Artiste for preserving art & folk culture of Punjab

Minna Zutshi

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 13

Punjabi folk artiste Pammi Bai (Parmjit Singh Sidhu) believes that merely doling out awards to celebrity artistes will not help in preserving the art and folk culture of Punjab.

“We need to weave into our lives the folk art and traditions. Unless we have an inclusive attitude towards our cultural heritage, we’ll end up merely paying lip service,” said Pammi Bai, sounding worried about the influx of the ‘exotic’ in the Punjabi way of life.

He said the ‘exotic’ has caught the fancy of people in the state, while the Punjabi culture has been reduced to a few fiercely-competitive events in schools, colleges and universities. However, instead of blaming the youth for ‘disowning’ the Punjabi culture, Pammi Bai said it was the older generation that has failed in its duty of sensitising the youth towards folk culture. “We are not trying hard enough. There is no reason why youngsters will remain uninterested in art and culture that has lived through centuries. However, if we don’t give them the right kind of exposure, they will not learn to appreciate the cultural heritage,” he said.

Wedding celebrations in cities like Ludhiana are ‘marriage palace centric’. Such weddings hardly have any place for Punjabi traditions and folk culture. “It is surprising, though somewhat heartening, to note that NRIs are preserving some of the traditions that the people in Punjab are fast discarding. Very few in Punjab encourage their children to converse in Punjabi – they want them to talk in English. But Punjabis abroad are taking special care to teach Punjabi to their children.”

Pammi Bai was in city for the launch of his album “Non-stop boliyaan 2017”. Mandeep Kaur, winner of the show ‘Sur Sartaj’, is the co-singer, while Hakam Singh is the music director of the album. The video is by Ravinder Ranguwal. The album showcases the robust Punjabi culture through the medium of ‘boliyaan’.