Remnants of literary legacy of city on verge of being lost

Neha Saini

Amritsar, July 30

Feeling proud of our heritage is one thing and preserving it for future generations is another. And while we are good at the former, the latter is something that needs a push through. The ancestral homes of eminent literary figures from city, including Gursharan Singh and Dhani Ram Chatrik, are a shambles or on the verge of being lost to rapid urbanisation. Considered an intangible heritage of the city, a group of artists and prominent literary figures have urged the MC to declare these sites heritage.

Gursharan Singh’s house at Ranjitpura Putlighar was up for demolition and saved when a group of writers and theatre artistes held protests against its demolition. Gursharan Singh was a Punjabi playwright and theatre person, who is considered a revolutionary writer of Punjabi theatre and his home was the epicentre of theatre movement and social change during the militancy period in Punjab.

While the theatre fraternity in the city has been raising the demand to convert the house into a museum or memorial of Gursharan Singh, the property is currently closed. “It is tragic that a site that once mobilized young writers and theatre artistes, including Bansi Kaul, Jatinder Kaur and even Balraj Sahni, is now a shambles. It was the “karam bhoomi” of Gursharan Singh, who has written 200 plays in Punjabi, the maximum for any playwright.

“The home is witness to several milestones of Punjabi theatre and literature. Samta magazine was published from here; the wave of rural theatre in Punjab started from here; Paash’s first poetry book was published from this home; Waryam Sandhu has his literary roots here. Such a historic house must be turned into a museum or heritage place,” said Kewal Dhaliwal, eminent theatre person, who supports the demand of declaring the house as heritage.

He argues that in countries like the UK where homes of celebrated writers like William Shakespeare and Elliot have been turned into museums to preserve their literary legacy, why cannot the same be replicated in Punjab? “Generations must be made aware of the legacy of these writers, artistes, their contributions towards progressive movements in our country. It was the only place where during 10 years of militancy, any literary activity took place. They must be put on tourism map and preserved,” he said.

Similarly, ancestral home of writer Dhani Ram Chatrik in Putlighar is on the verge of being lost. The property was sold by the family of Chatrik and is now currently divided into a marriage palace, a hospital and a portion of it remains in a dilapidated condition. Homes of Saddat Hasan Manto inside the walled city in Kucha Wakilan and Sardar Nanak Singh and Preet Nagar where legacy of Gurbaksh Singh and Uma Gurbaksh Singh is still alive must be declared tangible heritage.