phir Bhi
Aayengi, Pyaasa, Sahib Biwi
Aur Ghulam etc are testimony
to his immense talent.
Sathya Saran has portrayed
various aspects of the two
personalities. Most of the
material comes from her
interviews with Alvi who
dwells upon Guru Dutt’s
professional as well as
personal life not to mention
their decade long association
as friends and colleagues.
Dutt emerges as a
perfectionist who would not
mind junking entire stock of
filmed reels if he was not
satisfied with the end
product, or had been suddenly
struck with a better idea. Dutt was
most particular about song sequences,
which he always shot himself.
Another thing he was very particular
about was the “mood” of a scene
wherein lighting and camera
positions played prominent role. He
respected talent. This was the reason
why he chose the unknown Abrar Alvi
over the more seasoned writers for his
movies only because he had witnessed
Alvi give a long lecture on acting and
characterisation during an argument.
There are descriptions of
differences and arguments between
the director and the writer; of how,
when Dutt asked Alvi to direct Sahib
Biwi…, he still wanted to shoot the
song sequences himself, which led to
confrontation between the two. The
Geeta Dutt-Guru Dutt-Waheeda
Rehman triangle too figures in the
narrative, but Alvi dismisses the
widespread rumours that Waheeda
was the cause of Guru Dutt’s suicide.
He blames the downswing in financial
fortunes for the tragedy although he
does hint at the Geeta Dutt factor too.
According to Alvi, Geeta had refused
to send her daughter to visit Guru
Dutt despite several requests from the
latter who then issued a veiled threat
to commit suicide – a threat that was
not taken seriously. And that was the
last time the Dutt couple had talked to
each other.
Be that as it may. It would be
interesting to speculate whether Guru
Dutt’s creative genius would have
touched the sublime heights without
the ballast and boost provided by
Alvi’s writing and ideating skills.
Would the now classic movies have
attained their present stature if one
takes out the Abrar Alvi factor?
Conversely, would Alvi have been able
to get the sort of recognition he
eventually did, earning many
accolades as writer-director, if he had
not met Guru Dutt?
There are various humorous asides
in this book that highlight SD
Burman’s kanjoosi (miserliness) as
well as touchiness; and Mehmood’s
desperation to be a part of Dutt’s
charmed inner circle or Tanuja and
Mala Sinha’s propensity for playing
practical jokes on Alvi. There are also
poignant moments, when Meena
Kumari’s not-so-happy married life is
described or when Alvi talks of the
last time he had seen Guru Dutt alive,
and then the scene immediately after
his death.
Sathya Saran has given us
invaluable insights into the psyches of
a cinematic genius like Guru Dutt and
a hugely talented writer like Abrar
Alvi. This book would be of great
interest to researchers and cinema
buffs.
The man who speaks
in picture: Bimal Roy
edited by
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya
Penguin/Viking, Pages: xxxiv+250/-,Price:Rs. 499/-
Born in a landed aristocratic family
of a village in what is now
Bangladesh, Bimal Roy is counted
among independent India’s pioneer
neo-realist filmmakers who ushered
in the New Wave during 1950s. He
had made his mark both in Bengali
as well as Hindi movies. His first
film, Udayer Pathe, revolutionised
Indian cinema as he was the first
filmmaker to introduce shades of
grey into what was till then a “black
and white” cinema. Thus, we see him
coming up with such classics as
Devdas, Sujata, Parineeta and
Madhumati. Who can forget the
“rickshaw race” in Do Bigha Zameen?
Its protagonist, Shambhu that was
played by Balraj Sahni, became a
template of the underdog in Indian
cinema – a poor villager caught in
the struggle for survival in the
soulless urban milieu. And Bandini’s
Kalyani, played by Nutan, endures as
a part of cine buffs’ collective
memory even today.
This book is a collection of
articles written by such literary and
cinematic luminaries as Mahasweta
BOOK REVIEW
Devi, Tapan Sinha, Shyam Benegal,
Nayantara Sehgal, Naseeruddin Shah
etc. In these writings he comes across
as a reticent person in real life who
preferred to articulate his
convictions through the medium of
cinema. His cinema articulated the
pathos of the marginalised and yet
lent their characters a certain
dignity – it is not easy to create
positive symbiosis among penury,
perseverance and pride. Although he
is considered as a director who
understood and depicted human
condition in all its shades and as
belonging to the ideologically radical
stream, his critics say that Roy never
went “far enough”. Shyam Benegal
rebuts these allegations by pointing
out that Roy represented “a certain
kind of evolution of the urban
middle class or what I would call the
evolution of the middle class
intelligentsia…”
Whatever the differences in
various perceptions regarding this
genius auteur, one thing can be said
without the fear of being
contradicted – he gave to Indian
cinema, and the society at large
humanist values that moulded many
a cinematic mind among the
succeeding generations.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
by Gautaman Bhaskaran
Penguin. Pages: xviii+218. Price: Rs. 599/-
53
Adoor Gopalakrishnan was born into
an affluent agriculturist family that
was part of the aristocratic upper
crust. His family belonged to a
village near Adoor in Kerala (then
the State of Travancore).
