Bordernama: A real story of cross-border love affair

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 12

The idea of penning his cross-border love affair dawned on Nirmal Singh Nimma Langah in 1995, but no publisher wanted to publish it due to fear of security agencies.

Now, the 54-year-old writer has finally written his real-life story in his autobiography-cum-novel “Hind-Pak Bordernama” released at the Punjabi Bhawan recently.

Nimma, a native of Langah village near the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur district, used to cross the border for Nasima Beghum, a Pakistani woman in the early ‘80s.

Talking about his novel he said: “I was studying MA Punjabi at the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, in 1980 and got influenced from the Naxalite movement going on in state. I used to write songs and poems as well. Meanwhile, I once had a dream to visit West Punjab (Pakistani Punjab). I expressed my desire to several literary and influential personalities in Amritsar but no one helped me. Finally, I took the help of smugglers, who used to cross the border in routine.”

“I had read about historical places such as Lahore fort, Heera Mandi Lahore, Tomb of Heer, Majaar of Baba Bule Sah and other such places in my text and wanted to visit these places. I also wanted to meet literary personalities. But in the company of smugglers I met a renowned smuggler in Pakistan territory near Narowal, a Pakistani town. While residing at his home, I met his sister Naseema Begum. She used to study at a college in Sialkot (Pakistan) and seemed interested in knowing about East Punjab and Delhi,” he said.

According to Nimma, his love affair with Naseema started in 1981 and continued till his arrest by Pakistani security agencies after two-and-a-half years.

Nimma claimed to cross the border several times and once Naseema, too, visited the East Punjab and Delhi by crossing the border from the same route, he said.

Nimma said his girlfriend fought for him and even arranged Rs 4 lakh to get him released. He visited Pakistan in 1986 to meet Naseema for the last time and after barbed wires were installed at the border in 1988, he never ever met her.

“Once I told my story to renowned story writer Gurbachan Singh Bhullar. He advised me to write a novel. I started writing in 1995, but no publisher wanted to publish it due to fear of security agencies. Earlier, it was published as a novelette and readers and critics gave a good response. I was not involved in smuggling or spying so I don’t have any fear. I then wrote my story in detail,” he said.