Leave No Grain for Tomorrow

Farzana,
I`m curious about where you got the notion that Imroz is a Pakistani. I googled him and realized that you probably made that up considering that his name is Muslim. I found a couple of articles that say that Imroz was a clean-shaven Sikh and that is definitely true because he was a friend of my late grandfather, and I`ve heard some of their stories. So, I hope you will correct that before other readers start believing that.
Annie.

very subtle..and smooth flowing like a persian film..little said..much conveyed and even more to be pondered upon..

kudos..*standing..*

Ref#40 [if you look closely, all cribbing about `zulm` arises out of a Romantic need for order in chaos.]

Dear Farzana

Bholay Naath will not agree with. He represents the disorder and is quite romantic dude. He is so romantic that his thingy is given a prominent position in every temple but he does not crib or talk about zulm etfc. He dances. He has sex. He eke out pretty decent existence.

As Heeranand Sachidanand Vatsayan Ageyey has said in his poem

Voh rogi hon ge, prem jinhe anubhav ras ka kattu pyala hai
Voh murday hon ge, prem jinhe sammohan kaari haala hai

Mainay vidagdh ho jan liya, antim rahasya pechaan liya
Mainay ahuti ban kar dekha hai, yeh prem yagya ki jwala hai


Dear Frazan, there is no cribbing, crying in healthy love and romance. Where there is supressed sexuality involved there you can talk about zulm, crying in love and romamnce.

FarzanaVersey #40 {``I was wondering whether I`d have to spend the rest of my writing life penning articles and poems in poorbhi... ``}

Farzana,
Please don`t. :) As it is, my bill from the Lallo Prasad Poorbhi Translessun Serbis in Patna is way over budget. I am crying ``uncle!``

swarrier, zeena:

Thanks for clarifying about `Oedipal` before I could do so...I was wonderign whetehr I`d have to spend the rest of my writing life penning articles and poems in poorbhi...

- - -

#33 by arstoo:

[Why this romantic article instead of the usual hindu/indian zulm stuff?]

Romanticism, in the classical sense, has a lot of `zulm` in it...and if you look closely, all cribbing about `zulm` arises out of a Romantic need for order in chaos.

- - -

ijaz_gul:

Could you please write to me at editorsATchowkDotcom?

Thanks...

And considering we have the boom-boom stuff on the upper board, yahaan veerani hi hogee...

#32 by arstoo

Just being pedantic it is Oedipus and not Oedipal. On the second thought you can say Oootpal and he is from Haryana and like any haryanvi he is also a maader???.}}}

Mr.arstoo

Oedipus and Oedipal are SYNONYMOUS. Oedipal is more correct to use in Psychiatirc terms in reference to sexuality theory. Thank you

#37
ijaz_gul sahib

Awesome, Poetry. WoW!!!

I can understadn Punjabi very well.

#31 by FarzanaVersey {``Salim_Chauhan:
...I do not see high maintenance in a negative light, for it comes with the responsibility of mostly being deserving of it! ...Eik to, humree umar ka lihaaj karo…hi bitya baatan koi chhokariya ko sunayee de. ...…humra to kaam logan ka raah dikhlayee ma hai…seedhi chaal ya tedhi chal, oo tuhaar pairan ki soch-samajh par biswaas ho…...``}

Farzana,
So, we are now deserving of high maintenance, are we? :)

Hum hamaisa tumhar lihaaj karat heN - baat umar ki ho yaa hunar ki. Humka maaf kar dejiyo hum tumka devi barabar samjhin. Aisa bhi nahi ke tumra ik per koi, khuda na khwasta, kabr maN howat he. Bas, humra ji chaahat he ke tuhaar humri raah bhitkartayee phiro aur humri kamar par, oooi susri ka kahat hen, haan backpack, paTakhdiyo. Tuhaar jaban poorbhiyaa maN bahut bahut meeThi howat he - hum tumre muN baat karne laaik hi nahiN. Tuhaar saamne humri koi jaat hi nahin.

That`s it, your advanced Poorbhi knowledge has tested the limits of my limited ability. Thanks.