However, his childhood was
marred with the separation between
his parents. As a sensitive child,
Gopalakrishnan displayed rare
creative talent in literature,
especially theatre. All attempts by his
elders to get him interested in
medicine and engineering failed. In
fact, he preferred to study at
Gandhigram than get “mainstream”
education. Later on, at the Pune Film
Institute (renamed as Film and
Television Institute later)
Gopalakrishnan impressed his
teachers with his talent for
screenplay writing and other related
creative forms.
After graduating from the institute
he struggled for five years before
making his first movie,
Swayamvaram, which unequivocally
announced the arrival of an
immensely talented avant-garde film
director. Then, there have been other
landmark movies like Mathilukal,
Vidheyan, Kathapurushan,
Mukhamukham, Naalu
Pennungal etc.
He too, like Bimal Roy, is
considered a neo-realist filmmaker
who, though influenced by the
progressive-leftist values, preferred
to carve out his own humanistic
cinematic idiom that is often closer
to Gandhian ideology. Some critics
place him in the Satyajit Ray school
of cinema, while others see the
influence of Ritwik Ghatak. However,
it is generally accepted that his films
portray Indian reality.
Gopalakrishnan avers in this
biography that his movies faithfully
record the history of a particular
period, the time in which they are
set. He makes sure of the
authenticity of facts and materials
used. For example, for creating the
right ambience in the prison scenes
of Mathilukal he got hold of a jail
administration manual of the 1920s.
It is no wonder that Adoor
Gopalakrishnan is looked upon as a
filmmaker who set new paradigms
for Indian cinema wherein
experiments with novel metaphors
were conducted with great success. g
The writer is a poet and columnist
54
GUEST COLUMN
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
Ranbir Singh
he Haryana Encyclopaedia
published this year in six volumes
in Hindi presents valuable information
including significant data about the
state that often remains concealed in
government’s files. In the arena of
publishing documents through publicprivate partnership, this publication
becomes an example for others to
follow. In fulfilling the long-felt need of
researchers and scholars for making
available most of the information
about Haryana at one place, the
authorities as well as the academics
have demonstrated the competence to
deliver a correct stuff.
The information printed on about
7,000 pages of the neatly bound ten
parts of the encyclopaedia covers
major as well as minor topics in broad
spectrum; geography and
physiography, culture, literature,
history, modernisation and indicators
of development, in addition to visual
T
version of the landscape and the
vibrant life of the people of Haryana
through two hundred coloured
photographs.
Soon after the conceptualisation of
the Haryana Encyclopaedia,
administrative and financial sanctions
for producing it were readily obtained
by the Department of Public Relations.
Apart from huge amount of
information that could be compiled
through the resources of the state
government, the number of authors
that submitted original contributions
went beyond 150. The task of
scrutinising the huge mass of papers
and shaping it in presentable form was
a gigantic one. Editing of the scripts
and technical aspects posed a real
challenge as the sources and references
had to be often accessed for
authentication.
The volumes were thematically
designed to cover the different aspects
of Haryana. These deal with ancient
history based on archaeological
evidence and spatial maps and satellite
imageries of vegetation, ground and
surface water resources, irrigation and
drainage system and mineral wealth in
the geographical volume (two parts). In
addition to the gradual evolution of the
food habits of the people, modes of
transportation since the ancient times,
there is information on water related
architecture (masonry well, masonry
tank, Baoli, Kund and Tankaa), flora
and fauna and architectural heritage.
There is a list of all the valorous and
decorated persons from Haryana who
served the armed forces since the
British period and descriptive accounts
of the people and places that
participated in the First War of
Independence in 1857.
