‘A pioneer, Amrita Pritam paved way to modern day feminism’
Amrita is considered a path-breaking woman, who rose to fame with her literary works like Pinjar, Suneray and Nagmani that brought to the fore the grim reality of atrocities being perpetrated on women across borders.
In commemoration of 100th birth anniversary of celebrated Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam, a two-day symposium dedicated to the maverick novelist — who lived and wrote ahead of her times — begun at the Punjabi Bhawan on Friday.
“It was an evening in 1982. Didi and I were travelling from Mumbai to Patiala with Imroz driving the car. That was then when she asked me, Ravinder, why don’t you get married? Don’t you have any interest in drowning your heart in the boundless sea,” recalled Ravinder Bhathal, president of Punjabi Sahit Akademi.
Amrita is considered a path-breaking woman, who rose to fame with her literary works like Pinjar, Suneray and Nagmani that brought to the fore the grim reality of atrocities being perpetrated on women across borders.
Despite having written more than 100 books, both on poetry and fiction, and becoming the first woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1956, there always remained a void inside her heart, said poets during the symposium.
“Migrating from Lahore to India and penning the entire pain of partition felt like a stiletto in her heart. She often spoke of turbulent times she had seen,” Bhathal said.
Dr Kewal Dheer, a litterateur based in Ludhiana, recalled, “I happened to meet her and Inderjeet (Imroz) once in 1986. She was quite adamant on rights of women. Amrita was an open-minded person, who paved the way for modern-day feminism. She often said, I am no bird to be ensnared inside a cage.”
First Amrita-Imroz award conferred
The first ‘Amrita-Imroz’ award was conferred upon Dr Mohanjeet Singh, a former teacher at Deshbandhu College, Delhi University, during the symposium on Friday.
Hailing from Adliwala village in Amritsar, Mohanjeet has also been honoured with Sahitya Akademi Award for his contribution to the Punjabi literature.
“I feel honoured to receive the award, especially in name of someone whom I used to admire as a young poet. I still remember sending write-ups to Amrita on Nagmani — an all-time classic,” he said.