Dear Readers,
I cannot resist.
In the early 1900s when new villages were established in Sargodha, my father’s family shifted there from East Punjab. Fed up with a step mother and village life, he ran away to Gujranwala.
He was taken in by the Padre of the Protestant Seminary there and got his early education there.
He had that talent for Punjabi, Urdu and Persian poetry. He was a familiar face in the Mushairas there and came across Amrita. Later he taught at Khalsa High School Sargodha and returned to Gujranwala after his marriage. My Ami Ji had memories of meeting Amrita there. He died in 1960 when I was a toddler.

There are many ways in which all of us can relate.

It’s sad that when this part of history was passed on to us, we were kids and never serious. Farzana’s article brings back all those memories and what they mean to us. As a tribute, lets recap that Famous Poem: -

aj aakhan Waris Shah nun, kiton kabraan vichchon bol,

te aj kitab-e-ishq daa koi agla varka phol

ik roi si dhi Punjab di, tun likh likh maare vaen,

aj lakhaan dhian rondian, tainun Waris Shah nun kaehn

uth dardmandaan dia dardia, uth takk apna Punjab

aj bele lashaan bichhiaan te lahu di bhari Chenab

kise panjan panian vichch ditti zehr ralaa

te unhaan paniian dharat nun ditta paani laa

is zarkhez zamin de lun lun phuttia zehr

gitth gitth charhiaan laalian fut fut charhiaa qehr

veh vallissi vha pher, van van vaggi jaa,

ohne har ik vans di vanjhali ditti naag banaa

pehlaa dang madaarian, mantar gaye guaach,

dooje dang di lagg gayi, jane khane nun laag

laagaan kile lok munh, bus phir dang hi dang,

palo pali Punjaab de, neele pae gaye ang

gale`on tutt`e geet phir, takaleon tuttii tand,

trinjanon tuttiaan saheliaan, charakhrre ghukar band

sane sej de beriaan, Luddan dittiaan rohr,

sane daliaan peengh aj, piplaan dittii tor

jitthe vajdi si phuuk pyaar di, ve oh vanjhali gayi guaach

Raanjhe de sab veer aj, bhul gaye uhadi jaach

dharti te lahoo varsiya, kabraan paiaan choan,

preet diaan shaahzaadiaan, aaj vichch mazaaraan roan

aj sabbhe Kaido` ban gaye, husn, ishq de chor

aj kitthon liaaiye labbh ke Waris Shah ik hor

aj aakhan Waris Shah nun, kiton kabraan vichchon bol,

te aj kitaab-e-ishq da, koi aglaa varka phol

Translation:

Today, I call Waris Shah, “Speak from your grave”

And turn, today, the book of love’s next affectionate page

Once, a daughter of Punjab cried and you wrote a wailing saga

Today, a million daughters, cry to you, Waris Shah

Rise! O’ narrator of the grieving; rise! look at your Punjab

Today, fields are lined with corpses, and blood fills the Chenab

Someone has mixed poison in the five rivers’ flow

Their deadly water is, now, irrigating our lands galore

This fertile land is sprouting, venom from every pore

The sky is turning red from endless cries of gore

The toxic forest wind, screams from inside its wake

Turning each flute’s bamboo-shoot, into a deadly snake

With the first snakebite; all charmers lost their spell

The second bite turned all and sundry, into snakes, as well

Drinking from this deadly stream, filling the land with bane

Slowly, Punjab’s limbs have turned black and blue, with pain

The street-songs have been silenced; cotton threads are snapped

Girls have left their playgroups; the spinning wheels are cracked

Our wedding beds are boats their logs have cast away

Our hanging swing, the Pipal tree has broken in disarray

Lost is the flute, which once, blew sounds of the heart

Ranjha’s brothers, today, no longer know this art

Blood rained on our shrines; drenching them to the core

Damsels of amour, today, sit crying at their door

Today everyone is, ‘Kaido;’ thieves of beauty and ardour

Where can we find, today, another Warish Shah, once more

Today, I call Waris Shah, “Speak from your grave”

And turn, today, the book of love’s next affectionate page

Courtesy ‘Daily Times’

Re: # 32
Dear Arstoo
To be even more pedantic..... Oedipal is, relating to, or characteristic of the Oedipus complex. However the expression ``Oedipal complex`` is an equally vaid term. -)

Farzana, 30

Most man-woman relationships suffer from an Oedipal/Elektra complex.

