[4] She is credited with originating Punjabi opera, an Indian form of dance drama incorporating operatic movements.
[5][6][7][8] She was honoured by the Government of India in 1971 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
[9] A decade later, she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for theatre direction in 1982[10] followed by Kalidas Samman in 1997.
[11] After securing a BA degree, she graduated in education (BT) and started working as a teacher of mathematics in Lahore, involving herself with the Indian freedom struggle.
[4][5] That was followed by over 60 productions,[1] such as Heer Ranjha (1957), Dard Aayega Dabe Paon (1979), Sulgada Darya (1982), Omar Khayyam (1990), Naseeb (1997), Chann Badla Da, Loha Kutt,[13] Ghalib Kaun tha and Nadir Shah in Punabi and Qissa yeh aurat ka (1972), Hawa se hippy tak (1972), and Yeh ishq nahin asan (1980) in Urdu.