Loona — Batalvi’s epic brought to life

SD Sharma

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Chandigarh, October 6

The State Bank of India and Ajnabi Rangkarmi Theatre Group staged a play, Loona, based on a work of poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi at Tagore Theatre here today.

Adapted by Karan Gulzar for dramatisation, the verse play flourished to perfection under the direction of Kuldip Sharma. Musical score Atul Sharma was the lifeline of the play.

The play opened up with festivities at the palace of Raja Varman of Chamba (Amit Talwar, a bureaucrat) in the presence of Raja Salwan of Sialkot (Kuldip Sharma). After seeing danseuse Loona (Mridula Mahajan), Raja Salwan falls for her. Defying all moral and social ethics, Salwan married Loona who is much younger than him. When Salwan’s son Puran visited his step mother Loona, she fell in love with him. Puran never succumbed to her advances, Loona concocted a false story. Raja ordered death penalty for Puran and his mutilated body was thrown in a well.

Chief guest Manoj Mehrotra, GM, SBI, and Alka Singh, wife of UT Administer VP Singh Badnore, honoured the artists. Balkar Sidhu conducted the programme.