Book: ਸੁਖ-ਸੁਨੇਹੇ (Sukh Sunehe)

ਪਿਆਰੇ ਜੀਓ ,

          ਆਖਰ ਮੇਰੇ  ਪੱਤਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਸੰਗ੍ਰਹ ਦੀ ਪੁਸਤਕ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਤ ਹੋ ਗਈ  ਹੈ...ਸ਼ਿਲਾਲੇਖ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਨ  ਵਲੋਂ 

          ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਹੱਲਾ ਸ਼ੇਰੀ ਤੇ ਪ੍ਰੇਰਣਾ ਦਾ  ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ 'ਚ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਕਰਾਂ !

           ਹੁਣ ਵੱਡਾ ਕੰਮ ਇਸਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਪਾਠਕਾਂ ਤਕ ਪੁੱਜਦਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਹੈ। ..              

           

                                                         ਬਾਲ ਆਨੰਦ 

 Dear friends,

Finally, here published, is the collection of my correspondence, by Shilalekh Publications. I search for words to express my gratitude for your inspiration and encouragement. Now, the next step is to get it into the hands of dear readers.

                                Bal Anand

Details

Title: Sukh Sunehe

Author: Ambassador Bal Anand

ISBN: 978-81-7329-304-7

Publisher: Shilalekh Publications, New Delhi, India

Purchase site: http://shilalekhbooks.com/punjabi-books/letters/sukh-sunehe

Inching towards His 100th Year - ‘Whiskey-ing’, Ogling and Laughing in His Sleeves

This article appeared in the monthly magazine Identity, October 2013 issue

Sardar Khushwant Singh, once the young and struggling Sikh lawyer in the legendary Lahore – now batting at a dazzling score of 98 of an eventful life – indeed personifies an epochal transformation of himself over the many years as India’s most popular ‘money-spinner’ ‘author in English’. He has successfully worn an amazing variety of colourful turbans of being a novelist, historian, journalist, translator and, above all, ‘not a nice man to know’ who has always believed, with a childlike genius for mischief, in spreading the laughter all over the planet ‘at all costs and even high risks’. He has attained - with a devil’s diligence and an ascetic’s discipline - as an author the exalted stature of a ‘living human monument’ in the capital of Hindustan. He has been hailed as a wizardly-literary- monarch gifted with a rare impulse to feel the pulse of his vast empire of readership-cutting across all divides of age, gender, religion and international borders. The countless souls in India and abroad wonder - and pray too - whether he is destined to celebrate his so richly deserved century of life with the Nobel Prize for Literature - almost a century later than RN Tagore! 

Khushwant - even with his two sets of dates of birth of different years - happens to be several years senior to my poor but scholarly father who had passed away in 1978. I can vividly recall how I was introduced to Khushwant in the 1^st year of my college in 1959 by Shri A B (Arun Barun) Shome, a young and bachelor (soon to fall in love with a well-endowed Punjabi lady) teacher with an MA degree who had joined the High School in our small town, 20 KM from Ludhiana. He, a studious Bengali and I, a fresh collegiate, became quite friendly. Shri Shome had kindly suggested to me a reading list of books - novels and short stories - in English authored by the Indians. I recall that the names of Bhabani Bhattacharya, Mulk Raj Anand, Kamla Markandaya, RK Narayan and Khushwant Singh. I was soon able to obtain Train to Pakistan (1956) issued from the College Library and read it with a deep sense of awe, wonder and intimacy. I was then a daily commuting student from Ahmedgarh to Malerkotla and impressions of anecdotes of blood shed of innocent passengers in trains - to and from Pakistan - seemed still smelling in the air of Punjab. I had read some stories of the saddest and shameful spectacle of partition by Krishan Chander (Ham Vahshi Hai - We are Barbarians) and several other writers of Punjabi and Hindi. The Train to Pakistan, however, had left a uniquely lasting impression on my teen age mind. Being a student of the non-English medium school, the book made me familiar with a vastly new range of vocabulary and tons of tragi-funny usages! I had particularly shared with friends the translation of a popular film song - “In the breeze is flying, my veil of red muslin, o sir, o Sir…” and many typically naughty-including four-letter Punjabi expressions rendered into English. I have ever since been a dedicated - though at times a grudging and a protesting one too - reader of the inimitably thought provocative writings of Khushwant Singh. Another book in English by an Indian author which I had immensely enjoyed reading soon after - in the summer of 1960 - was Khawaja Ahmed Abbas’s semi fictional autobiography titled, ‘Inquilab’.

The Sikhs Today (1959) by Khushwant Singh, an attractively produced slim book with photographs of eminent Sikhs, was a very interesting and informative reading for me - particularly for the explosive foreboding that the symbols of Sikh identity might not last more than a few decades. During the next several years of my higher studies and till my entry into the Indian Foreign Service in 1971, I was more intensely occupied with the subjects of the curriculum but always enjoyed Khushwant Singh’s journalistic writings /columns particularly in The Illustrated Weekly and later the two national dailies, The National Herald and Hindustan Times. Khushwant Singh’s proximity with Indira Gandhi’s government and particularly his support of Sanjay Gandhi and the infamous Emergency earned him the title of ‘Khushamad’ - flatterer/sycophant - Singh. He had been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1974 and was also made a member of the Rajya Sabha for the term of 1980-86. The decade’s long extremist violence in Punjab witnessed Khushwant Singh taking a bold stand against perpetrators of communal violence. He wielded his powerful pen to voice reason and secular values and had to be provided security by the government against the hot headed of his own beloved community! 

The worst turmoil of eighties involving ‘Operation Blue Star’ and the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards followed by the barbaric killings of the Sikhs must have left Khushwant totally shattered and perplexed. The publication of Delhi: A Novel in 1990 was marketed as a major event of literary career of the author – Khushwant claimed that it took him almost twenty five years to complete this work. He dedicated it to his son, Rahul - a confirmed bachelor - and his ‘long-time girlfriend’, Niloufer Billimoria. Khushwant further stated, in his trade mark style, that, ‘History provided me a skeleton, I covered it with flesh and injected blood and a lot of seminal fluid into it.’ I was destined to read this ‘seminal’ Khushwant work while posted in the distant canal country of Panama, sometime in 1995. I indeed pondered over each word and page of it. The history, society and culture of the legendary capital of Bharatvarsha-Hindustan-India is ruthlessly dissected and laid on the table as if for a class of interns for lessons not only in human anatomy and physiology but the entire gamut of life, particularly the perversities and depravities of the flesh juxtaposed against the sublimity and serenity of the human spirit. The narrator’s - suggestively Khushwant himself, disguising as an aging and foreign returned journalist’s - relationship with a hijra-eunuch, hermaphrodite whore, who is neither male nor female but possessed a ‘uniquely exotic sex appeal’ provides him the role of a classic Sutradhar to explain all the travails of the ‘damned-damsel - Delhi’ through Time, right up to the Sikh holocaust of1984. Some serious minded readers felt angry and disgusted over the overflow of ‘extensive erotica’ in the book and dubbed the 300+ pages as ‘nothing but sleaze.’ However to quote a learned critic, “The text seems to be liberating itself from the high seriousness of history… history is parodied, transvestited and travestied. The novel could be hailed as Singh’s significant contribution to English fiction for its erudite content and insightful recreation.”

