A commemorative postage stamp on Balwant Gargi, an Indian Punjabi dramatist, theatre director, novelist and short story writer [a part of the series ‘Eminent Writers‘] :

Issued by India

Issued on May 31, 2017

Issued for : To commemorate the spirit and role of Literature in the society, the Department of Posts is bringing out 5 stamps, and one Miniature Sheet on 5 authors.

Credits :
Stamps/Miniature Sheet/FDC/Brochure/Cancellation Cachet : Sh. Brahm Prakash

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 1000 Paise

Stamps Printed : 301590

Miniature Sheet Printed : 0.1 million

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Balwant Gargi

Born on 4 Dec, 1916 at Bathinda, Punjab, India

Died on 22 Apr, 2003 at Mumbai, India

About : 

• Literature is one of the major contributory factors in the nation building. It acts a cultural binding force and works as an evocative medium to boost up the moral of the people in the times of crises. Literature is the vehicle through which people’s culture is transmitted. Department of Posts is bringing stamps on five such authors who have contributed significantly in this arena.

• The Department is bringing out stamp on Professor Balwant Gargi. Shri Balwant Gargi, playwright, director, theatre personality, novelist, teacher and chronicler of folk theatre, was among the pioneers of playwriting in Punjabi. He was born on 4 December 1916 in Bhatinda Punjab. He was founder Professor Director of the Department of Indian Theatre which was founded in 1972 by the Punjab University Chandigarh. The establishment of the Department was the culmination of the years of creativity that began from Gargi’s years of study at Government College Lahore. He completed his M.A. (English) and M.A. (Political Science) from FC College in Lahore. He also studied theatre with pioneering theatre personality Norah Richards at her school in Kangra Valley, from which emerged the famous names of Panjabi drama, including Ishwar Chandra Nanda, Gurcharan Singh and Gargi himself. His interaction with Richards gave him an insight into the realistic theatre of Henrik Ibsen as well as the Irish playwright Synge. From studying the work of these two masters, he got an understanding of the inner impulses and motivations to how to create living and palpable characters for the stage.
• For subject matter Gargi moved freely over social milieu, mythology, history, and folklore. In the composition and performance of his dozen full-length plays and five collections of one-act drama, he traveled from the realistic to the mythopoeic mode. Balwant Gargi taught for two years (1966-67) at the University of Washington, where he met his wife Jeanne Henry. This period was the basis of his autobiography The Naked Triangle. The Naked Triangle brought him to the forefront of cosmopolitan attention. Balwant Gargi was among the pioneers of playwriting in Punjabi and the production and telecast of his plays like Sanjha Chulha on Doordarshan received countrywide appreciation.
• Gargi was awarded the Sahitya Academy award, the highest Indian literary award, in 1962 for his book Rang Manch. This was followed by the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Punjabi Playwriting. Gargi is one of the few artists to win both the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards. He passed away on 22 April 2003.
• Text : Based on the material available on internet.

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