Sahitya Akademi awardee addresses GNDU students
Guru Nanak Dev University’s School of Punjabi Studies and Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, and Head of School of Punjabi Studies Dr Manjinder Singh, organized an interaction event with renowned writer and researcher of the Punjabi literature, Prof Kirpal Kazhak. The event was moderated by renowned historian Dr Rajkumar Hans (former professor and head, Department of History, Maharaja Sia Ji Rao University, Baroda, Gujarat).
Dr Manjinder Singh, head, School of Punjabi Studies, GNDU, said Kazhak is a writer, who reaches from the mind to the soul. “His research works are a source of inspiration and valuable guidelines for young researchers,” he said.
Dr Rajkumar Hans, a scholar associated with Dalit consciousness, apart from being an expert in history, has been working on historiography of the Punjabi literature from a new perspective. Kirpal Kazhak, while addressing the audience, shared how the writer overcomes the dark period of his life through the medium of literature.
He said the status of a guru is supreme. “At a young age, my first Guru, my father, introduced me to the masterpieces of world literature. Self-reliance, interdisciplinary studies and the ability to convert weakness into strength were inherited from my family,” he said.
Addressing the budding writers, he said it is also very important for the writer’s consciousness to develop with time. He also provided interesting information to the audience about his field research work of 22 tribes of India.
Karzak has so far written over 50 books, including short stories, novels, plays and celebrated research on tribes of India. He is known as Punjab’s Verrier Elwin, a world-famous anthropologist, ethnologist and a tribal activist, who, though born in the UK, spent his entire life in India, doing research on Indian tribes and writing various books about India. Prof Kazak has also written scripts of dozens of telefilms, both in Punjabi and Hindi, and documentaries.
Set to turn 80 early next year, he has got two dozen awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award for his short stories book, ‘Antheen’ (endless).
