‘Heer Waris Shah rich with info on 18th-century Punjab’

Tribune News Service

Advertisement

Bathinda, September 18

Heer Waris Shah provides a wealth of information about the 18th century Punjab, besides being a source of theory. This was stated by Prof Virinder S Kalra while speaking on “Learning to engage with Punjabi classics: Heer Waris Shah in Punjab studies” during his recent visit to the city.

A prolific author with many academic titles about race, Diaspora, cultural hybridization, and cultural studies, Prof Kalra teaches at the Department of Sociology in the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Attended largely by young scholars of social sciences and the humanities, the intimate gathering was joined by some guests from Chandigarh too.

Prof Kalra characterized Punjabi intellectual tradition as defined by the process of ‘intertextuality between Sufi, Bhakti, and Sikh traditions’ and these practices are ‘distilled and to an extent harmonized in Heer Waris Shah which celebrates Punjabi hetero-religiosity’.

An animated discussion followed his presentation with comments and questions about culture as a field of resistance were deliberated upon. The comparative locations of Sikhism, Sufism, Marxism, Liberalism and other tendencies in Punjabi intellectual tradition was another topic of discussion that ensued.

The occasion was the first Majlis organized by Punjab Sanjhiwal Jatha. Elaborating the concept behind Majlis, historian Dr Sumail Singh Sidhu said, “It is an attempt at crafting civil spaces to nestle animated discussions rooted in analytical mode on engaging issues. The rapidly expanding city of Bathinda needs a life of the mind so screenings, story-telling, book discussions, and workshops are necessary to re-imagine, rediscover and redefine the urban experience.” He said the talk by Prof Kalra is “an ideal way to initiate this process”.

Photo artist Gaurav Vashisht, Ravinder S Ghumman, economist Baldev Singh Shergill, historian Vikas Rathee, Kumar Sushil, senior journalist SP Singh, Browser bookshop owner Pankaj Puneet Singh, Dhido Gill, and research scholars Jasbir Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Chandel Deep along with others participated in the four-hour Majlis. Maaldeep Singh Sidhu, the convener of Majlis, thanked the participants while announcing the next Majlis on September 23 when the opening four stanzas of Heer Waris Shah would be recited and discussed.