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.
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.
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.
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.
