The Rain Gods fail to play spoilsport to upbeat city ‘Saang’ lovers, who thronged Kalagram, to be a part of the four-day Haryanavi ‘Saang Utsav’-26′, a brainchild of the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The cloudy Friday evening suddenly turned spirited as prominent ‘Saang’ legend – Pardeep Rai Saangi hopped on to the centrestage and delivered a power-packed performance along with his team to the cheering spectators.
The ‘saang’, titled ‘Leelo- Chaman’, written by Rai Dhanpat Singh, a saga of two loving hearts, who got separated during the partition,were the central characters in a poignant tale of pre-partition love and loss, presented by Pardeep Rai Saangi and party.Their mutual love for each other remained unwavering despite pangs of separation. With a distant hope in his heart of hearts, he took a chance and travelled back to Pakistan, scouring places in search of his beloved. And finally, his resilience and perseverance paid off – he found Leelo, and they lived happily ever after.The engaging presentation garnered a resounding applause from the appreciative audience. Pardeep Rai Saangi is the fourth generation descendant of Rai Dhanpat Singh.
Up next was a scintillating presentation by another top-notch ‘Saangi’ , Daan Singh (with team), who mesmerised the audience with an impressive theatrical portrayal of Haryanvi culture and folklore through various characters in the ‘saang’ titled *Dharmdevi and Nau Bahar,* which revolved around two lovers, girl (18) and boy (9), both hailing from royal families. They were married off early, much against their wishes, leaving them to fend for themselves. The telling tale brings out the spirit of sacrifice made by the girl in raising him in the woods, with the help of a seer who lived there. Time rolls by and both, now adults, return to their kingdom, to live with their family, after a spell of long-drawn trials and tribulations. The story reflects on the sacrifices of a quintessential woman to achieve a mission. The story also sheds light on the proactive role played by our saints and seers as also the custom of child marriage prevalent in those days, which earned them plaudits abound.
Prominent folk theatre icons – Karn Singh and Dharamveer Singh (and teams) will perform tomorrow, March 21.
Daily festival timings are 5 pm, onwards.
NZCC Director Mohd Furqan Khan on the occasion, said “Such initiatives curated by the NZCC are aimed at protecting, preserving and promoting the timeless folk arts and cultural heritage of our country, which is fast-slipping into oblivion”
