Stamp on noted playwright Balwant Gargi released

A stamp on noted playwright and theatre director late Balwant Gargi was released here today.
BJP leader and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher released the stamp on the commemoration of Balwant Gargi centenary by the Panjab University, a PU release issued here said.
Kher in her address narrated her journey in theatre under the guidance of Gargi who introduced her to the "magical world" through his play "Desire under the Alms".
The discipline he ingrained in me still stays, she said.
Gargi was the founder-director of the Indian Theatre Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh. His students include actors like Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher, Poonam Dhillon director Satish Kaushik, and others.

Gargi, who was born in 1916 in Bathinda, was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award, the highest Indian literary award, in 1962 for his book 'Rang Manch'. This was followed by the Padma Shri (1972), and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Punjabi Playwriting in 1998.

The Punjab University, in 2016, had declared the 100th year of his birth as a year-long celebration.
On the occasion, the stamps of two other writers -- Krishan Chander and Bhisham Sahni, who are also the Panjab University (PU) alumni -- were released.
Vice Chancellor, PU, Arun K Grover, earlier in his address aspired of making PU a "takshila of India".

He requested Kher to take up the matter of additional funds with the HRD ministry for the completion of the university auditorium, having a capacity of 2,500 to 4,000 people.