I don’t agree with “most” in this context. However deep buried in us and extraordinarily tabooed, Oedipal/Elektra complex is there. So, agree and disagree at the same time.

Such queries and the journey tell you a lot more than the plateau would.

Agree. The journey is the key, not the goal.

That is if you see defeat as defeat. I see it as a new beginning.

Defeated by another person is utterly unacceptable to me. I see defeat as defeat, not a new beginning, if “new beginning” for you is a “better person.”

Life is not always about defeats and victories. The rhetorical query is about how you have tasted life right from the stage of the aroma, or waited to bite into it…how well has it been ingested and digested…in the present context it is about freedom to choose your kind of life.

Lofty words, indeed! I think ALL are free. ALL choose their lives by their own volition. People’s life-style may not seem “free” to you, but they have chosen their kind of life. However, if certain kind of life is shoved down one’s throat by the society/state, then is it really the individual’s freedom of choice?

would you then say that each time we get an insight or enlightenment we become prisoners of it?

No, on the contrary. Satori is freedom. One does not realize one is in prison till enlightenment. Enlightenment sets you free, only then you can see the prison you were in.

Would you validate the ‘ignorance is bliss’ idea?

This entirely depends on what you mean by “ignorance,” and for whom.

What I meant was that she (the sun) wouldn’t imprison her own freedom (sunlight).

I knew I was taking “light is prisoner of sun” metaphor out of context of what you wrote, that’s why I did not quote the whole sentence. I found the metaphor very intriguing and found profundity in its opposite...a satori, if you will.

``No one has understood Narcissus better than a creative person. Spending most of one’s time with one’s own creation can turn the head of the most humble artist. Does the search not dwindle into a selfish exercise? ``

``Personalised writing, which Pritam had honed into a fine art, involves the readers totally. They embellish their own thoughts on the work. There is the danger of misinterpretation.``

I always thought in the same way about Amrita Pritam........during my youth she really captured my imagination......... I would see a punjabi girl and imagine her..........but realized that Amrita Pritam existed in her books only..............she had the narrative power to make you believe in the identity between what she created and what really was..........

Dear Farzana

Why this romantic article instead of the usual hindu/indian zulm stuff?

As Ghalib said it is not easy always to cry blood.

Aisa assan nahi lahoo rona
Dil me taqat, zigar me haal kahan

Ref#30

Dear Farzana

Just being pedantic it is Oedipus and not Oedipal. On the second thought you can say Oootpal and he is from Haryana and like any haryanvi he is also a maader???.

A bit of a digression:

#19 by Salim_Chauhan:

[You said ``High maintenance!`` I didn`t. But then you want me to carry your backpack! :)]

You accused me of wanting the reader to travel a certain path because I felt a certain way. I played along…which is where the backpack metaphor came in.

I do not see high maintenance in a negative light, for it comes with the responsibility of mostly being deserving of it!

[Bitya, kyoon humka sataat ho? Hum tumhar likhaan PaRhaan par fida hogave to tum humre sar pe apna bojh patakhdiat ho.]

Eik to, humree umar ka lihaaj karo…hi bitya baatan koi chhokariya ko sunayee de. Aur likhan-parhan ki baat nikaal hi diye ho to maathey par darad ho ke bojh, baat to kaunu bhoosey ki naahin. To uthayee do ya patkayee do, tumra hi bedva paar howat ya nuksaan…humra to kaam logan ka raah dikhlayee ma hai…seedhi chaal ya tedhi chal, oo tuhaar pairan ki soch-samajh par biswaas ho…hamra biswaas todan ki jurrat ki to tentwaaN dabayee diye.

#25 by Zeena:

Thanks for understanding. Besides, I cannot compete with Mariah Carey or Nike shoes :)

More about that thread and other related things in my ilog later…

I am truly touched that some people found a ‘connectivity’. It means a lot…especially given my pugnacious political reputation!

