“But when I saw myself in the mirror
There she was before me;
The same one I thought I had
Murdered during the night.”
An Indian novelist, an essayist and a poet, who fumed the writer’s world, with her earthling’s creations, is remembered even till date for her courage to live her life on her own terms; unlike the more subjugated women of her times. She continues to leave the ascendants of the upcoming generations in awe of her aura, passion, creativity and her evergreen love for her beloved. Born in an enslaved India in 1919, she witnessed the terror of partition and being too young to absorb all those events, it shook her to the soul and left her shattered. ‘Aaj aakhaan Waris Shah nu’ penned by Amrita ji with her anguish, is a suggested piece for our buddying writers to go through, if one wants to feel the sense of hopelessness, terror and misery that swept over every single soul who witnessed partition. This poem also earns some glimpse of the meaningless marriage, in which she was stuck and the struggle to rebuild her life.
It was the onset of the them 20th century, that through her poignant poetry, she became a voice for the women of Punjabi literature and leaded the poets of the said language. The cradle of her romantic writings changed its structure, when gradually, she became attracted towards a literary movement in the pre-partition British India which was known in the name of Progressive Writer’s Movement. Through her staunch criticism and with her powerful writings over the war-torn economy in the aftermath of the Bengal famine of 1943, she shaped herself into a bold artist, who expressed herself without giving a thought to its consequences. From 1960s onwards, numerous of her works were translated into other languages, including English, danish, Japanese, French and Mandarin among others.
In her personal life, she challenged the institution of marriage. In her poetry pieces, she talks about the same, and also the trauma of sexuality that this institution bestows oneself with, echoing the unsung experiences of women around her. Her series of writings kept attacking the then-plight of women who were a victim of indifference of their own families. Her novel ‘Pinjar’ (Skelton) of 1950 is a detailed account over the same. Her own way of living was a contradiction to the stereotypes that surface around women even till date. Her love for one of the prominent artists of that time, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, streamed ceaselessly into her writings, not caring about the restrictions and wide eyes the society would drop on her. After getting separated from her husband, she dared to walk through the valleys of a time, where divorces were an unarticulated taboo in the ever-existing patriarchal society and her relationship with Imroz, another artist. But her admiration for Sahir left no bounds even after they were not together with each other.
“There was a pain
That like cigarettes
I inhaled quietly
Just a few
Poems remain
That I flicked along
With ash”
It takes an Amrita Pritam to live a life, where you will set your own dots and only you would join them to get to a good going. It takes courage to live a persona where you leave behind the stereotypical shackles flinted by the society. It takes an immense passion and a sense of understanding of the depth of emotions, to ink on paper, beyond the league, to love yourself, someone and something unconditionally. And stand by that till the last breath for such was the immortal Amrita Pritam, whom one can always find in her ideas which were unusual but with a touch of modern paths. Her ‘ideal’ was constructive and no destructive.
Awards and Achievements-
In 1956, the Sahitya Akademi Award was conferred upon her for ‘Sunehey’ (Messages)
The Bhartiya Jnanpith Award, one of the highest literary awards, in 19992 for her commendable work for ‘Kagaj te Canvas’
Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, in 2004
Punjab Rattan Award by the government of Punjab. Amrita was the was the first recipient of this prestigious award.
D.Litt. Honorary Degrees in 1973, from the Vishwa Bharati University.
In 1979, Republic of Bulgaria honoured her with ‘International Vaptsarov Award’
Padma Awards in 1969, India’s fourth highest Civilian Award- Padma Shri- or her contribution to arts and literature.
Suggested writings by Amrita Pritam-
Novel: Kore Kagaz, Unchas Din
Autobiography: Rasidi Ticket (1976)
Short Story: Kahaniyon ke Angan mein
Short Story: Stench of Kerosene
References-
Author-
Antisha Nigam
antishanigam73@gmail.com
On paper, a final year student majoring in Finance and minoring in Economics, from the University of Delhi. In person, a wild species, who is currently struggling for the answers to "Why" rather than "What" and "How". One can always reach out to me for a ceaseless conversation over platter of Food, Finance and a cup of hot poetries. Till then, keep inhaling oxygen.
👏👏