Thank you Punjab To for picking my morning post on how sadly the Shekhar Gupta run The Print and even other Indian media channels seek to discredit duly elected members of the Canadian Parliament upon their visit to India.

Sadly, much of media reports complex situations – especially when it comes to Panjab, Sikhs, Khalistan – in a black and white manner. With an overdrive of Indian nationalism. It hasn’t helped anyone and even after a quarter century of guns going silent Panjab remains trapped in this question of Khalistan. My fear is an old one – the half-baked truths lead to rhetoric, jingoism, suspicion, antagonism which keep Panjab entangled and hamper our search for ways to heal.

Please read here …

Tags: Amarjeet Sohi, Canada, Harjit Sajjan, Justin Turdeau, Khlaistan, Panjab

Friends, more than a year back, an artist came home to discuss Panjab. Especially the years of militancy. He was studying in the Netherlands and was conceptualising a project related to his early memories of the reign of terror (1978-1993). We spoke a lot including about how his uncle was picked up by militants for ransom and how a dear friend of mine’s sister is named after his aunt. Since then he has remained in touch. Just that we could not meet. Even when I was in Europe this year or when he was in Delhi a few weeks back and had performed at JNU.

Yesterday, Vinutha Mallya, now a journalist from Pune contacted me to discuss those years. She said it was for a piece they were writing on the work of a young artist. I asked if the artist was Abhishek Thapar. She said yes and I was happy to support him.

‘My Home is at the Intersection’ opens at TIFA Working Studios, Sadhu Vaswani Circle, Pune on December 22 – 23, 7 pm. CALL: 9623444433.

Pune friends, please attend, please spread the word.

The piece is below. I find it heartening that a new generation is taking interest in Panjab and pushing it beyond what has been our defence and safety net for decades: mitti pa, sannu ki – bury it, what is it to me?

It is not that Panjab does not want to tell its stories, it is that Panjab’s stories are too overwhelming to be told. Every effort counts. Must say it is the same with the world at large. It really has to be nudged to listen. Panjab remains a shadow area tied up in the larger perception that these are just Balle Balle happy go lucky people.

Please read here …

Tags: Abhishek Thapar, militancy, Panjab, Refugee, Rural Exodus

Friends, this Tuesday I was humbled to speak at the annual Prof. R Narendra Prasad memorial lecture at the School of Letters, MG University, Kottayam, Kerala. Thank you Saji Mathew for the invitation. In keeping with Prasad Sir’s lifetime work in theatre and films, I named my talk: Panjab – a tragic hero on the stage of Indian nationalism.

The talk was covered in local newspapers.

Tags: Kottayam, M G University, Narendra Prasad, Panjab, School of Letters