Nasah saab:

If you recollect on my Ismat Chugtai vs. Taslima Nasreen board I had mentioned this meeting and you had prodded me to share. Itney dinoun se aankh bharey hue liye ghoom rahe hai…
- - -
#21 by Godot:

Some of the sentences you pointed out are mine, some by Amrita Pritam and one by Imroz. I shall clarify mine and stick my neck out and conjecture about the other two…after all, interpretation is as exciting as expression…

[“There can be no one else…no one…you are my daughter….I your son.” (Imroz)

Is that uttered by a lover? If yes, then is the taboo of incest been broken? You say you realized what it meant. What does that mean if incest is not implied?]

Most man-woman relationships suffer from an Oedipal/Elektra complex. Not quite in the literal sense, but when you are removed from a ‘structured’ environment into a relationship, the mimicking of role-playing would not be uncommon.

I understood it because he was initially supported by Amrita (‘the son’) and later tended to her needs (‘the daughter’).

[“Why does it happen that after the hard climb there is always the plateau, so placid that you wonder whether the effort was worth it?” (FV)

Depends on what that plateau is. Isn’t it wise to figure-out the plateau before you spend the effort climbing it, to know the goal before you struggle to get there?]

Even if you know the goal beforehand, the hard climb may change your perspective towards it – how many falls did you have, did you run out of oxygen, did you ever want to return? Such queries and the journey tell you a lot more than the plateau would. On still ground, besides wiping the perspiration, there might not be much left to ‘conquer’.

[“Victory and defeat are problem words. To be a winner you have to defeat someone” (Amrita Pritam)

These are, in fact, sublime words. The only person to be defeated by you is you.]

That is if you see defeat as defeat. I see it as a new beginning.

[“How does one know that a person has tasted life?” (FV)

When you have defeated and claimed victory over yourself.]

Life is not always about defeats and victories. The rhetorical query is about how you have tasted life right from the stage of the aroma, or waited to bite into it…how well has it been ingested and digested…in the present context it is about freedom to choose your kind of life.

[“sunlight is the prisoner of the sun.” (FV)

On the contrary. It’s the sun that is the prisoner of light.]

My full sentence was, “You couldn’t question Amrita Pritam’s freedom. Just as you wouldn’t ask whether sunlight is the prisoner of the sun.”

What I meant was that she (the sun) wouldn’t imprison her own freedom (sunlight).

However, to take your argument, I would like to twist it a bit: would you then say that each time we get an insight or enlightenment we become prisoners of it? Would you validate the ‘ignorance is bliss’ idea?

PS: Your translations are here and these add to Chowk. Thanks for the engaging queries.
- - -

#20 by drlokraj:

Agreed that the Sahitya and other awards work on a sifarish hierarchy and Amrita Pritam might have been a part of it…but sometimes being mother-goddess make you believe in the genuineness of devotees.
- - -

#29 by ijaz_gul:

[I grasped what you were attempting to lay open, but yet missed pieces till I read and re read. Phrases are to be picked and then linked. Some background knowledge of History, partition and lives of those involved is essential.]

I have often been accused of obtuseness, and sometimes rightly so. But I do feel that all of us should find our linkages with the piece of literature as well as how it has been ‘read’. I agree that background knowledge is essential, but besides ‘physical’ history, there is the history of one’s own psyche and how we perceive that history.

What I was struck by in your post is that both your father and I have been moved to tears by the same person…despite our different histories.

Finding linkages in the ether happens perchance…

Farzana,
I feel humbled. The point is that having read Amrita and listened many times over to her ` Aaj Akhan Waris Shah Noon` sung by Inayat Hussain Bhatti, I grasped what you were attempting to lay open, but yet missed pieces till I read and re read. Phrases are to be picked and then linked. Some backround knowledge of History, partition and lives of those involved is essential.

I feel, lots of comments on such essays come without much of comprehension. These are pieces of literature and one could write volumes.

By the way, my father and Amrita met many times. My mother told me that when Enayat Hussain Bhatti sang Aaj Akhan Waris Shah Noon, my father had to fight tears. We still have that 78RPM record.

Cheerios

Collection of beautiful expressions.... Farzana.... conjures fond memories....
Life is truly an amazing journey...

Anil

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FV
I have a quote for your article..........Amrita is dead now(I guess??). But if she would have read your article .........I am sure she would have been flattered................

Like I say, I am flattered that you are flattered.

