Writer interacts with students about migration

The Head of the School of Punjabi Studies at Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Manjinder Singh, recently led an interactive session with Punjabi writer Piara Singh Kuddowal.

Singh, while introducing the writer, said the theme of the interaction — migration — is not only a physical phenomenon, but a psychological one.

He said Kuddowal was a renowned expatriate Punjabi writer. “His works paint a vivid picture of the life experiences of Punjabi expatriates living abroad,” he said.

Kuddowal said, having been immersed in rural life, he had been “in love” with Punjabi literature from the beginning.

“The purpose of my life is to spread Punjabi literature on a global level. I started teaching with a school in Thailand in 1985. After that, I spent some time in America and, currently, I work in Canada, educating young minds about literature,” he said.

He wrote his first book, ‘Samyan to Paar’, during the Iraq war.

He said there was a need to look beyond the “single”, traditional parameters of historical events — such as the Partition.

Poems recited by him enchanted the audience.

Baljit Kaur Riar said Kuddowal was the first storyteller to adapt untouched topics pertaining to international issues into Punjabi literature, which had broadened its thematic scope.