10-day exhibition to mark Shiv Batalvi’s birth anniversary

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 22

While not many people remember it is Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s birth anniversary tomorrow, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi has decided to celebrate the poet’s life and works by organising an exhibition of his rare photographs.

A 10-day exhibition will begin on August 5 at Punjab Kala Bhawan here.

Diwan Manna, chairperson of the akademi, said the exhibition will comprise around 45 photographs. These have been gathered from across the world over the past several months.

The exhibition will showcase pictures of the house where he was born at Bara Pind (Pakistan) in 1936. The pictures were taken recently by Zahid, a Pakistan-based photographer.

Manna said London-based Punjabi writer Amarjit Chandan was instrumental in putting together this exhibition. Besides featuring pictures from Batalvi’s UK visit in 1970, the exhibition will also show some rare pictures of his youth. Apart from that some of the photography has been done by Manna in Batala as well.

“Shiv’s pictures, letters, artifacts are scattered all over. His family and friends are possessive about the stuff they have with them. So far, no institution has bothered to approach them to preserve the precious legacy.

Chandan said most of the photographs are from his personal collection gathered over the years. “I have a passion for archiving which sadly is not shared by many individuals or institutions in both East and West Punjab. Now, Punjabis on both sides and the diaspora are loaded with money but lack an imagination. The neglect is criminal,” he lamented.