Surjit Singh Sethi (1928-1995) was an Indian playwright, novelist, short story writer and lyricist who wrote in
Punjabi. He was also a film maker and theatre personality.
Biography
Surjit Singh Sethi was born at
Gujarkhan,
Punjab Province,
British India in 1928. He did his M.A. in English and submitted his thesis on
Ibsenism (Dramatics) for Ph.D. He worked at
All India Radio for some time as a producer. He was the founder of Speech, Drama and Music Department at
Punjabi University which was later turned into the Theatre and Television Department. He groomed a number of students into stage, TV and film celebrities, and was influenced by modern trends of Western theatre. Sethi died in 1995.
Dramas
Parde Pichhon (Behind the Curtain), One Act Plays, 1946
Chalde Phirde But (The Loitering Figures), One Act Plays
Kandhi Ute Rukhda (A Tree on the Embankment), 1957
Coffee House, 1958
Kaccha Ghada (The Earthen Pitcher), 1960
Kadaryar, 1960
Bhareya Bhareya Sakhna Sakhna, 1964
King, Mirza Te Sapera, 1965
Gurbin Ghor Andhar (Pitch Dark Without the Guru), 1969
Safar Baqi, Talash Baqi (The Journey Remains, The Quest Remains)
Nangi Sarak Raat Da Ohla (The Naked Road and The Reflection of The Night), 1971
Honoured with Prof. Piara Singh Gill & Karam Singh Sandhu Memorial Antar-Rashtari Shiromani Sahitkaar/Kalakaar Award, by the International Association of Punjabi Authors and Artists (IAPAA) in 1984.
Notes
Primarily a playwright, he wrote short stories and novels also.
His first full-length play, Coffee house is a portrayal of 'hollow men'.
Kaccha Ghada and Kadaryar give new dimensions to the well-recognised figures of romances.
King, Mirza Re Sapera and Mard Mard Nahin, Tivin Tivin Nahin are his experiments in absurd drama.
His anthologies of one-act plays, Parde Pichhon and Chalde Phirde make a good reading.
His early novels are Ik Shahr Di Gal, Ret Da Pahad and Kandhi Ute Rukhda, but he acquired his special place in this genre with Ik Khali Piala and Kal Vi Suraj Nahin Chadhega. In these works he employed the
stream of consciousness and
flashback techniques.