Uma Gurbaksh Singh took Punjabi theatre to new heights

Gurnaaz Kaur

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At the tender age of 13, she took up the baton to take Punjabi theatre to greater heights and succeeded. Uma Gurbaksh Singh, fondly called the first lady of Punjabi theatre, passed away at the age of 93. Needless to say, the loss is humongous and memories galore.

From being the first female actor in the Punjabi play “Raj Kumari Latika” in 1939, when women were not expected to act or be part of theatre in any capacity, to doing a role of a lover alongside her elder brother Navtej Singh, her entry was etched in time.

But that was just the beginning, quite a progressive one at that. Soon, she headed protest plays as part of the nationalist movement. Uma Gurbaksh was among the seven female artistes, who was imprisoned for staging the play “Hulle Hulare” against the British rule in India.

Her love for theatre and the way she promoted it is reckoned by one and all. “She lived a beautiful life and her contribution to Punjabi theatre is unmatched. She patiently promoted the art and would come to watch plays, attend seminars and be a part of script readings until recently,” shares Kewal Dhaliwal, president, Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi.

In Preet Nagar, she was instrumental in bringing about an auditorium, which Dhaliwal says, is on a par with any international conference hall.

“For the past 20 years, every third Wednesday a show is presented at the auditorium. She took great care of the artistes; from their stay to their meals, she made sure everything was looked after.” Uma was an inspiration for many more girls. Following in her footsteps and with her support, several of her women friends joined theatre. That’s when they became a group of seven. According to playwright and theatre director Sahib Singh, “Even in jail, she protested. It reflects how daring she was as a person,” Singh said.

Even after being so educated and forward, Uma chose to stay close to her roots and not move to a city. She was a fine classical singer, a sitarist and wrote stories for kids.