Khushwant’s long-awaited autobiography titled Truth, Love and a Little Malice (2002) had remained mired for years in legal injunction obtained by the once protégé and friend Maneka Gandhi against its publication ‘for invasion on her privacy.’ “No autobiography”, according to erudite author-columnist Dilip Bobb, “has been awaited with as much tongue-hanging anticipation.” I rushed to obtain a copy of it while posted in New Zealand, and most interestingly, had read some of its chapters in the same room of the enchantingly located elegant home of Barrister Santokh Singh Bhullar in Tamaranui where Khushwant Singh had also stayed a few years earlier! The book was indeed a deep delight, great instruction and a sort of emotionally cathartic experience for me. After finishing the book, I tried to ponder over the years of my own life. I felt that every one’s life has its own riddles of plus-minus; multiplication-division and various kind of brackets - and one has to struggle to solve one’s own particular problems of the ever evolving body and calls of the mysteriously invisible soul too. I am inclined to agree with Dilip that the best parts of the book are the accounts of his early life, ‘as a pampered son of a prominent, affluent father…’ Interestingly, German Ambassador Riedler in New Zealand, my friend since our postings together in Pakistan and Panama, was a voracious reader of Khushwant and was immensely delighted to receive the gift of ‘Delhi’ from me!  

Khushwant Singh - In the Name of the Father
by Rahul Singh

In my years of retirement since 2004, I have been meticulously looking for reading Khushwant’s articles. I have enjoyed reading Rahul Singh’s, ‘Khushwant Singh - In the Name of the Father’ (2004) containing rare old family photos, published by Roli Books, in the Family Pride Series. Rahul details many intimately touching aspects of the personality of his father. He describes how Khushwant had tried to keep in touch with his Muslim friends in Pakistan and that brilliant Barrister Manzur Qadir and Mrs Asghari Qadir were his parents’ dearest friends. It is mentioned that Khushwant had ‘managed’ to pass BA from the Government College, Lahore in the third division and, therefore, did not qualify for admission in Oxford or Cambridge - “So, the choice fell on the King’s College, London University, where he enrolled for an L.L.B. while applying for admission to the Inner Temple to qualify as a barrister.” Rahul, like his father, has no hesitation in writing,  “Mangat Rai (E.N., ICS) was enamoured of my mother even after he married Champa… There was a time when my mother seriously considered leaving my father and marrying Mangat Rai. But, perhaps, because of the trauma it would cause my sister and me, they held back.” Rahul confesses that, “Delhi and The Company of Women got such scathing reviews that I decided not to read them… though both became best-sellers.” Rahul opines that Train to Pakistan remains to date his father’s finest work of fiction while in the two-volume A History of the Sikhs, Khushwant is at his scholarly best. 

My life-time ‘Khushwant - moment’ was destined to come, expectedly - where else, but in Pakistan in November 1993. Manzur Qadir’s son, Basharat and his wife Bambi had become our kind friends during posting to Islamabad. They had hosted an intimate dinner in honour of Khushwant Singh at their home - No.14, Street 37, F-7 / 1. I was seated with Khushwant and Begum Asghari Qadir and enjoyed intently listening to their conversation replete with references to their shared great pre-partition times in bubbling Lahore. Khushwant had to repeat himself and speak louder because Begum Ashgari had become audio-challenged. I could obtain Khushwant Singh’s autograph on the invitation card - it has been carefully preserved as a rare memento. 

I may raise a toast to ‘Mr Khushwant-Global Singh’, wishing him a reasonably O.K. health for his age and power to his pen! I am tempted to quote from his book, Absolute Khushwant (2010), “I would like to be remembered as someone who made people smile.” Musing over death, he had stated, “All my contemporaries - whether here or in England or in Pakistan - they are all gone… All that I hope for is that when death comes to me, it comes swiftly, without much pain, like fading away in sound slumber. Till then I’ll keep working and living each day as it comes. There is so much left to do. I content myself by saying these lines of Iqbal:

Bagh-e-bahisht se mujhe hukm-e-safar diya the kyon?

Kaar-e-jahaan daraaz hai, ab mera intezar kar.
Why did you order me out of the garden of paradise?
I have a lot left to do; now you wait for me. 

Khushwant had written his own epitaph many years ago:

Here lies one who spared neither man nor god
Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod
Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun
Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun.

Zindabaad, Sardar Sahib - Long live, Sir!

__________________________________________

Links:

• WorldCat catalogue
• Wikipedia
• Goodreads page

An Encyclopedist ‘Sardar Bahadur’ of Sikh Renaissance

This article appeared in the monthly magazine, Identity,  August 2013

Dictionary: The universe in alphabetical order. - Anatole France

Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha (Aug. 30, 1861-Nov. 23, 1938) has recently received the most deserved attention as a rare breed of a deeply disciplined scholar-aristocrat. According to the modern researchers, he was indeed the tallest figure of the Sikh resurgence with the focus on Punjabi in Gurmukhi script during the complex socio-cultural and religious fermentation in the colonial Punjab. The life of Bhai Kahn Singh need be examined as an inspiring saga of the monumental dedication and labor of love in interpreting the Sikh scriptures in proper perspectives in their relationship with the other relevant works of divinity and principles of Indian literary traditions. He could single handedly accomplish what would seem beyond the combined capacity of the many times well provided teams of scholars in our contemporary academic institutions. The small princely state of Nabha situated in the back waters of Malwa region, always under the shadow of the next door larger Patiala state with its colorful rulers, has surely earned a rank above all the other states of formerly PEPSU because of the name of Bhai Kahn Singh associated with it. It is here in this sleepy town that seekers of scholarship and learning come across the brightest example of the pen proving mightier than the sword and tons of wealth.

As someone luckier to be born in the family of saint-scholars who had been imparting for generations the traditional classical learning in my ancestral of village of Falaund, 7Km from Malerkotla, I had been an innocent child witness to the rapidly disappearing old world way of learning. The Ashram type education of the Dera was free of cost, with the provision of even food and shelter for those who needed it. I vividly recall the entire sublime process of composing the handwritten books and preparation of Ayurvedic medicines under the benign supervision of my great grandfather Baba Pramatma Nand Ji who passed away on Oct. 16, 1947. The names of the eminent Gurmat - scholars, learned commentators on the Sikh scriptures and the Kaviraj - poet physicians - like Giani Gyan Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, Pandit Kartar Singh Dakha, Kalyan Dass Udasi, Hakim Kehar Singh of Kurali, Granthi Chanda Singh, Sant Attar Singh, Raj Vaidya Ram Prasad of Patiala and, of course, Bhai Kahn Singh, could be heard in the conversations of the elders. It was, however, in Dec. 1949 that I had listened to my father discussing passionately a recent debate in Patiala about the Punjabi language and how Bhai Jodh Singh had physically waved around on the stage the big volumes of Mahan Kosh – the Great Dictionary – by Kahn Singh Nabha to prove the point that Punjabi was indeed rich enough and developed to be the official language of the state of PEPSU / Punjab!

