LAHORE: On the last day of 8th Lahore Literary Festival in one of the sessions titled, Punjabi Folk Songs and Tales, the panelists discussed the historical and cultural background of the genres and their contemporary forms.

The young panelists -- Pawan Singh Arore, Rizwan Ali Awan, Abu Zar Madhu and Fatima Qureshi discussed how folk tales evolved over centuries and tried to explore Punjabi folklore through the prism of younger generation.

About their origin, Awan said mostly folk tales were told by parents, grandmothers and other elderly people in the family. Most of these stories had characters like parrot and dove symbolising different characters in society. Of these, he said, some were portrayed as oppressed characters while some others as oppressors. He said that with the passage of time new aspects were added to these tales.

Pawan said the toys mentioned in folk tales used were made of clay, while now we see children carrying cell phones and other modern gadgets. He said folktales carried wisdom of our elders and through various characters in these stories they would create awareness among the children about society, its culture and values.

He said there were folk tales and folk songs which were written as part of tradition and some of these were meant to glorify some characters of those times.

A Punjabi drama by Huma Safdar based on Heer Waris Shah was also staged that attracted a large audience. It featured live orchestra and singing, along with flute, dholak and harmonium.

Huma Safdar, elaborating the play, said flute in Waris Shah’s Heer symbolised the voice raised for one’s rights. She said Ranjha, while setting upon his journey, leaves everything behind except his flute. She stressed the need for revisiting Heer by Waris Shah, saying the tale had become relevant again.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2020