Eminent playwright Jatinder Brar, who gave Punjabi theatre a permanent address in Amritsar with Punjab Natshala, passed away due to age-related illness. Brar, 81, was a celebrated name in Punjabi theatre circles, known not just for his plays but also for nurturing and mentoring theatre talent from the heart of Majha. Brar’s death has sent shockwaves throughout the theatre, literary, and social circles. The demise of playwright Jatinder Brar marks the end of an era in Punjabi theatre as well as Amritsar’s cultural space.During his lifetime, he was honoured with several accolades, including the Shiromani Natakar award, Punjab Gaurav, and countless other literary awards. His theatrical journey is a living testimony to the saying, “Hum akele hi chale the janib-e-manzil magar log milte gaye aur caravan banta gaya.” His notable plays include “Lohe Di Bhatti”, “Faasle”, “Kudedan Ki Jaai”, “Kadessan”, and “Paydan”.A repository of human sensitivity and social concerns, Brar was a technocrat (a mechanical engineer by profession) who decided to return to his hometown, Amritsar, in 1998 and established an open-air theatre in a factory located in front of Khalsa College. Inspired by the revolutionary theatre thespian Gursharan Singh, whom Brar considered his ‘guru’, he built a cultural space where anyone with dreams and a heart and vision of an artist could come and get a platform.Over the years, using his skills and knowledge as a technocrat, Brar built Natashala into one of the most technically sound and thriving cultural spaces of Punjab. Artists from more than three dozen countries from around the world have performed on this theatre’s stage; it has also hosted some of the nation’s most renowned artists. Under Brar’s guidance, countless artists, including Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh, Rajiv Thakur, and Chandan Prabhakar, have emerged from this platform and are making their talents known globally.