Bhai Kahn Singh was again the focus of my attention in the DAV College, Jalandhar, in Aug. 1966 when I had just realized my dream to be a lecturer. The vague expectations and anxieties were surcharging the atmosphere in the truncated ‘new’ Punjab in the wake of the reorganization of the state and the re-emergence, after evaporation in 1956, of the region of PEPSU as a more powerful political player. It was Prof VP Malhotra, my teacher and then guide as a colleague, who mentioned to me the name of Bhai Kahn Singh and his book, ‘Ham Hindu Nahin - We are Not Hindus’ as one of the first treatises of separatism among the Sikhs. I was, however, acutely aware of the references, listened to as a child, in the conversations at home that Swami Dayanand had used some derogatory expressions for Guru Nanak Dev Ji and how Giani Ditt Singh, the sharp witted scholar-orator belonging to the so called low caste, had out witted the Swami Ji in an open debate held in Lahore - recorded later in a booklet - titled, ‘Mera te Sadhu Dayanand da Samvad’.

I had moved on to join the Indian Foreign Service after a four year spell of sustained studies while earning much needed livelihood as a lecturer in English. The issue of Hindu-Sikh communalism which had started plaguing the Punjab in the last decades of 19^th century has continued to remain a subject of concern and enquiry for me. I recall an ominous song popular soon after the Partition, “Kaun Kahe Hindu-Sikh doven vakho vakh nen; Bharat maan di doven sajji Khbbi Akkh nen - Who says that Hindus and Sikhs are separate from each other; they are like the right and the left eyes of Mother India,” - I used to wonder if the Muslim were supposedly alluded as the mythological ‘third eye’ of Lord Shiva! My lifelong intellectual interaction with inspiring teacher-scholars like Prof Pritam Singh and Prof Harmandar Singh - not to forget my unique school teacher, Ashni Kumar (1916-1999) and poet-patriot A.J. Zaidi during my posting to Iran (1975-1978) - has indeed been a soulful blessing in my continued quest of an unbiased understanding of what drives many in their deadly agendas of dividing humanity in compartments on various pretexts and the root causes of cancerous growth of intolerance towards other faiths among even educated and gifted persons. It was in this background that I had requested, and received, the duly signed by Prof Pritam Singh - datelined Dec. 12, 2000 - copy of his book in Punjabi, ‘Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha: Background, Writings and Evaluation’, published by Guru Nanak Dev University in 1989.

Prof Pritam Singh’s book, like his other pioneering research works on Punjabi language and literature, proved a trend setter and an inspiration for several other researchers including the two highly gifted and scholarly ladies of Bhai Sahib’s family. I have immensely benefitted from my careful perusal of valuable books authored by Dr Devinder Singh Vidyarthi and Dr Jagmail Singh Bhathua in my understanding the totality of the vast variety of literary and lexicological works - listed to be 23 in Prof Pritam Singh’s book - by Bhai Sahib. I undertook a serious study of the ‘controversial’, ‘Ham Hindu Nahin’ - first published in 1897 - and was impressed by its overall contents which discount the orthodox rituals and practices of Brahamanical Hinduism. He emphasizes the elements of social equality and an honest living in Sikhism. Bhai Sahib underlines the total rejection by the Sikh Gurus of the disgusting caste distinctions. It needs to be understood that Sikhism had come under serious attacks from various quarters after the collapse of Ranjit Singh’s rule. The census of 1881 had indicated the figure of the Sikhs in colonial Punjab to be 1.8 million while at the peak of rule of Ranjit Singh’s rule, their number was estimated around 10 million. The long struggle waged by the community to reassert its identity and reclaim the control of the sacred Gurdwaras should be appreciated in the totality of the prevailing circumstances. Bhai Kahn was the precocious child of his time.

All of us have our interesting memories of the purchase and use of dictionaries. I am reminded of Principal RG Bajpai who was well in known in colleges of Punjab for his ‘battles’ about correct use of English. He would always keep the dictionary on his office table; the peon would carry it along when Mr. Bajpai would be on the move and he would say, ‘An English gentleman swears by GOD (of Bible) and COD (Concise Oxford Dictionary)’. My school teacher told me about his own famous teacher, Dr. Raghuvir who had said, “Don’t quote dictionary to me… dictionaries quote me!”  Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), the compiler of the first dictionary of English, had also undergone such several difficulties as faced by Bhai Kahn Singh centuries later in a land so distant and different than the island of Britain. To quote from the foreword by Prof Teja Singh, dated 18^th January, 1930,

 “Gurshabad Ratnakar, his Magnum Opus, is Dictionary and Encyclopedia combined of Sikh Literature, a magnificent fruit of the author’s fifteen years hard and incessant labour. It contains 64,263 words occurring in the original Sikh scriptures as well as in other allied books… when we look at the volume of the work undertaken and carried out single-handed by the author, it appears nothing short of a marvel…”

Mr. M.A. McAuliffe, the author of the celebrated ‘Sikh Religion’, had said,

“I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Sardar Kahn Singh of Nabha, one of the greatest scholars and most distinguished authors among the Sikhs.” 

It is interesting to note that Bhai Sahib was conferred the title of ‘Sardar Bahadur’ for his scholarship - not the usual service of the British Empire.

I am proud of possessing the copy of Bhai Sahib’s Mahan Kosh. This is the sixth Special edition, published in 1999 - dedicated to the Tercentenary of the Khalsa. I could procure it at a wind fall price of ₹250/- against the printed ₹319/- in 2006 from the Bhasha Vibhag Office cum stall - located in an obscure and dark corner of Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi - managed by a Gurkha peon! The eminent Punjabi writer with impeccable secular credentials, Shri Gurbachan Singh Bhullar, who incidentally belongs to Bhai Sahib’s native village, has narrated the tale of the compilation for about 28 years, the tortuous efforts to raise resources and the ultimate printing of ‘Mahan Kosh’ in Amritsar, from Oct. 26, 1927 to April 13, 1930. The popular Punjabi poet Dhani Ram Chatrik, in the words of Bhai Sahib, had ensured that ‘Mahan Kosh’ was printed with the utmost care. The printing was indeed a great challenge in view if the fact that relevant words of Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and English were also been included for explanations. The cost of the first edition of 500 copies, financed by the State of Patiala, was about ₹51,000/- ; each copy was, therefore, priced ₹110. Bhai Sahib made it clear that the author has not charged any amount for himself - it was for him a labor of love for the language of the Punjabis.

