Docu-series dwells on Afghani musical instrument

Neha Saini

Amritsar, November 8

A believer in simple, organic form of storytelling, whether it’s through a camera lens or words, Harjit Singh, an eminent filmmaker, says that he finds simple things in life aesthetic and meaningful.

“Normally, we look for aesthetics in extra ordinary things, but often overlook emotions and meaning in the simpler, mundane things of life. Like our folk arts, there are no gimmicks or complexities in them, but the aesthetics are so rich,” he shared. Dr Harjit, was recently in Amritsar to participate in an art event. He shared how he was working on the post production of his new five episode docu-series “Rabab-Strings of Oneness”, first episode of which had been received well.

Like his previous films, “Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe” based on the life of philanthropist Bhagat Puran Singh or “Imroz” based on the spiritual love between Imroz and Amrita Pritam, Dr Harjit has dwelled on a subject close to his heart. It tries to present the historical journey of “Rubab”, becoming an inseparable part of the Sikh spiritual traditions.

“The concept of the series is to reflect on the significance of ‘Rubab’, an Afghani saz (musical instrument) that became inseparable part of shabad and kirtan through Bhai Mardana. The fact that ‘Rubab’ cannot be separated from Guru’s words, this feeling of oneness, and the significance of ‘Rubabi Kirtan’ is slowly being lost,” he said.

Stressing that “Rubab” was the soul of shabad as it was the instrument of masses, Dr Harjit said that through his series is an attempt to preserve the history and significance of storytelling of Bhai Mardana through “Rubab”.

“I feel we have failed to preserve the legacy of Bhai Mardana. I have tried to educate the young generation about the spiritual and historical context,” he said.

Apart from this, Dr Harjit is also developing children animation and literature through a series of books. Dr Harjit further said, “We have already completed a six-part series of books. Now, we are in the process to come out with an eight-part series of Punjabi literature for kids. I feel that children literature is an ignored genre among the current generation. It is criminal as we have failed to create meaningful literature for them. If you look at world literature, majority of famous and successful writers were from this genre and are still being read. Earlier, prominent Punjabi literary magazines like Preetlari had a dedicated space for children like Bal Sandesh.”