Amritsar wants own annual literary festival

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, November 29

After the government decided to host Military Literature Festival here the next year, demand has grown to host an annual literary festival on the lines of Jaipur Literature Festival in the holy city every year. The city of Golden Temple has a long literary legacy starting from the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Eminent writers like Saadat Hasan Manto, Bhai Veer Singh, Prof Sahib Singh, Nanak Singh, Gurbaksh Singh Preetlari, Dhani Ram Chatrik, Mulk Raj Anand, Maula Baksh, Mohinder Singh Sarna and Pritam Singh contributed a lot to literature. The next generation — Prof Puran Singh, Kulbir Singh Kang, Principal Sujan Singh, SS Anmol, Gurcharan Singh Talib and Parminderjit — were established and celebrated writers.

There are several writers and art activists in Amritsar, including Jatinder Brar, Jagdish Sachdeva, Kewal Dhaliwal, Kamal, Daveser, Atinder Sandhu and Dr Daljit Singh who have been doing well. An eminent novelist and critic, Joginder Singh Kairon has authored 36 books, including five novels, six critical essays, four biographies and several others, on folklore. Besides, several literary magazines are being published from the city.

The city has good literary treasure in the form of two public libraries which are being run by the district administration and the Municipal Corporation, respectively. Besides, the sprawling green space and old world charm of the 200-year-old Bhai Vir Singh Niwas Sthan houses a library with over 4,000 books on Sikh history, general topics, poetry and short stories.

Charanjit Singh Gumtala of Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha said, “Punjabi literature has a treasure trove of nationalist literature created before India gained independence and post-Partition literature highlighting the trauma of people who underwent excesses committed during the Partition.”

Deep Davinder Singh, a short story writer, also endorsed the demand for hosting a literary festival in the city.