I must mention that my good friend,  Ambassador Pripuran Singh Haer - great grand (maternal) son of Bhai Sahib - graciously proposed that I should pay a visit to the historic home of Bhai sahib in Nabha. It was an immense pleasure and privilege for me to stay, on 24^th March, 2013, in ‘Vrijesh Bhawan’, the beautiful abode of Bhai Sahib in Nabha. I had an intimate exchange of views with Major Adarshpal Singh - the great grandson of Bhai Sahib - about the glorious chapters of scholarship penned in these premises. I felt a strange spiritual and intellectual bond with this extraordinary scholar of Punjab. S. Divan Singh Maftoon, a distinguished journalist of Urdu who edited ‘Riyast’ to expose the wrong doings of native rulers, had the highest admiration for Bhai as a gentleman scholar. He said, “Had Bhai Kahn Singh been born in in the USA, Americans would have elected him as their President!”

Bhai Sahib’s birth day - 30^th August - is also the birth day of my father, with a difference of exactly 59 years; he too was a proud scholar and true seeker of knowledge till his last. The USA has designated 16^th of October as the National Dictionary Day to commemorate the birth day of the great lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843). It would indeed be most appropriate to declare Bhai Sahib’s birth day as  Punjab’s Day of Dictionary and Language.

Rajiv Gandhi’s Discovery of Spain - 25 Years After

This article appeared in the monthly magazine, Identity, July 2013

 

In his speech, made at the Banquet hosted in his honour - on Friday, July 15, 1988 in Madrid - by his Spanish counterpart Felipe Gonzales, Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi began by saying:

“My wife and I are delighted to be in Spain. It is the fulfillment of a long cherished desire.
We are honoured that when he set sail in the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus was looking for us. Unfortunately, he was stopped by a large continent that just happened to lie in the way. OTHERWISE, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SPEAK TO YOU IN SPANISH…”

There was indeed a spontaneous applause and loud laughter among all the guests enjoying the long awaited India-Spain Summit Party in the beautiful garden in the Moncloa Palace -  perhaps, imagining and wondering over the mightiest ‘If’ of History - or should one say, of Geography!

I was, however, struck to think differently - introspecting, “why an overwhelmingly elected head of the government of the Republic of India has ‘impulsively’ said so; why it had to be either English or Spanish - or even Portuguese or French for that matter! Was it the inevitable destiny of India to be colonized by one of the emerging European country and the Indian mind to get entrapped forever under the spell of an alien tongue?

It is interesting to recall the background-and environment - of the visit. Ambassador Krishana D. Sharma, our man in Spain since July 1985 - on his ‘swan song’ posting in a long career, coming there after his assignment in PAKISTAN - had been making every conceivable move in the text book of the profession for an early ‘maiden’ visit by the PM to the rapidly resurging - the post Franco - democratic Spain led by the youthful socialist Felipe Gonzales. A date for the visit had indeed been officially conveyed in 1987 by the Indian side to the eager Spanish hosts and it had even been mutually agreed. However, it had to be embarrassingly regretted a few days later because everyone in the PM’s office simply failed to check the calendar - the PM of India could not afford to be out of the country on the day of Deepawali! The lame diplomatic explanation given to the Spanish side was that the PM would be personally preoccupied in the massive relief effort in the face of an unprecedented drought in the country! More interestingly, by intriguingly strange coincidences, a couple of Ministers / senior officials had lost their positions soon after their visits to Spain - Minsters Abdul Gafoor, ND Tiwari, Jagdish Tytler and the powerful Vice Chairman of the DDA Prem Kumar are the few names that I can recollect. There was, therefore, even a murmur among us embassy officials whether we should persist in risking at all a visit by PM!

Author meeting with (3rd from right) Spain PM Felipe Gonzales, PM Rajiv Gandhi, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, and Spain PM's spouse Ms. Carmen Romero (shaking hands)


The PM’s Banquet speech - about 1,150 compact words - next referred to an enduring literary relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and the Spanish Nobel laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez. It was a pity that the name of the Spanish poet was not pronounced according to the Spanish ’J’ - though it was expressly conveyed in the draft of the speech by the embassy. Rajiv had, perhaps, no time and inclination to learn languages from his linguistically so gifted mother. He was, perhaps, closer to his father in his early  - children suffer silently when relations between parents get strained.

The speech had two interesting paragraphs - a good example of diplomatic euphemism and understatement - to the Spanish Civil War and Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit - exactly fifty years ago - to Barcelona to express solidarity with the Republicans who had been overpowered by the Hitler backed fascist forces plunging Spain into dark dictatorship for more than four decades.

The rest of the speech touched upon the predictable points about the ‘the substantial progress by India in the four decades’; ‘our agricultural production has trebled’ and ‘growing scope for India and Spain to expand their economic relation’, etc. The Nuclear Disarmament was explained at quite some length in the context of ‘India’s time bound Action Plan at the Third Special Session of the General Assembly on Disarmament.’ It was underlined that the ‘abhorrent practice of apartheid can be destroyed through the imposition of comprehensive mandatory sanctions under the UN Charter.’ The relations with neighbors found mention in ‘a peaceful border with China’; ‘a clandestine nuclear programme being pursued in neighbourhood’ and ‘terrorism being actively assisted from across our borders.’

While the Draft of the speech for the Banquet was in the process of the finalization in the Ministry of External Affairs, the Embassy received persistent queries about the ‘shared’ connection of Islam between Spain and India. It was politely indicated that the silence would indeed be ‘golden’ on the topic - though the ‘Moorish Islamic Rule’ over Spain from Cordoba and Granada spanning more than five centuries was indeed the ‘golden’ period in the history of humanity - and Jawaharlal has indeed been eloquent about it.

The year 711 AD - we may call it the 7-Eleven - could be considered unique for the two countries - Jabel al Tariq, the Arab-Moorish general, crossed Gibraltar (origin: Jabel al Tariq - the mountain Tariq) to begin the successful invasion of the Iberian Peninsula while Muhammad bin Qasim al Taqafi (695-715 AD) had also conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions in the same year. The history of Spain has remained mostly unread by the Indians or read only through the ‘jaundiced eyes’ of the British.’ The two countries had been long rivals for the brand of Christianity and strong competitors in the building of their vast empires. The re-conquest of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs, the inquisition and large scale expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain evoke complex and varying feelings among the Indians - depending on individual outlook on the role of religion in the contemporary epoch.

The deeply analytical and detailed political commentary on the visit was published in the interview carried in the Sunday edition, 10th July, of the leading Spanish Daily El Pais (The Country - then circulation:800,000 copies). The interview had quite telling and frank opening remarks stating, “Although diplomatic relations were established in 1958, our country had till now got left on the side in its openings to the great Non-aligned democracy… After four years of mandate which came to him unsought… (when) his mother was assassinated by the Sikh terrorists… The Indian PM is not only returning the visit of their majesties to India in 1982, but wishes to make good a deficiency… the visit is taking place in a context in which many of the hopes raised by the election of a young man to the helm of the government, a great believer and promoter of technological development and full of promise of fight against corruption and underdevelopment, are being vehemently denounced by a vociferous opposition. The recent losses in various by-elections… the rise of attractive figure of VP Singh-the inability to contain Sikh terrorism, the hornet’s nest of Sri Lanka… the increasing threat of Pakistan nuclearisation and the charges of corruption against elements close to the seat of power and to the Gandhi family itself, paint a picture almost of decline for someone who in December 1984 assumed control, with a smile which was innocent and confident...” How prescient and boldly objective observations!

