Punjabi Antenna
Good to see shows on heritage
Randeep Wadehra

Heritage does not merely tell us of our past. It defines our present even as it impacts our future evolution. A society that doesn’t respect its heritage loses its identity and, eventually, goes to seed. This is the reason why governments, private organisations as well as individuals spend so much time, money and effort in its preservation.

Virsa, a heritage-related serial on PTC News, had started off well with episodes on personalities like MS Randhawa and KL Saigal and traditions like the use of parandi. But after that one has not seen much of the show except repeats. The concept is good; why not give it full flow? Its talented director Mukesh Gautam is passionate about Punjabi heritage if you go by his other efforts like Masters, Sajda etc and socially relevant movies like Akhiyan Udeek Dian.

There was a talk that soon the region’s audiences would be able to feast on biopics of legends like Surinder Kaur, Bulle Shah and places of historical importance. I earnestly hope that the project, entitled Kohinoor, will come through. It will not only enrich our lives but also add to the digitised archives on Punjab’s heritage.

In our country oral literature is a tradition of ancient, pre-Vedic, vintage. This was of necessity as writing material was not available, or was too costly to be acquired and used by common folks. Moreover, oral literature developed as much as a means for memorising various family/ashram secrets as an egalitarian form of entertainment. Punjab is no exception. Before the advent of more sophisticated infotainment media, oral literature in the form of stories and poetry was used as the medium of entertainment.

Kavishars and dhadis would be invited to villages by the well off on formal occasions like marriages, festivals etc when they would render songs, poetry and folklore on demand. Traditionally, dhadis’ renderings are accompanied with time-honoured musical instruments, dhad, a percussion instrument, and sarangi, a violin-like string instrument. During off-seasons they would be guests of ordinary villagers, too, and earn their bread by reciting martial or love songs. One recalled all this when one watched Dhadi Gaatha on Wednesday at 11 am, telecast by DD Punjabi.

The traditional folk singers belted out Veer Rasa numbers eulogising Banda Bahadar. While enjoying their compositions one could not help thinking how myth and mythology evolve when fantasy is added to facts. Listening to them you would think that the singers had been direct witness to various events and verbal exchanges among diverse characters — be it Banda Bahadar and his advisers, or the Nawab of Sirhind and his retinue. Enthralling.

Among the several worrying factors in today’s Punjab is the state of its education system. Even though there are any number of government and private schools and colleges in the state catering to students from different socio-economic backgrounds, it is, indeed, worrying that there is a disconnect between the education imparted and the skills needed in various industrial units as well as other organisations and enterprises. Consequently, the number of unemployable educated is large. It is here that polytechnics can play a constructive role by imparting skills that could be of use in the shop-floor environment. These skills can also enable school/college dropouts and others to become self-employed.