As Sohni Mahiwal was staged by students of the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, the audience was left spellbound

Bhanuni Saini

and Divij Sharma

Folklore connects us with each other, also the past with the present. This was very much apparent at the annual production, Sohni Mahiwal, of the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on Monday evening.

The play, written by Ekaam Maanuke, was dedicated to Prof. Balwant Gargi, Padma Shri, the founding director of the Department, and was inspired by his play Sohni. The chairperson of the Department, as well as the director and creator of the play, Navdeep Kaur, invited everyone to bridge the gap between our roots and modern sensibilities.

With a houseful studio, the first day of the production was a massive success. The audience applauded and cheered the hard work put on display by the talented team. Details of every aspect were looked into well, right from the costumes to the set designs. The lighting work by Avtar Sahni and sound by Abhishek Bharti were appreciable too. As performances and the rest of the elements combined, the audience was witness to a marvellous spectacle.

Later, Navdeep said, “I am thankful to the cast to crew, which worked tirelessly for 45 days, blurring the line between night and day, to make this production possible. It was a total team effort and I am very happy with the response on the opening day. Hoping for the same in the coming days.”

(On till May 31)