There is no doubt that Rajiv’s visit had been a path breaking event and proved an important voyage of ‘discovery’ for the two countries. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, eminent MP and former esteemed colleague from the IFS who functioned as ‘shadow of Rajiv for six years’, has been gracious to confirm to me a few days back that it was he who had crafted the Banquet speech. I have accepted ’in the fullest measure’ his advice to me to calm down and appreciate the ‘Columbus joke’ in its appropriate light hearted spirit. Another distinguished colleague who had served in Spain in the sixties on his first posting shared a fundamentally different take on ‘if Columbus’ saying, “Then India would have emerged as the largest Christian nation in the world and there would have been no Partition of the country!” The ‘ifs’ game reminds me of the story attributed to the Armenian Radio ‘political’ commentary, “If Khrushchev had been assassinated instead of Kennedy… well, Onassis would NOT have married Mrs. Khrushchev!!!”

As for my own posting to Spain, from April 1986 to July 1989, it was indeed a life changing experience for me and my family. Spain has been a unique super power for centuries with her everlasting contribution to human civilization, particularly in arts and literature. During my sojourn in Spain, I was indeed privileged to be a party to the tons true tales about the ‘discovery’ of Spain by so many VIP’s and other Indians who would often say, “We had seen all the other countries of Europe… thought that we should visit Spain also… and see the Bull Fight!” I may conclude for now by recalling the visit to Spain of a childhood friend who had become a prosperous doctor in the UK. After travels in Southern Spain, he said to me, “Baal, I could not resist the temptation to make a deal for a farm land which had so many almond laden trees… India must learn more from Spain about cultivation of sun flower and saffron i.e. Kesar…”

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Other links:

• El Pais Archives July 10 1988: La India busca el acercamiento a España

Pakistan‘s latest Tryst with Democracy - Promises and Pitfalls

This article appeared in the monthly magazine Identity, June 2013

The community of the democratic states of the world - including India, in the forefront - had already announced the award of the gold medal to Pakistan for establishing its maiden national record: an elected civilian government had been enabled to complete its mandatory term of five years! The traditional three A’s - Allah, America and Army had opted not to play the role of a ‘spoiler’; and it was the meek and humble, often forgotten, the fourth A - the Awaam - the People of Pakistan who gave their verdict in a loud and clear voice, braving all the odds to cast their votes. The ‘Lion’ of Punjab who had been in political wilderness for fourteen long years was installed as the King again: almost, every Pakistani has been proclaiming that the Lion has indeed been ‘tamed’ or transformed during the years of adversity; and that he was the best bet for his beleaguered country. Mian Nawaz Sharif, born on December 25, 1949, has been lucky for the unprecedented third time to lead his nation of 200 million people who are all desperately yearning for peace, progress and harmony.

The seasoned Pakistan observers - in London, Washington and, of course, Delhi - have struck cautiously optimistic notes on the emphatic electoral victory of Nawaz Sharif. “Right now people think he is the best hope the country has,” a media doyenne was quoted saying. Sharif has been given credit for refusing to conspire to bring down the last government and was even accused of running a ‘friendly opposition’. The Sharif family had cast their lot with Zia-ul-Haq in the late 1970’s in the wake of the nationalization of their metal factories by the ZA Bhutto led PPP. There was never a looking back for the Sharifs and Nawaz rose to be the Finance Minister / Chief Minister of Punjab under the Zia regime. He became Prime Minister during 1990-93 and again in 1997-99 when he was ousted in a ‘popular’ coup by Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The friends quote him saying that ‘his entire outlook was changed by the misery of arrest and exile in Saudi Arabia and the UK... to his immense anguish, he was banned from returning to Pakistan to bury his beloved father.’ Sharif had finally returned in 2007 a ‘transformed man’, with even his enemies pointing to ‘his bald plate gaining hair transplants’. Dr AQ Khan, the (in)famous father of Pakistan’s Nuclear Bomb, wrote in his column on 20th May, “As far as the position of PM is concerned, Mian Sahib’s long cherished dream has been fulfilled. The signing of the Charter of Democracy, the alliance with the PPP, the ‘friendly opposition’ and the 18th Amendment all have contributed to achieving this goal...”

Firstly, we must understand the complex dynamics of the forces attendant upon General election 2013 to 14th Parliament of Pakistan which have resulted in an emphatic win for Nawaz’s Pakistan Muslim League (N). The ‘Sharif’ Party scooped 124-116 out of the 148 from the province of Punjab - of the 272 seats of the National Assembly (NA), some 20 above the most optimistic forecast. It is further pointed out that PML-N has managed in Punjab to win higher number of seats out of a comparatively lower percentage of vote - 78% seats with 49% votes compared with 5% seats against 18% votes for Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and 1.4 seats against 10% share of the votes polled. The proportion of votes and seats share becomes slightly better at the national level. The PTI success - 17% votes and 9.6 percent seats - has been the biggest story of Election 2013. The PML-Q, the second largest in terms of votes and 42 directly elected seats has been almost obliterated. The commentators have drawn attention to the threats by extremist groups to the liberal / secular parties mainly the PPP and Awami National Party (ANP).The success of the role of media in inspiring people to come out to vote has been positive factor - the 60% turn out, against 44% in 2008, has been the highest and equaled the record of fateful elections in 1970. The backdrop of elections in terms of ‘failing economy, cruel power cuts, all pervasive corruption, militancy within and the unpopular alliance with America over terrorism’ made the people walk to vote.

The analysts in India have not sufficiently commented on the results of the elections to the Provincial Assemblies. The PML-N has secured 211 out of 297 seats decimating all opposition - full credit to Nawaz’s brother Shahbaz for managing the volatile province for five years with a degree of efficiency and reasonable trust among the people - ‘the younger Sharif, with a reputation for of getting things done, delivered several projects in time and faces no corruption charges.’ The province of Sindh has solidly voted back the PPP/MQM combine with more than 100 seats in the house of 130. The PTI led by Imran has won 34 seats out of 99 in the troubled Khyber Pakhtun Khwa province and the PML-N with 13 seats has decided to give him a chance to cobble up the coalition with the help of 14 independents. As regards the resources rich and violence rocked Balochistan, the local nationalist Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has emerged the largest group in an Assembly of 51 and is expected to lead the coalition with PML-N. To quote a Pakistani student in the Tuft University, “Sharif’s Party has won without a national mandate, causing many in the smaller provinces to call his victory the tyranny of the majority.” The independent observers emphasise that despite disarray at homeland obstacles to regional integration, Nawaz Sharif has the opportunity to make Pakistan, “a safe, pluralistic and prosperous trading hub and shun the path of becoming Asia’s second North Korea.”

