Amrita Pritam

Nice to hear that Amrita Pritam is still alive. I read few of her novels but found her novels as expression of women coming out of their internal inertia and identifying in the sphere equally apart...In this aspect I aliked her Novel.. ``Aik thi Aneeta``

Her mentioned famous poem in which she epitomes the Potent Waris Shah`s Heer is I think reference to the catastrophic incident of Jalia.nwala Bagh’s trajedy. And she has undoubtedly related the righteous love theme of Waris Shah’s era with today’s violence, bloodshed and sadism.

Faiz`s poem ``Rabba Sachiya tou teh Akhiya Se`` poetically seems an elemntal subset of Amrita`s Ode to Warish`s Shah.

...
Our wedding beds are boats, their logs have cast away
Our hanging swing, the Pipal tree has broken in disarray
...

Though the translation is not that moving as the ache, distress is delirious in original Punjabi version.

The translation has kept all words which have enhanced the apparition of tongue for a local reader as one always wonder that “Peepal” , “Bargad”, ``Taali``, ``Neem`` cannot be translated despite these words are contained in other languages but the meanings, times past they carry abruptly changes. These words are more civilizations then name of trees.

Nice to remember Amrita Pritam.Yes,she is alive but presently ,is quite sick and weak.She closed Nagmani because of her ill health.She is living in Delhi with another very good artist Imroz who almost worships her.Her very old friend and next door neighbourer and founder of famous Navyug Publishers (also migrated from west Punjab in 1947),Bhapa Pritam Singh died recently.

Her writings were primarily in Punjabi even after partition and not in Hindi as mentioned by Umair and she got all the awards and honours(which also included Sahitya Academi award and Soviet Land awaard and membership of Raj Sabha).

She has also been involved in preparation of Punjabi text books for schools and colleges.

She has been an inspiration to almost all new punjabi writers in India and has been intrumental in establishing so many modern punjabi writers.

She has also been very popular for her beauty and affairs.Almost every big writer from Punjab of that era had a crush on her,but her own crush on Sahir was also well known.

One of her famous sheyrs:
rall gayi sii eis vich,ik boond teray ishq dii
eisay layi maiN zindgi di saari kuRhittan pii layi

Good to read about Amrita Pritam.
We should also introduce CHOWK to another son of Punjab whose poetry is called by some people as ``Vomited suppressed sexuality`` or ``Kam-Vaasna dian Ultiyan``. He is Shiv Kumar Batalavi. I reckon he is a better poet than Amrita Pritam.

One of his couplet

Aj din chadya, tere rang varga
hai Kirna de vich nasha jiven, kisay cheembay sap de dang varga

Ta

Another of Shiv Batalavi`s couplet

Kee puchh de ho haal fakiran da,
Asan nadiyon vichade neeran da,
Sadha hanj dee junay ayan da,
Sadha dil jalyan dilgeeran da

Taqdir ta apni saukan si
Tadbeeran san tho na hoyian
Na Jhang chutya, na kan patay
Jhund langh gaya, inj heeran da

One more beauty from Shiv

maye ni maye, mere geetan de, naina vich
virhon de radak pavay
adhi adhi rati uth roan moye mitran nu
maye sanu neend na pavay

One more couplet from Shiv. I havenot read any poet who can convey a complect mental state so grace fully

Kagaz de kori, reejh hai
chup chap vekhdi,
shabdan de thal vich bhatakdaa
geetan da kafla

Has any body read heer of Fazal Shah, It is said that his Heer was much better written than Waris Shah and was of much higher litrary value.

My father use to recite one of his coupley which I still remember

Chaiter Chit Achant vich ja lagga
Jhakad jhul paye Achanchet Ranjha
Idhar khet uggay, odar khet hoyi
Teri Heer khay khay Ranjha

Shiv is definitely most read/heard/sung/loved punjabi poet after Waris Shah.He also had a very good voice and nobody has been able sing him the way he himself used to do.Three of his songs in his own voice can be listened at www.apnaorg.com.
Amrita, however,is more than a poetess,in institution in herslf,of Punjabi literature.

Romair:

Thanks for a good translation. Your love for languages is evident - Urdu, English and Punjabi. It wont be long perhaps before you start learning French. Amrtia may have produced a lot of literature but her name will always be associated with ``aj aakhan Waris Shah nooN`` and ``Pinjar``. Both were based on the tragedy of the Partition by which she was personally affected.

I knew Amrita first as a radio broadcaster. She used to produce and anchor a daily Punjabi program on All India Radio and spoke the sweetest Punjabi I have ever heard. She was the one who for ever erased from my mind the notion that Punjabi is a crude/rustic language incapable of sweetness and delicacy.

Shiv Batalvi was, of course, the towering figure of Punjabi literature. The best rendition of his poems that I have heard is by a relatively unknown Toronto singer, Kuldeep Deepak. I first heard Shiv`s poetry from him in the 1970s.

At the height of the Khalistani movement in the 1980s, this is what Amrita said:
Kal Waris Shah nooN vandya see
Aj Shiv dee Vaari aayee ai.

