Aired on DD national, Sanjha Chulha revolves around the concept of community cooking in villages of Punjab. Telecasted in 1980’s, the title track of the program has been sung by famous singer Reshma. In a short span of time, the show gained immense popularity amongst audiences. Sanjha Chulha showcased the life of people in villages. The concept of Sanjha Chulha originated in Punjab, when it was part of Pakistan. The tradition of cooking food together got so popular that it got converted into a television series. This practice of community cooking was started by the Great Guru Nanak Dev Ji of Sikhs and has been prevalent till now. Many places still follow the tradition of serving langar by setting up community kitchens.
These kitchens offer unlimited food and people from any part of the country can appease their hunger by eating food at langar. The langar practice has given rise to Sanjha Chulha. In villages, men can be seen going to their fields where they spend their entire day farming. While women, remain engaged in finishing their daily chores at home. In the absence of natural gas in villages, people have to cook using chulhas. Due to lack of resources, not all families can afford a separate chulha (cooking oven) for cooking chapatis. So, after cooking lentils and vegetables for dinner, women get together around a common oven called as Sanjha Chulha and cooked chapatis for their families. While cooking, they would engage in all sorts of conversations.
Some would discuss their family issues, some financial problems while others might talk about different things. After making rotis, each of them would carry their share and feed their families. This whole act enhanced the bond of sharing and builds up harmony amongst them. The story of Sanjha Chulha focused on intense relationships between two families. Eventually, they got into a dispute and became the subject of gossip. This incident faded the concept of Sanjha Chulha, and they decided to stop lighting it. After few episodes, both the families forgot their conflicts and rivalries and decided to reunite.
Finally, they celebrated their reunion by lighting up Sanjha Chulha. This program emphasized the spirit of bond and unity that exists amongst people in villages. Viewers can see how women got together for cooking chapatis and discussed everything under the moon. Due to this act, the conflicts deepened and gave rise to a lot of misunderstandings. There used to be gossips, taunts, resolutions, conflicts, friendships, union and breakups amongst them. Sanjha Chulha became a public community place for all villagers where they interacted with each other after a hectic day.