Nawaz Sharif, a billionaire steel magnate who has been hailed as ‘comeback king’, has certainly raised a sense of confidence among the business community of Pakistan. The Karachi Stock Exchange saluted him with the 100 index crossing 20,000 points for the first time in history within the first session of trading the day markets opened after his victory. Nawaz was quoted saying that privatization, free market economy and deregulation have been hall marks of his party in government. While he expressed confidence that he could work with the IMF to put economy back on track, Sharif’s two time Finance Minister and enduring adviser, Sartaj Aziz said, “We need stabilization with growth... all we need from the IMF is a little more time to pay back $5 billion.” The usual IMF recipe of cutting subsidies would also not be an easy task. The habit of tax evading among the rich Pakistanis has been historically proverbial. The budget making process must already be under way and would send strong signals across the financial markets of the intentions of the third Sharif regime.

In foreign policy Sharif faces formidable challenges. To quote a former Pakistani diplomat, 

“Finding a balance in relations with India is an urgent task ... setting the tone during the ‘long chat’ with PM Manmohan Singh, both invited the other to visit their respective countries. There is, perhaps, no better time for the two countries to move forward.” - Nawaz

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The Old Ties Must Endure

Miangul Aurangzeb, former ruler of Swat and  prominent politician with Begum Nasim Miangul (daughter of Field Marshall Ayub Khan). He sent this New Year Card to Ambassador Bal Anand in 1994.

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Up turns and down turns of diplomacy

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Triumph and Tragedy of Being Balraj Sahni

This article was published in the monthly magazine Identity, May 2013.

Going by all the tons of authentic accounts available, Balraj Sahni was one of the most decent individuals, the noblest intentioned patriot and the most magnetically charming personality of the 'glitteringly glamorous' but also the 'big bad, mad and sad' world of India's 'dreams-selling' industry of Bollywood. The life story of Balraj (May 1, 1913-April 13, 1973) can certainly be interpreted in terms of the larger history of India. The period of his life indeed encompassed the complex struggle for Independence culminating into 'freedom at midnight' that was tainted by the most shameful killings of innocent people in the wake of the Partition of the country. The first quarter century of India's 'tryst with destiny' was dominated by the leadership and legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, Balraj's personal idol. Balraj's journey of being 'a card holder' to 'a committed cultural activist' of the Communist Party of India can be acclaimed or faulted in the light of one's personal ideological prism.

I had the first and the last glimpse of Balraj sometime in 1969 at an Indo-Soviet Cultural Society (ISCUS) Conference in Ludhiana. Shri VK Krishna Menon, Nehru's once trusted friend but later a disgraced Defense Minister during the India-China in 1962, had been, perhaps, touted as a star crowd puller but his speech in English proved listless and required to be redeemed in translation for the audience, mostly the Punjabi peasants. As a young college lecturer in English, I remember that some HD Malviya had done a reasonably good job in rendering Menon's speech into Hindi. I do recall that Menon had said that the USA would have used Atom Bomb in the Korean War if the Soviet Union had not developed its nuclear bomb by that time and that the strong Soviet Union was the guarantor of the world peace against the imperialists. It was, however, the speech by Balraj Sahni, in chaste Hindustani with sprinkling of pure - theth - Punjabi, which had the audience spell bound. Then onwards, I started taking the 'pro-poor' popular actor more seriously. I had, however, not been fond of watching films considering it a waste of time and money and I was too busy preparing for my IAS / IFS, etc. examination.

It was in November 1972; I had arrived in Delhi a year earlier after joining the Indian Foreign Service. The capital of India was agog over an unconventional convocation address delivered in the recently established prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University …by whom? It was by the actor-activist Balraj Sahni. Addressing in conversational Hindustani, Balraj had spoken from the heart and disarmed the determined protesters of the CPI(M)'s wing of students union. He said, "…l may just say that I could gather courage to speak to you because I deeply love the personality after whose name this University has been founded ... if I had been asked to clean up the floors and stairs of this august institution, I would have felt as fortunate as I feel now to stand up to address you ... when I was a student, our British professors made every effort to inculcate in us that making good films and producing quality plays and literature was the privilege of only persons with the white skin ... today we have film makers like Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy and our artists and technicians have earned international reputation ... but in spite of all this, what we lack is the fact we are still copy-cats. We still use foreign formulas to make our films ... Today we are again in need of a Mahatma Gandhi who could inspire us to give up the impulses and instincts of the slavish mentality and embrace the ideals and values rooted in the culture of freedom..." Balraj carried the day with his sincerity and his straightforwardness; he concluded quoting the lines of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, “Blessed are those who serve the masses; mingle and rejoice with them/ The dust of feet of toilers is sacred for face and forehead; All the waves of desires are calmed by serving humanity.”

Balraj Sahni and Damyanti, 1936

Balraj has written at length and with a lot of relish about his family and friends in Rawalpindi; his education in Lahore and travels in the pre-partition Punjab. Born after five sisters (only two had survived), Balraj's original name Yudhishthira had to be discarded, being difficult to pronounce, and the family was overprotecting towards him. He was admitted initially in the orthodox Gurukul Ashram School but he protested successfully in getting himself shifted after three years to the more modern DAV School. .He passed matriculation in 1928, standing second in the district and earning a scholarship. He was deeply impressed by Prof. Jaswant Rai, a liberal minded teacher in the local DAV Intermediate College, who was also a good friend of the family. He travelled to Lahore in Dec. 1929 to listen to Nehru who, as the youthful President of the Congress Session, had bravely announced the adoption of  'goal of Pooran Swaraj - Complete Independence' of India. Defying family pressure for joining a professional degree course, Balraj joined Govt. College, Lahore and completed BA (Honors) followed by MA in English in 1934. Having no other option in hand, he reluctantly joined, for some time, the reasonably flourishing family business of 'import and export'. Meanwhile in December 1936, Balraj's marriage was solemnized with Damyanti (Dammo), the youngest sister of Prof. Jaswant Rai. In spite of the severest opposition of his father, Balraj and Damyanti departed from home in September 1937 to 'try their luck' in the wide world in the field of their natural interests - literature and art of theatre.

After a short unsatisfactory spell of attempts in writing and theatre in Lahore, they moved to Calcutta. Balraj was helped to take up a teaching job in Tagore's Shanti Niketan at fifty rupees per month. They found the literary and artistic atmosphere of the place quite consoling and reassuring. Balraj has candidly written about Tagore's advice to him that he should adopt mother tongue, Punjabi, for his literary expression instead of hankering after English or Hindi. He could not fully appreciate Tagore's advice at that time. Balraj and Damyanti became parents to a son, Parikshit, in July 1939. They escaped to serve in Gandhi Ji's Sevagram for the 'Naee Taleem'. Lionel Fielding, Director General All India Radio, during his visit to Gandhi Ji, impressed upon the Mahatma that Balraj could better work for the new India section in the BBC to be established in the wake of the need for broadcasts to Indian Defense Forces serving in the far flung areas of the world. The Sahnis soon set sail for Britain and had a life transforming time there till 1944. Both become dedicated followers of Marxist philosophy, thanks to their closer friendship with the British communists, progressive thinkers and writers like Harold Laski, TS Elliot, George Orwell, etc.