Nice article Mr Umair, I did not know that a Pakistani can also appreciate an Indian writer, anyways, world is full of surprises.
Like someone else said before she was quite a flirt, I guess in order to be a successful poet you have to break many taboos and she chose many Ashiqs as an outlet for popularity. I have heard that Nirlep Kaur and Amrita were known as Flirtous Girls in Delhi in my father`s generation. Just like any new painter or musician in the West, pretty much has to be a Gay or Lesbian to gain popularity. She was in the news in Delhi circle few months ago when she was awarded Padam Vibhushan(not sure of this medal) and it was sent in a Registered Mail and she refused it, when her young Lover Imroz(40 yrs younger Hindu man) raised the noise finally a Secretary from the Govt came and delivered it personally.

On a different token:
I wonder if Punjabi Language has never produced any writer or poets that write anything other than Tragedy or Romance.

We need some writers who could appeal to the next Generation of Punjabi speakers or else Punjabi will not survive.

Unlike other authors, Amrita Pritam has refused to visit her ancestral land. Probably the memories are too painful. She doesn`t want to remove the `khrind` from still seething wounds of partition.

Her companion Imroz is also from a sikh household. He cut his hair because his relatives with whom he stayed couldn`t take care of his matted and unkempt hair.

Khushwant Singh (?????) wrote that this poem is the only distinguished writing of Amrita. Other works are mediocre. I`ve read other poems and they aren`t great. It seems this came from her heart and soul`s cry. I`ve also read her other stories, they are dark but good.

All in All, she is the Heer of the Punjabi partition literature


Dilliwaalya,

Tainu main kinni waari kiah baee apna moonh band rakhya kar. Adh jal gagri chhalkat jaye.

Chowk Staff,

thanks for publishing the poem. I had sent a picture of Amrita Pritam as well. I can send it again, if you would like to put it next to the translation.

Also, could I request you to, if possible, interleave, the punjabi and english verses, one after the other. It makes it easier to associate them with one another.............placing the full translation at the end, doesn`t have much of an impact.........

I knew next to nothing about Amrita Pritam, until I read this poem. Then I started my research. I have read nothing else by her (other than seen the movie Pinjar), yet. However, this poem, by itself, is enough to make a career.............

This poem is a classic, by any account. Hands down, no contest. It has to be one of the best written in any language (at least in the 3 1/2 I speak). It ranks up there with the best works of Faiz, Iqbal etc. and maybe even Ghalib and Shakespeare.

This is an extremely difficult poem to understand, even for hardcore Punjabi speakers. It usually takes me six to seven hours to write any (little amount) of poetry that I have written in English. It takes about a month to translate one of Ghalib`s difficult works. I spent six months translating this poem. In between I gave up twice. The first few and the last few verses are very easy. The middle six to eight are impossible to understand. One average, it took one month per verse.

It also took over 50 emails across India Pakistan and Canada. A vast search on the Internet and Urdu bazaar lahore and Pindi, and a trip by a friend to India. During this time, I did not meet a single Punjabi speaker, in India or Pakistan, who understood the whole poem and all the words, as they are intended to be used.....Everyone understood little pieces.....Also, I was unable to find this poem in Urdu script, anywhere.....So I am not even sure if the Punjabi wordings are accurate.......though quite a few people have confirmed that they are...........

There is a lot of symbolism with the Punjabi village culture in here. Most of which people do not realize until they get deep into the terms. I would explain some of it here, but I think if people really want to understand it, they should go through the struggles of translating them................

For example, it took me two months to figure out what may be being applied here:

gale`oN tutt`e geet phir, takaleon tuttii tand,
trinjanoN tuttiaaN saheliaaN, chaRakhRre ghuukar band

sane sej de beriaaN, luddaN dittiaaN rohr,
sane daliaan peengh aj, piplaaN dittii toR

P.S. after going through the above process, I have come to realize that the Punjabi language, is on its last legs (at least in Pakistan).........It is now just a spoken slang street language........Hardly any of the Punjabi speakers understand much of the classical stuff, including those who are considered experts............

Each word has a meaning and feeling that is deep and cannot be explained, let alone translated. It is impossible for non Punjabis to feel and be moved with such expressions. The themes and underlying meanings are poigant and soul stirring.

I do not have any formal Punjabi education. Most I know about Punjabi is thru word of mouth and some reading I`ve done. Yet, I do understand most of the poem and its meanings. It is unfortunate and trajedy that elders were unable to translate or tell you the meaning of these lines. Most of them are easy and simple even for an illiterate.

Punjabis who shun their such rich heritage should commit suicide by jumping into urine filled puddle.

Umair Raja:

A great article.

When Amrita Preetam`s name is mentioned, Sahir`s name automatically comes to mind. It is like Manto and Ismet although they were not romantically linked; Amrita and Sahir were. They would have formed a great couple; one writing great Urdu poetry (Meri mehboob kaheen aur mila kar mujh ko, Taj Mahal) and the other writing gems in Punjabi. It was somewhat strange that the writer did not bring Sahir into his narrative.As far as the Ode to Waris Shah is concerned, it is probably all time great; the Taj Mahal of Punjabi language.

Without Sahir in the story, `An Ode to waris Shah` would probably have been a more appropriate title of the article. ``Ajj aakhan Waris Shah noon`` is great in whatever language you translate it, provided the translation is good. Wishing you well,

Mohammad Gill