Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu with Dr Surjit Patar and his family in Ludhiana Tuesday. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Renowned Punjabi poet Surjit Patar accepted his letter of appointment as chairperson of Punjab Kala Parishad from state’s Culture Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, but Satinder Satti, the incumbent chairperson, is still waiting to hear officially that she had been relieved of her position.
Sources said it was only through newspapers and social media that Satti got to know she was no longer head of the Punjab Kala Parishad. This is the first time a chairperson of the body has been removed unceremoniously before completion of tenure.
As no official word has been received, there is uncertainty if the entire body is up for dissolution, including the office-bearers of the three Akademies — Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi and Punjab Sahit Akademi.
Over the last few months, the Punjab Kala Bhawan, located in Sector 16, has been a hub of artistic and cultural activities, art exhibitions, Punjabi folk music and dance programmes, introduction of scholarships and a fellowship for young artists by the Punjab Lalit Kala Akdemi, as well as the renovation of the library here.
The open air theatre here is also now open free of cost to theatre groups to both rehearse and perform. In the pipeline were the renovation of the art gallery, along with planned national-level art exhibitions, including a photography exhibition on Partition and also a mega poetry symposium.
With the change in guard, it is not clear if these projects will see the light of day. Though the Punjab Kala Parishad or Punjab Arts Council has existed since 1979, the Punjab government issued a notification in the year 1981 making it a constitutionally established autonomous entity.