The chance meeting in Srinagar with Chetan Anand, an old friend since college days in Lahore, resulted in an offer of acting in his film, Neecha Nagar. They soon became part of the Indian Peoples Theatre (IPTA) and inducted for roles in several plays and the film Dharti Ke Laal. The role for Dammo in Prithvi Theatre production Deewar made her a star. When things had just started looking up for them, the sudden death of Dammo in April 1947 devastated Balraj's life. He even blamed himself for being neglectful and insensitive towards his young and most talented life partner. The catastrophe of Partition deprived the Sahni family of their home and hearth. Back in Bombay, Balraj struggled for work; he scripted and acted in a highly 'popular' play, Jadoo Kursi Ka - the Magic of Chair, reflecting the line of the Communist Party - making fun of policies of the Nehru Government. Balraj was later full of remorse about this play and made sure that all its copies are destroyed!

Do Bigha Zamin, 1953

After resisting pressure of relatives, he got married in March 1949 to Santosh (then divorced), his first cousin, who was his love of early youth. He had to undergo imprisonment for several months for his activities as a communist. He was completely broke: some relief came when he wrote the screen script of Chetan's Baazi, 1951 and dubbed a Russian film with Santosh (Toshi). The making of Do Bigha Zamin - Two Acres of Land - in 1953 by Bimal Roy changed it all for Balraj. He, at long last, arrived as the screen super star of a different kind of dazzling brilliance: by his sincerest portrayal of a rickshaw puller. He had worked in 10 films between 1944 and 1954. The number was impressive 125 for the next two decades of his life, including many commercial hits. He had flowered as the finest character actor - Kabuliwallah, '61; Haqeeqat, '64; Waqt, '65 and his swan song classic on the theme of Partition, Garam Hawa - the Hot Breeze - '73 are among his many ever green great films.

Kabuliwala, 1961

Garam Hawa, 1973

Once when asked about his greatest ambition in life, Balraj had replied, "Oh, I wish I had been a beloved poet of people...” He was quintessentially an artist yearning to express his abundant love of humanity and unfathomable beauty of nature in its myriad manifestations. He was a dream merchant who was ever eager to share his passion for life with the lowliest in life: his heart was always beating for the most deprived and mind ever trying to understand root causes of injustice in society. He had turned to scientific socialism via the routes of Tagore's universal humanism and Gandhi's path of the basic commonality of the morality of all religions and an impeccable faith in nonviolence.

With brother Bhisham Sahni, 1940s

With son Parikshit Sahni

Finally, fully convinced of Tagore's advice, he had determined to make a mark by writing in mother tongue, Punjabi. There are 13 books by Balraj published in Punjabi; four in Hindi and occasional essays, belle letters and columns for daily news papers of different languages. Balraj's Meri Filmi Atamkatha was first serialized in popular Punjabi monthly, Preet Larhi. His ambitious novel, A journey, a Story remained unfinished due to his sudden death by heart stroke. The autobiographical overtones in all his writings make them authentic, colorful and extremely readable. He had become a regular traveler to Punjab in the last decade of his life and dreamt of living in Punjab as a full time author of Punjabi. He enjoyed close personal friendship with all the prominent writers of Punjabi and was a steadfast crusader for the cause of Punjabi language. His book Samen di Pairh - Footprint of Time - has a deeply touching and prophetic interview, circa 1969, with novelist Nanak Singh on the communal-linguistic conundrum of Punjab. The two giant and full blooded Punjabis were dismissive of creation of a shrunken state on the false premises of language and culture.

It was again on the 1st of January this year, as since my many years in retirement in Delhi, that I attended the day long annual Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) function. The theme for the year long celebration of the birth centenary of Balraj was unveiled with the release of SAHMAT publication Balraj & Bhisham Sahni - Brothers in Political Theatre. I realized how the name Balraj forgetting his original name, Yudhishthira, had become a metaphor for the most decent values in life in a nation which has witnessed a steep and sharp decline in public morality and integrity at the altar of pursuit of political power. Tears trickled in my eyes remembering another Balraj, a Thanedar - Police Inspector- of my home town of Ahmedgarh. As a lecturer in college in Bathinda, I spent a month with him in his dormitory in the Police Lines. I noted that all his colleagues called him Sahni Sahib for his high qualities of character and excellence in the tough profession. Interestingly, Balraj was the personal hero of my mentor - my school teacher, Ashni Kumar (1916-99, born in Gujrat of legendary Sohni), a skeletal giant of knowledge, a Nehruvian like Balraj who taught me that Karl Marx could have been a reincarnation of Gautama Buddha for the modern epoch! And, I had been lucky to roam about in the streets of Balraj's 'Pindi as a representative of India!!

It is well known that Balraj loved the 'city beautiful'; many senior Chandigarhians would tell tons of charming tales of his visits here. Master Sohan Lal Bansal, the legendary teacher of Mathematics and a dedicated Comrade, shared with me how Balraj had walked into his house in February 1971 while on a campaign for Amarnath Vidyalankar for the Parliamentary elections. He was indeed overwhelmingly polite, without the slightest sign of any fuss or airs. Looking from the windows, he complimented Master Ji for the blessings of sun light and green trees and quiet atmosphere around his home, the real luxuries mostly denied to him in big city. It was an uphill task how to escort Balraj to the venue of public meeting, without the crowds taking him a hostage on the roads. Instead of Master Ji, as asked for by Balraj, guarding him against milling crowds, it was Balraj who had to help in tracing Master Ji on the way to the venue of his speech! My Guru in Foreign Service, another 'Pindian Sahni' who has been living for decades in the city would certainly have many more authentic anecdotes of the darling magician of the masses, Balraj. The centuries have to await when the angelic human beings, like Balraj, visit the planet earth ... the world indeed remembers you most sincerely, Balraj, on your 100th birthday!!

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Further links:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balraj_Sahni
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0756379/ 
• Balraj Sahni’s Convocation Address at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1972
• Balraj Sahni Autobiography
• WorldCat book list of author Balraj Sahni
• http://anuradhawarrier.blogspot.in/2011/04/greats-balraj-sahni.html

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A Memorable Literary Festival

Dr S. Tarsem being honored by Ambassador Bal Anand with a special commemorative Cap bearing prints of autographs of national leaders and a Red Shirt with insiginia, 'lover of books'

A well attended literary event was organised on 24th March in Barnala by the various Writers' bodies and the Punjab Welfare Association for the Blind to felicitate and honor eminent Punjabi writer and scholar Dr S. Tarsem on his 70th birth day.

Identity, a popular cultural monthly published from Chandigarh, had carried my article of tribute in its issue of last December dwelling on the sterling and versatile contribution of Dr Tarsem as a popular poet, a respected scholar-critic and a forceful prose writer.

Dr Tarsem has been conferred many prestigious awards as an inspiring professor and for his high quality literary output in spite of being visually challenged. Dr Tarsem's large circle of friends from the literary community and admirers from all walks of life including high dignitaries thronged to the spacious Green Palace in the city of Barnala famous for the historic tradition of literary activities by energetic and progressive local Sahit Sabhas since the PEPSU times. The city is once again proud to be the District Headquarters.

