Shankar Sahney who promoted Punjabi music
by Ravi Khandelwal

         New Delhi: Having conducted more than 1000 stage shows in different parts of the World, Shankar Sahney has promoted Punjabi music like few others have. A singer, an actor and a writer, Sahney was born in a musical family, and initiated into the world of sur and taal at the tender age of three. A proponent of the Kirana Gharana, Sahney studied to become a chemical engineer, and embarked upon finding a place for himself in the same field. However, the seeds of music sown to deep in him to help him make a career in engineering, and finally he succumbed to the lure of music.

           "My father was the head of the music department in Government College Hoshiarpur. So there were 50-60 students sitting in our house all the time, with someone playing the harmonium and others the tabla," said Shankar. "Though we were not keen to learn music, we learnt a lot during our childhood days. After that when I got serious, we made a first band. I was in class seven then. We got 700 rupees for the first performance. We played at a wedding. We loaded guitars and drum in a rickshaw and went on my dad's scooter. I still cherish that day. Of course it will never come back again," said Shankar. Performing on the stage the world over, Shankar himself experimented with beats enthralled even Englishmen. "You must have seen that when Punjabi singer sings something on stage or even in disco, people get energetic. There is a lot of energy in Punjabi music. So one can also workout or dance for half an hour, on Punjabi music, because it gives one a lot of energy. The music and the rustic feel touches the soul," Shankar added. Shankar, who has to his credit a number of popular numbers which have become a rage in Punjab and as well as abroad. After giving super hits like Kudi Kurmuri, Oye Tera Kya Kehna and Yaari Yaari, he has 12 music videos to his name, directed and choreographed by a galaxy of highly talented and well-known professionals from Bollywood. "After recording a song, we feel that unless people enjoy it there is no point in singing it. We can experiment but to a certain extend. Most of the time fusion music is very well accepted all over the world. Punjabi music has a global feel and it is not only Indians who enjoy it. I recall hearing Punjabi music while travelling in a taxi abroad. The driver was non- Indian. Punjabi music gels with all kind of tradition. Playback singing in Bollywood provided Shankar with a platform for the big screen. `Jat Lutya gaya' from the film `Champion' became a hit on the charts. And now it no surprise, that a Punjabi song is featured in almost every Bollywood film.
- January 22, 2006

International puppet festival in New Delhi
by Rupali Dikshit

        New Delhi: A seven-day international puppet festival is currently being held at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Its organisers, Ishara Pupper Theatre Trust, feel that the festival will not only provide a chance to foreigners to show their art in India but render an opportunity for many puppet artists to exchange skills with people from abroad. "The Ishara Puppet Festival has been running for four years now. Every year we create a platform for puppetry not just from across the world but also from India. Dadi who is the artistic director of the Ishara puppet festival is one of India's internationally known puppeteers. The idea is to give other people a platform to show as a new technique of communication in India," says Sanjay, the producer of the show. The participants who have devoted their lives for this art opine that puppets are totally opposite from the present medium of entertainment available. "Performance is like some sort of counter wait towards all these very fast and superficial mediums of entertainment like computer games and television where pictures move very fast and feelings don't have the time to sink in ones mind," says Atan, Director of the Swedish Puppet show. Puppet lovers of all ages and different nationalities have thronged the venue of the international festival. Language is not a problem for the puppet lovers as they enjoy every show. Puppets have been a versatile means of artistic expression, communication and instruction for about 2,000 years. In a fierce battle between entertainment and education, puppets have the potential to teach and persuade even in this modern time. It is up to mankind to explore the latent potential of these lifeless creatures for educating and making the world more aware without books. The international puppet festival will conclude this Friday.
- January 19, 2006

PM sees North-East as a cultural gateway to S-E Asia
by Peter Alex Todd

        Guwahati: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said the traditional arts and crafts need to be promoted. The north-east region of India is a vast reservoir of colourful cultural tradition and it could become the cultural gateway to Southeast Asia, he said while inaugurating the newly constructed Shilpagram at Panjabari near the Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati. He said that handicraft industry in Assam was yet to be exploited fully and the Centre would provide full support to generate employment from it. Dr.Singh, who is on a two day visit to the state, said: "It is imperative that we preserve this precious heritage in all its rich diversity and hope the Shilpgram becomes the cultural gateway to India in our east. It should make Assam and the northeast the handicrafts gateway between India, China, Bangladesh and the countries of ASEAN."

          Spread over a sprawling four-acre land in the heart of Guwahati, the Rs.40 million crafts village funded by the union culture ministry houses about nine stalls, eight pavilions, a dormitory and an auditorium, besides a multipurpose stage. "I am sure that the traditional Indian arts and crafts will withstand the threat of competition from modern industries. Our government is sincerely committed in promoting the handicrafts sector that is vastly under exploited," Dr.Singh said. The Shilpagram has been set up by the North-east Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) under the aegis of the Union Culture ministry. This would be the seventh Shilpagram in the country. The other six are located in Udaipur, Chandigarh, Allahabad, Khajuraho, Hyderabad and Shantiniketan. The Shilpagram or craft village would provide a common platform to the artisans of the North East region to showcase their crafts and provide marketing facilities for their products. Regular cultural events to project and promote the performing arts of the region would also be organised. The Shilpagram at Guwahati has 45 exhibition-cum-sale counters, eight pavilion blocks and eight traditional food stalls, besides artists' dormitory, canteen, open air stage and auditorium. The stalls would be alloted to craftsmen on recommendation of the member states at subsidised rates. Dr.Singh said shilpagram was a blend of imagination and excellence and would attract attention worldwide for its traditional handicraft products. Complimenting the artisans of the north eastern region particularly tribals, Dr.Singh said the northeast constituted a vast reservoir of colourful cultural tradition and was a treasure trove of fascinating handicraft reflecting the genius of the people. Meanwhile, the state government has requested the Prime Minister for adequate central assistance for rehabilitation of militants, development of tea industries, and implementation of Assam Accord, flood and erosion control and development of education among others. In a 20-paged memorandum submitted to the prime minister, the state government has requested the centre to reserve 3000 posts in central police organisations for the surrendered millitants of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and other millitant groups in the state. On the implementation of Assam Accord, the state government has requested the centre that Punjab type eletrical fencing should be erected all along the inernatial border with Bangladesh. Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister had said that his government is open to peace talks with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), which is fighting for a separate homeland in the state. Dr.Singh said that he was hoping for positive results from the recent discussions with ULFA representatives. Formed in 1979, ULFA accuses the central government of taking away Assams mineral and forest resources and neglecting the local economy. Dr. Singh also laid the foundation stone of the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BPTS) in Salakati (Assam), saying it was a 'gift to Assam and the Bodoland area'. Stating that Rs 3000 crore was sanctioned by the Centre for the largest power project in the state, he said, local coal would be used in the power station. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is the implementing agency for the project. Manmohan Singh also announced that a railway sleeper coach factory and a petro-chemical complex would be set up in the state. Acknowledging that there was enough possibility for growth and development of the Bodoland area, Dr Singh said, four Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) would be set up in Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Phanjhar and Bongaigaon. Dr.Singh will be wrapping up his two-day visit to Assam today. Before his departure for New Delhi, Singh is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of a Rs 3000 crore coal project near Ledo in Upper Assam which will feed the local thermal power plant.
- January 17, 2006

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