Age-old medium of storytelling comes alive at inter-university youth festival

The second day of the four-day state level inter-varsity youth festival being organised by the Youth Services Department, Punjab, at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, saw artists narrating stories that needed to be told through the age-old medium of theatre.

Punjab Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor (Dr) Satbir Singh Gosal, who was a special guest, appreciated the artists for making the most of this platform to showcase their talent and creativity.

The plays included folk tales of Mirja-Sahiba, Sohni-Mehiwal, pain of India-Pakistan partition and social issues that gain attention through theatre. “Theatre has been an important medium of storytelling, whether in traditional style or experimentative. Watching student artists from Jalandhar, Patiala and GNDU perform was wonderful as it displays the cultural and creative excellence they possess,” said Sunil Kumar, senior faculty of Hindi department and head of university’s theatre club.

Performing art forms, including ghazals and Punjabi folk songs, were also held today. Apart from this idiomatic dialogue, short films and fine arts competitions were also organised. Teams from Panjab University, Chandigarh, Lovely Professional University, Punjabi University and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, are participating in this event that was inaugurated by former Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.

Students from 23 universities are participating in 52 different heritage and cultural arts. Dhaliwal said, “The youths are backbone of Punjab. They stand firm with the country and the state in difficult times, an example of which was seen during monsoon flooding.”

On Day 1, Bhangra and folk dance competitions kept the audience on their toes. The festival also brings focus on some of the art forms that have been overshadowed by mainstream arts. This includes traditional attire, where boys dressed up in Punjabi attire with turbans and girls displayed the handloom heritage of Punjab. Shabads, stand up form of social commentary like bhand and traditional Tanti Saaz also hit a chord with audience.