VC releases DVD of play on ‘Komagata Maru’

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 24

Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh released the DVD of a play, “Komagata Maru - A Zakhmi Parvaz”, directed by Dr Jaspal Deol, HoD of Theatre and Television, at a function in the university’s Senate Hall here today.

The play is based on the playbook of the same title, authored by Gurpreet Singh Ratol. The play portrays the horrifying tragedy of Sikhs, travelling in the ship named Komagata Maru, which was first stopped by the Canadian Government from landing there and was sent back to Calcutta where they were gunned down by the British army.

In his presidential address, the Vice-Chancellor said the play, of which 19 shows have already been staged at different places around the country, tantamount to “revisiting the history in context of the gruesome tragedy that the 376 passengers in the ship had to undergo before some of them facing the bullets while landing back in India at the Baj Baj Ghat in Calcutta.”

He thanked the West Bengal Government for its kind gesture of naming the Railways stop as Komagata Maru to commemorate the memory of the victims.

The play, he said, was an historic event in the field of theatre, which earlier seemed quite a tough task given the nature of the subject, having religious overtones. The project was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, by the committee constituted by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and having Dr Jaspal Singh, Tarlochan Singh and Joginder Singh Johal.

The Vice-Chancellor presented a set of 150 DVDs to Johal for its distribution among the younger generation to apprise them of one of the greatest events in the history of India.

Prof Jaswinder Singh, a former DAA of the university, who remained very closely associated with the total project, said the play acquires a great significance with 35 actors of the Theatre Department performing 53 roles.

He described the play as a rare achievement of Ratol and Dr Deol, carrying along several layers of human emotions and consciousness.