India, Feb. 11 -- On January 24, when 81-year-old Jatinder Brar, the visionary founder of Punjab Naatshala, breathed his last, the silence was felt far beyond the wings of his celebrated stage. A mechanical engineer and a businessman, Brar was a man who refused to let retirement dampen his spirit. While his professional life was built on gears and balance sheets, his heart belonged to the greasepaint and the spotlight.

In March 1998, he performed what many considered a commercial sacrifice, converting prime land opposite Khalsa College, Amritsar, into a sanctuary for the arts. What began as a modest open-air space soon evolved into a high-tech marvel, fuelled by Brar's engineering acumen and insights gathered from global theatre visits. ...