Punjabi literature, on a new note

Jasmine Singh

At the most, you can expect a youngster to dish out random names like Heer Ranjha, Waris Shah, Sohni Mahiwal, Nanak Singh, Amrita Pritam, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Sant Singh Sekhon... in no chronological order, whatsoever, when asked about their nearness to Punjabi literature.

Youngsters of the region, and the Tricity wouldn’t care much about literature, and Punjabi literature is definitely Greek that we are talking in. Seasoned Punjabi writers, who have always been a mirror to society, have had some difficulty getting past youngsters, who would rather listen Ek Kudi Jida Naam hai Mohabaat in Bollywood film Udta Punjab then read who the actual person behind the song was.

So, are the popular Punjabi writers now flowing the young current, are they penning thoughts of present scenario or is this a task they have left for the new Punjabi writers on the block to fulfil!

Turn the page

Seasoned Punjabi writers have always tried to soak their pen in the ink of present or future, taking notes from the past, and now... Modern critic and a well-known name in Punjabi literature , Tejwant Singh Gill shares how historical situations determine a writer’s bend. “Earlier my writings would talk more about the style, technique but now it has moved towards political orientation. For instance, now I am looking at the samaghams taking place in Punjab, and all have a strong political under current,” shares the writer, who feels that it is the political literature that will get the youth to understand the current situation taking them back and forth in time.

If it is about establishing a youth-connect, then Surjit Patar is certainly one writer whose name tops the chart. One wonders, however, if his writings have taken a modern flow.

The writer laughs lightly, “I have written for children, but adolescents... .” At the same time, Surjit Patar has been a part of many new introductions, “Firstly, all our literary programmes are held in colleges, secondly, we introduced a competition where youngsters would have to write prose on the topic Badal reha. We have also organised a Vidyarthi Sahetya Utsav where young students below the age of 25 are asked to write poetry.” Patar, however, also thinks that literature at all times has the capacity to establish a connect since contradictions of life are always the same.

Yet another director, playwright, Sahib Singh has always kept pace with the present times. Sahib Singh ensures that all the plays that he writes should have a youth-connect. “Two years back, I wrote a play on Gadar Movement, which happened 100 years back. So, I consciously related the play to youth of today. This is the change that as a playwright I have brought in my works over time.” Not only in writings alone Sahib Singh feels the need to bring about a change in the language that literary people use. “Youngsters don’t speak grammatically correct English, Hindi or Punjabi, so we should use such words that they can understand easily.”

The new season

Off late, many new Punjabi writers are trying to catch the pulse of the present times highlighting various issues and problems that the youth and society at large are dealing with. Eminent Punjabi playwright Swarajbir, for instance, stands with the progressive movement, be it in his poems or plays. His recent play Tasveeran captures the life of urban women. “Earlier, I had mostly written keeping the rural touch, Tasveeran is an urban story of three urban women finding meaning of relationships in their lives,” shares Swarajbir. The current crop of Punjabi writers is picking themes that youngsters can relate to, in a way getting them to dive into Punjabi literature, at the same time, they still believe that literature always has the element of relate-ability true to all generations!

Coming of age 

Jasbeer Mand is one writer whose book Bol Mardania has gone into fourth publication. Jasbeer comes from an agricultural background with dedicated ten years to farming, also a time when he wrote two novels, out of which Aurh  De Beej gave him popularity, and is also counted among the ten best reads in Punjabi. Jasbeer later moved to Japan, and stayed there for twenty years, to come back and write two more books Khaaj and Bol Mardania. “Bol Mardania holds more relevance in today’s time, the book provides a dialogue between Baba Nanak and Mardana, their unique friendship and how while travelling the enriching experiences had an effect, something the youngsters will be able to understand.”

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