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Letters home mirror a writer’s struggle to support his family
The letters in the book are written over nine months in 1974-75 sometimes one every day as he tours England giving poetry recitals and sending home the Pounds he gathers.
Well-known Punjabi writer late Santokh Singh Dhir’s book of letters to his younger brother Ripudaman Singh was released at a well-attended function at the Punjab Kala Bhawan on Sunday by Surjit Patar, poet and chairman of the Punjab Arts Council.
Speaking on the occasion. Patar said: “These letters by a senior acclaimed writer like Dhir mirror the struggle of a writer and lay bare the face that a full-time writer finds it hard to make a living for himself to support his family. Most writers have to take up a job to support themselves”.
In fact Dhir (1920-2010) took upon himself the task of educating his younger brothers and it was Ripudaman who fulfilled his dreams by completing his studies and taking up a job. Titled ‘Jivein Ram nu Lakshman si’ (As Lakshman was to Ram), it has been edited by Ranjivan Singh, nephew of Dhir.
Born in Dadheri Village near Fatehgarh Sahib, Dhir wrote some 50 books which included fiction, poetry, travelogues and an autobiography named ‘Brahspati’. His writings won acclaim and awards. He received the Sahitya Akademi award for his anthology of short stories ‘Pakhi’ in 1991. The Punjab Languages Department honoured him as the Shiromani Sahitkar in 1996. The Ludhiana Sahitya Akademi honoured him with the Kartar Singh Dhaliwal award in 2002. Besides, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Punjabi Sahit Sabha, Delhi, honoured him with lifetime fellowships.
The letters in the book are written over nine months in 1974-75 sometimes one every day as he tours England giving poetry recitals and sending home the Pounds he gathers. The sensitive writer is also a conscientious householder instructing his brother to store wheat and pulses with the drafts sent, give instalments of a loan and buy himself a two-wheeler.
Speaking at the release, Ripudaman Singh says he found the letters in an envelope while sorting out his papers but was hesitant to publish them because they were concerned with family’s hard times in those days. “My son Ranjivan and writer-journalist Sham Singh convinced me that it showed my brother and mentor in very humane light with concern for each member of the family and I consented”.
