Shiv Kumar Batalvi's epic 'Loona' staged to mark his 50th death anniversary

Ravi Dhaliwal

Batala, May 7

The three-hour-long function held to commemorate the 50th death anniversary of poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi dripped of pathos and sentiment even as “Loona”, widely considered to be his magnum opus, proved to be the piece-de-resistance of the proceedings held in the city where he was born and spent his formative years.

For the entire duration of 70 minutes during which Kewal Dhaliwal-directed “Loona” was staged, the audience kept riveted to their seats. The play is based on the legend of Puran Bhagat and had earned Batalvi the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, making him the youngest recipient.

Nijjar fails to turn up

• Cabinet Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar failed to turn up
• Padma Shri Surjit Patar and poet Gurbhajan Singh Gill were present
• Deedar Singh Pardesi and Ramesh Bhagat regaled the audience with folk songs

Dhaliwal, who is an alumnus of the National School of Drama, brought his own team of artistes. The event came alive following the joint efforts of the district administration and the Shiv Batalvi Arts and Cultural Society.

Cabinet Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar was to be the chief guest. However, he got indisposed following which the Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal was to preside over the function. The DC also had viral fever, which forced the organisers to send an SOS to ADC (General) Dr Nidhi Kumud Bambah to complete the rituals.

Prominent Punjabi littérateurs who were present included Padma Shri Surjit Patar and poet Gurbhajan Singh Gill. MLA Sherry Kalsi and Batala SDM Shayari Bhandari, too, were present. Deedar Singh Pardesi, a household name in Kenya, and Ramesh Bhagat regaled the audience with their folk songs.

Five decades after his death, the organisers did ‘Batala’s son’, as Shiv was called in these parts, proud by installing his life-size statute at the entry of the auditorium. Experts said this was long overdue and when DC Aggarwal got to know that till yet nobody had even given it a thought, he promptly ordered that the show must end with a ceremony installing the statute.

Earlier, a poetry competition based on Batalvi’s works was held for children. Cash prizes were given to the winners in the poetry and singing competitions.