Today Google celebrates the 100th birthday of renowned Punjabi author Amrita Pritam, with a doodle. Amrita Kaur, known by her stage name Amrita Pritam was born today, on 31 August, 100 years back in Gujranwala, Punjab which is now in Pakistan.
She is the first woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for her long poem, ‘Sunehade’ (Messages) in 1956. In 1981 she was honored with Bharatiya Jnanpith for the novel ‘Kagaz Te Canvas’. She was also conferred with Padma Shri in 1969 and Padma Vibhushan in 2004. She produced more than hundred works, including novels, poetry, biographies, and essays.
Being a writer at that time wasn’t easy for women. She must have faced a lot of objections and have done great struggles but her work still shines as Sun. Her poem titled, “Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu, “Today I invokes Waris Shah), which she wrote at the time of partition is still very famous. It is said that even today this poem get to sing by the artists at Tomb & Mosque of Syed Waris Shah. Her novel Pinjar is one of the best books written on the tragedy of partition of India and Pakistan.
When we talk about Amrita Pritam, name of Sahir Ludhianvi and Imroz join the discussion. It looks like that life of Amrita Pritam is incomplete without these two names. It’s an irony for the young generation that they prefer to read about the stories that roam around the difficult relationships of Amrita Pritam and ignore to look at her work.
Today’s Google Doodle is taken from Amrita Pritam’s autobiography ‘Kala Gulab (Black Rose)’. In her autobiography, she revealed her personal life. This work of her inspires the women of today to be open about their relationship.
On 100th birth anniversary of her, here we share some of the memorable works of Amrita Pritam which we recommend you to read.
· Raseedi Ticket
This autobiography of Amrita Pritam reveals the complicated relationship of Amrita Pritam and Sahir. If you want to feel the emotions of a love of a lady towards her lover then this book has them in the form of words. The famous anecdote of half-burnt cigarettes of Sahir Ludhianvi is compiled in this book.
· Pinjar
In any war, women suffer most, the same happened during the partition of India and Pakistan. Pinjar is a story of a Punjabi woman who was kidnapped and forcefully married to a Muslim man. The novel is a roller coaster of emotions. Read it once to experience the piano of partition that both countries have buried in their hearts.
· In The Times of Love and Longing
This is the collection of the handwritten letters exchanged between Amrita and Imroz. The love letters of Amrita and Imroz are not just letters but they are personalities of two highly creative brains. This work of Amrita Pritam shows the perfect picture of relationship between a renowned author and her artist companion.
The Bottom Line
Apart from these three books of Amrita Pritam, Fifty Fragments of Inner Self published in 2003 and Shadows of Words published in 2001 are also recommended to read. She used simple language in her poetry and novels. She died on October 31, 2005, in Delhi but her work has made her immortal.
