Punjabi antenna

Television versus literature

By

Randeep Wadehra

On 02 October Punjabi channels telecast the Gandhi Jayanti related news. Moreover, PTC News devoted quality airtime to Gursharan Singh, who died on 27 September. Known for street theatre and leftist ideology, Gursharan adapted the works of western litterateurs and also wrote numerous plays that protested against various evils. He was confident that his craft would have positive impact on the average Punjabi’s thought processes.

Punjabi sabhyachaar is an evergreen issue with our TV talk shows. This time SP Singh, Khabarsaar’s anchor(Zee Punjabi), asked whether today’s youth has been weaned away from books by television. This presumes a lot of things. First, before the arrival of television Punjabi youth was a voracious and conscientious book reader. Second, books and television are mutual antagonists. Third, if we factor out television Punjabi youth would (re)turn to book reading as a matter of course. Fourth… well let us get back to the discussion which had as panelists Dr. Nahar Singh of Panjab University, artist Diwan Manna of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, and noted lyricist Shamsher Sandhu.

Diwan Manna said that songs didn’t need books as crutches as they belonged to a different genre. Moreover, they could communicate directly with people. Dr. Nahar Singh was worried about the manner in which market forces were dumbing down poetry and literature, but was confident that a quality work would withstand this trend. Similarly, Shamsher Sandhu seemed positive about the future of quality Punjabi music.

Several other related issues were also raised. For example, the question of “vulgarity” in Punjabi songs; it was argued that media was responsible for its proliferation. But sex and sexuality have been hoary themes in Punjabi lyrics. Even ribaldry – in the form of sitthaniyaan, for example – was socially accepted “must do” on such auspicious occasions as weddings. In fact, for ages, our countryside has been resonating with risqué humour narrated and acted out by folk artistes like nakaliyas, bhats etc who used to be invited by village elders to perform on special family/social occasions. It was a regular practice for kings and nobles to be entertained by nautch girls whose songs and dances were not exactly pious. What is being termed vulgar today was very much a part of our folk culture. In fact, television has sanitized the originals and presented them in contemporary forms.

Let us also not forget that several Punjabi literary works have been televised by Doordarshan’s Jalandhar Kendra in the past. One still recalls the rendering of Shiv Batalvi’s poetry years ago on DDJ. In fact it would not be an exaggeration to say that several authors and poets became better known because DDJ adapted their works to make telefilms and serials.

It is true that most of the private channels are cashing in on popular demand for westernized music by selling airtime to various music companies. Naturally, editorial scrutiny is given a goby and the product’s quality suffers. This is where the Khabarsaar discussion becomes relevant. The cheap music churned out by private channels is certainly affecting the tastes of today’s youngsters. Nobody grudges them the money they earn in the process; however, these channels can afford to allot specific airtime to quality programming. Lovers of Punjabi literature and culture often tell me that they would like to watch biopics, docudramas and serials based on the lives and works of such poets of universal appeal as Bhai Vir Singh, Shiv Batalvi, Dhani Ram Chatrik, Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh, Balwant Bawa, Preetam Singh Safeer, Avtar Singh Azad, Prabhjot Kaur etc. Don’t Punjabi TV channels have resources to retail televised versions/adaptations of plays novels and short stories of I.C. Nanda, Nanak Singh, Gurbax Singh, Balwant Gargi, Sheela Bhatia, Gurdial Singh Khosla, Harcharan Singh, Sant Singh Sekhon, Kartar Singh Duggal, Kulwant Singh, Navtej and many others?

Published in The Tribune dated 15 October 2011

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