The highlight of the function was the release of the 450 page Abhinandan Granth - The book of honor - titled, "Dr S.Tarsem, Sangharash te Sirjana - the Struggle and Creativity”, edited by Mitter Sain Meet. The quality publication is indeed a collector’s item with 64 additional pages in color depicting the milestones of Tarsem's life and virtually the 'Who is Who' of Punjabi literature including all those who have contributed articles on his many faceted personality. Identity feels proud that its December issue article has been given the pride of place at number one in 104 learned articles.

The occasion was also utilised to release the Hindi edition of Tarsem's celebrated autobiography, 'Dhritrashtra' published by National Book Trust of India. Six other writers were also honored by various   Memorial Literary Trusts. The atmosphere at the function - a veritable Sahit Mela - was indeed so perfectly enjoyable for the writers, lovers of literature and cultural activists.

Friends and admirers of Tarsem Ji, salute him once again and wish him a good health and many more vigorous years of profound literary creativity, of love of humanity and 'living life like a light house'!

The SAARC Pilgrims’ Progress - in the Taj City

“Let governments keep playing devious political games;

Allow all diplomats to craft tons of cunningly noble documents;

Let us - we, the poets, painters, musicians, dancers and dreamers -

Come forward to celebrate Love of creativity in humanity ...”

It was indeed the above passionate inner awakening - adopted as a resolution at the SAARC Writers Conference in April 2000 - which became the motivational mechanism for ‘an immaculate conception’ of the noble idea resulting in the ‘natural birth’ of Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL). The chosen person by the Destiny of SAARC for the instrumentality of this challenging task was the steel-willed Ajeet Caur - born (in 1934) in legendary Lahore, with her new nest in New Delhi. She had been cherishing for years the dream of a forum of friendship for all the writers and artists who had been desperately ‘dying’ to come together in friendship and goodwill and restore the disrupted emotional human bonds of the civilizational harmony of South Asia. 

Ajeet Caur, a powerful voice in Punjabi literature and a formidable activist for legitimate cultural causes, had known how to persist and push in the intricate corridors of bureaucratic and political power for opening the windows of opportunities for the writers and artists of South Asia to chirp together. To quote her, “Times were turbulent in the SAARC region... Peace in these disturbed times is always a mad dream... (but her endeavors) grew into a full-fledged movement over the years, maturing into the first ever SAARC Writers Conference in April 2000... laying the foundation of cultural connectivity through interaction of creative minds and paving way for understanding and respecting the ‘otherness’ of others... FOSWAL was elevated to Apex Body at SAARC at the Summit in January 2002.” 

Thanks to the lifelong commitment, vision and devotion of Ajeet Caur - honored with Padma Shri for her role - FOSWAL has admirably organized - in India and other SAARC countries - 42 Major cultural and literary festivals. The themes have included the seminal subjects of Buddhism, Sufism, Folklore, gender-bending, environment, etc., inviting eminent and promising writers, artists and activists of different persuasions. The medium of films, theatre, visual / performing arts have also been promoted. An ambitious program of translations and publishing of anthologies of poetry and other categories of literature in the eight SAARC countries has been a great success. The quarterly SAARC journal Beyond Borders has earned a great reputation for the range and quality of its contents. Meanwhile the FOSWAL has kept commissioning eminent scholars to edit region, language, topic and literary genre specific anthologies of writings from all the SAARC countries. The SAARC Library of Literature is another pioneering effort of FOSWAL.

The Festival of SAARC literature held in Agra on 10-12 March, 2013 has carried forward the tradition of high quality manifestations of mutual appreciation of cultural and literary traditions. The theme of the conference was - ‘The Articulation of Environmental and Ecological Concerns in Contemporary South Asian Literature’ - the countries were well represented with distinguished delegates from Afghanistan(12); Bangladesh(10); Bhutan(6); India(60); Maldives(2); Nepal(14); Pakistan(25) and  Sri Lanka(10). The Conference was inaugurated by Dr Suresh K. Goel, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations preceded by a thought provoking welcome address by Ajeet Caur Ji. Three books including an epic novel by Dr Abdaal Bela of Pakistan were released and 12 prominent participating writers were honored. There were six sessions for presentations of scholarly papers; two sessions of recitation of poetry and captivating performances of folk songs/dances by Pakistani  (Fakiri/Malangs) and Indian (Baul/Odissi) artists.  

It was a great delight and instruction for me to participate in this conference. I had earlier attended the   similar SAARC Conference on Sufism held in Bhopal in November 2011. It is indeed always a rewarding experience to meet and interact on such occasions with so many talented persons from the neighborhood of India. It was a special pleasure to discuss in Agra many matters of mutual interest with delegates from Maldives and Pakistan where I had been posted to represent India. It is natural to look back - after decades - and feel nostalgic about people and places one had known so intimately - and affectionately too! The details of location and owner of the house namely ‘Odessa’ in which I had lived Maldives in 1978-80 was known to the extremely popular Maldivian delegate, Ibrahim Wahid, Commissioner, Election Commission, who is an eminent intellectual and musician. The conversations with eminent novelist, Dr Abdaal Bela and Peace activist-philosopher, Nisar Chaudhary brought back touching memories many eminent friends in Pakistan - the late poet Ahmed Faraz; elderly politician Mian Gul Auranzeb (Wali of Sawat and son-in-law of President Ayub Khan); champion of Indo-Pak friendship writer Fakhar Zaman and other distinguished artists who would be equally admired in India. 

I was assigned the duty of chairing the second session after the inauguration involving the presentation of academic papers on the theme of the Conference - ‘Environmental and Ecological Concerns in Literature’. Prof. Samantha Herath of Sri Lanka and Dr Sudipto Chattopadhyay presented extremely competent papers along with several other participants. Chattopadhyay quoted Tagore, “Looking at the grass-covered quivering earth / in the new light of the harvest month... I search my soul...”. The poet from (land-locked) Nepal, Momila (B.1967) celebrated Himalaya and the rivers in her poetry, “My life is a life of river / calling for open seas. / Your song is song of river/ calling for open seas.” It was nice to meet the young Punjabi poet Gurprit; the celebrated Surjit Patar and Dr Kewal Dhir who added hue of Punjab in this colorful cultural festival. Distinguished poet - diplomat Abhay K., presently posted in Kathmandu, recited his recent poems dwelling on the subtle themes of nature.

The most impressively colorful and the most soulfully committed caravan of SAARC - consisting of its conscience keepers, community of its writers and artists - chose to meet and deliberate in the historic city situated on the legendary Yamuna. It is known the world over for Emperor Akbar’s visionary concept of ‘Sulahe Kul - Understanding among All’ and his grand-son Shah Jahan’s monument of eternal love. They all had prayers on their lips and noble thoughts in their minds for the lasting peace and prosperity of people of South Asia representing a quarter of humanity and concentrated in just four percent piece of land of planet earth!