Region’s renowned nonagenarian Theatre artist receives Padma Shri from President of India
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ May 10,2024
Pran Sabharwal, the 93-year-old, veteran Punjabi theatre actor receives ‘Padma Shri’ award from the president of India Droupadi Murmu at a glittering function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on May 9,2024. He is the only recipient of Padma Awards in India who is a theatre artist in Punjabi.
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu presented 2 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 56 Padma Shri Awards for the year 2024 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II held with grandeur in Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on May 9,2024.
The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, many Ministers of the Union and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
After the Investiture Ceremony, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah and other Union Ministers interacted with the Padma Awardees at a dinner hosted by the Home Minister at his residence in New Delhi.
Today, the Padma Awardees will pay homage at the National War Memorial and will also visit Rashtrapati Bhawan and Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya.
ABOUT PRAN SABHARWAL
Pran Sabharwal, the 93-year-old recipient of the Padma Shri, is a veteran Punjabi theatre actor with over 5,000 performances spanning over seven decades.
Born in Jalandhar on December 9, 1930, Sabharwal brought up in Jalandhar and than shifted to Patiala in 1962 after he got selected in the erstwhile state-run Punjab State Electricity Board (now PSPCL) and shifted his base to Patiala. Since 1962 he is in Patiala.
Settled in Patiala town, Sabharwal’s artistic journey prospered with the inspiration of Hindi cinema doyen Prithviraj Kapoor.
With no formal training in acting, Sabharwal carved his niche in theatre and radio.
For Sabharwal and his wife Sunita, life starts and ends on the stage. The couple has been running National Theatre Artists Society (NTAS) since 1952 and is presently imparting training to budding artistes free of cost to keep the theatre alive.
His journey to theatre began in childhood when he used to perform in Ramlilas. “I still remember when my father, and elder brother, who lived in Lahore, used to ask me to act in the Ramlila,” he said.
For him, theatre is a medium which helps the artiste convey a message strongly to the audience.
He’s one of the founder faculty members of the Department of Speech, Drama, and Music at Punjabi University in Patiala.
He gives credit to his better half for his passion. “If Sunita wasn’t in my life, I wouldn’t have survived theatre for so long. She’s the one who looked after all theatre activities when I was busy with my office commitments,” he revealed. She also wrote and directed “Bal Ramayana” in 1980.
Region’s renowned nonagenarian Theatre artist receives Padma Shri from President of India. Currently, the couple has been staging monthly theatre episodes at the Baradari Gardens in Patiala.