Other topics include traditional
costumes and ornaments, the literary
pursuits of ancient scholars and their
contributions, sages and preserved
manuscripts that shaped the life and
culture of the people of Haryana since
the Vedic times. Heritage museums and
crafts’ fairs, domestic architecture and
wall paintings, traditional
entertainers, fairs and festivals are
well related. Information on
litterateurs and academicians and
their contributions to the growth of
literature as well as journalism,
publications from Haryana Serai and
Dharmshalas military traditions,
language and linguistics, folk art and
folk songs and various reform
movements such as Arya Samaj and
Namdharis is there. History of Khaps,
of reputed educational institutions and
of development and decline of cinema
as industry is also given. Then there is
a brief historical sketch of all the
districts and data tables for revealing
various important facts, agricultural
traditions, land reforms and revenue
management, tourism, village
management and Panchayats. The
encyclopaedia also gives details on
modern icons of Haryana,
urbanisation and its impact on society
and Haryana as new educational and
knowledge hub.
The most conspicuous are the
development volumes that contain
information in regard to the rise of
modern Haryana from agricultural to
an industrial power. The photographs
not only pictorially represent various
aspects of ancient history and
archaeology, art and architecture,
ornaments and costumes, agriculture
and life in the countryside, flora and
fauna but also folk arts, crafts,
lifestyles and decorative arts. An
attractive feature of the encyclopaedia
is inclusion of the natural and
sociological histories of about 150
village estates representing every
district of the state. It also includes the
history of the ancestral villages of all
the former chief ministers of Haryana
as well as that of the incumbent CM.
Even though precaution has been
taken for making the publication
exhaustive and error-free, but there are
some deficiencies and discrepancies in
regard to chronology, references, proof
reading and designing. These can be
removed in the revised edition, in
future.
If the publication is converted into
portable file format (pdf) as digitised
version and uploaded on the World
Wide Web, it can be made accessible to
information seekers, globally. g
The writer is Public Relations Officer,
Indian Council of Medical Research,
New Delhi
GUEST COLUMN
55
A name in
photography
Parrot and a photographer- Rajkishan Nain
Sheela
ajkishan Nain is a name in the
field of photography, literature
and rural journalism. He has been
conferred with the
prestigious/coveted awards such as
Best Presidents’ Scouts in 1971 by
V V Giri, Karmyogi Sammaan in
2006-07 by Haryana Institute of Fine
Arts and Babu Balmukund Gupt
Sammaan in 2007-08 for literary
journalism by Haryana Sahitya
Academy, Panchkula.
He was born on October 27, 1956 to
Shri Risal Singh Nain in village
Ajaib of district Rohtak. Nain's
ancestral occupation was
R
agriculture. He obtained postgraduate degree from Punjab
University, Chandigarh and
thereafter devoted major portion of
his lifetime in pursuing photography
and expanded his faculties to become
an art-cum- cultural historian.His
deep involvement in photography
has made him a renowned
photographer. He has published
several books on photography like
Agfa Gaevert Photo Gallery, Zoom
Photo, Indian Cinematography and
Photography, Lenslight, Mirror and
The Sun.
He is one of the exceptional photoartists of our country living in a
village who has persistently
‘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 Daguerreotype
photographic process that was invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839. Since then,
every year this day is celebrated as World Photography Day.
56
GUEST COLUMN
All smiles
Guarding his crop
pioneered and captured the life and
times of the people of India,
particularly Haryana. So as a mark of
personal honour to him, photo
galleries depicting folk life and culture
of Haryarna were exclusively
established in his name in the
Kurukshetra University at
Kurukshetra and Maharshi Dayanand
University at Rohtak. Several excellent
photographs with attractive
composition from his kitty adore the
walls of the office of the Haryana
Sahitya Academy housed in Academy
Bhawan building at Panchkula.
Nain's photographic sojourns took
him to cover Himalayas, the Thar
Desert, the shores of the mighty
Indian Ocean, enchanting and lifesustaining agricultural landscapes of
India and the natural forests, which
brought him recognition and
numerous laurels from various
institutions of the country. Through
his novel ways of exploring the
countryside he has been able to reveal
the essential but unfamiliar
characteristics of Indian culture and
ethos -particularly the village life,
prominently featuring Haryana.
Although there was progressive
decline in his vision (about 80 per cent)
over the years yet he continued to
make admirable contributions in the
field of art-photography and tread the
countryside in order to capture in his
camera the images of India that
remains as ‘incredible’ even today as it
was ages ago.
For Nain, work is worship. His
ethical standards in pursuing
professional art are worth
emulating. g
Sheela is a Rohtak based writer
Furrows of life
A MESSAGE FOR TEACHER’S DAY
Teachers are builders of nation
The 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.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(5 September 1888 - 17 April 1975)
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 government over a period of time has been offering incentives 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.
Chief Minister, Haryana
I earnestly hope that teachers' community will strive to
raise a higher standard of education in the state.
Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India, RNI No 10412
Postal Regd No CHD/123/2009-11
Advice from a Tree
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!

Pdf of this latest issue

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