pune one may wonder why a south african story on infidelity should be presented in punjabi language however the suit a theatrical fable by director neelam mansingh chowdhury which was staged at the theatre beyond words festival on saturday evening at the yashwantrao chavan auditorium was more than an interplay of punjabi wordsthe extraordinary use of space time and body language in the play showcased neelams ability to go beyond the language and come back to it again for further exploration of the sensesan alumnus of the national school of drama neelam is credited with kickstarting punjabi theatre in punjab back in 1984 her maiden production kissa was based on the legendary romance of heerranjha neelam decided to present it differently by depicting the gatka the martial art form of the nihangs or the sikh warriors it created a flutter because this was just past the insurgency era says neelam who belongs to a sikh familythough educated partly in the uk she grew up reading punjabi from the verses of guru granth sahib and enjoying sufiana poetry so coming back to punjab was like being reintroduced to my roots also there was major imagedistortion of the state and its people for me it was understanding my people through the language i speak because all along i wondered how and where the distortion had taken place she saystherefore to neelam language is not mere words spoken and heard but comprise cultural historical and social connotations while working at the bharat bhavan in bhopal neelam was exposed to various art forms and was inspired by theatre greats like b v karanth and ebrahim alkazithat got her into thinking and that was the beginning of her theatre career back then just in the aftermath of the insurgency the punjabi language was being rejected by its own people but over the years neelam has succeeded in building a steady audience for punjabi theatre the new generation punjabis want to learn their language and culture she saysaccording to neelam one should know their roots on my way to chandigarh after my stint in bhopal in early 1980s karanth explained to me the significance of working in the local language by using local artistes and cultivating a taste for theatre in the local audience says neelamher work is collaborative with each of her troupe members bringing in their cultural influences the stories she presents on the stage are unique in their aesthetic and technical tapestry i take a story from any part of the word and try to make it my own neelam has the last word