What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering`` George Bernard Shaw.

Take care...........

PS:-I apologize for posting your article`s appreciation thread on Un Plugged. I will restrict my Front Page articles analysis, criticism and appreciation to FP boards only. You won`t even find them in my I-logs.

Thanks for your feedback.

Amrita pritam did have very romantic life style, but as for her writing she was an ordinary writer. I fully agree withKhushwant Singh on this.

``..In 1947, people were ready to migrate for the adopted countries out of ancestoral lands..``

mostly poor and or fanatical muslims......who had illusion of a Islamic utopia...

The rest - most muslims, hindus and sikhs.....never game a damn about Pakistan or partition.....tell that to a refugee on either side of the border.....who lost life, limb or family....and s/he will curse you to hell......

regarding the two girls......either they are getting attention......or they are bewakoof.....or they are too ugly to get a match in India.....

AMRITA PRITAM`S RASEEDI TICKET - BIOGRAPHY

It is interesting.

Farzana

You have written sentences in this piece for which I have some thoughts:

“There can be no one else…no one…you are my daughter….I your son.”

Is that uttered by a lover? If yes, then is the taboo of incest been broken? You say you realized what it meant. What does that mean if incest is not implied?

Why does it happen that after the hard climb there is always the plateau, so placid that you wonder whether the effort was worth it?

Depends on what that plateau is. Isn’t it wise to figure-out the plateau before you spend the effort climbing it, to know the goal before you struggle to get there?

“Victory and defeat are problem words. To be a winner you have to defeat someone

These are, in fact, sublime words. The only person to be defeated by you is you.

”How does one know that a person has tasted life?”

When you have defeated and claimed victory over yourself.

sunlight is the prisoner of the sun.

On the contrary. It’s the sun that is the prisoner of light.

PS: I did translate Amrita Pritam’s Thekhana, a story which I liked a lot, for Chowk as Basement, without really knowing anything about her. Thanks for introducing her to me.

Farzana ji
#17
Providing a lauching pad to many new writers who are now front line story writers of punjabi is probably Amrita`s greatest contribution to literature. Being liberal and secular to the core were other attributes so dear about her, and she refused to succumb to any pressures. her say in the power circles was sometimes worrying for the genuine writers and her admirers as some undeserving people did receive Sahitya Academi awards because of her.

FarzanaVersey #18, {``High maintenance! Seriously, I would like the reader to travel on his/her journey carrying my backpack ...``}

Farzana,
You said ``High maintenance!`` I didn`t. But then you want me to carry your backpack! :)

Bitya, kyoon humka sataat ho? Hum tumhar likhaan PaRhaan par fida hogave to tum humre sar pe apna bojh patakhdiat ho.

Ferzy our Amrita Pritam of prose of pathos.....this is your masterpiece -- read it and re read it -- each and every word of it from the beginnign to the end with moist blurry eyes.......

I have already stated that a lot has been written about Amrita, but I am sure not many here have had the opportunity of meeting her. I could unfortunately not pay a tribute to her earlier since I was travelling and when I read the recent news report of cross-border lovers, Imroz and her name immediately came to mind…I have had to depend on English translations of her work and the first time I heard her she did recite her poem in Hindi…I was entranced right then. Therefore I am no expert on her work and this piece makes no such claims.

Thank you for the kind words…
- - -
#1 by ijaz_gul:

As I said it was in a way a response to the two Indian girls trying to cross the border…

[But there remains a paradox. In 1947, people were ready to migrate for the adopted countries out of ancestoral lands. In these cyber love affairs, its the other way round.

So what has changed? Why do people fall for mysteries. Is it the innate sense of facing a challenge or is it the mystifying, `whats behind the curtain` or yet a rebellion of sorts?]

Mysteries – like bhool-bhulaiyyas – suck you in their vortex the moment you take one step towards them. Satiating curiosity is also a challenge. Often, even if the end product is far from mysterious, the sense of rebellion may want one to stick one’s neck out.

PS: I am sorry that I do not fit into the speed-reading net habits, but if people can chat for hours – and then fall in love – a little bit of time can be invested. I agree, it could be also wasted, but nothing ever is, in my opinion.
- - -

#8 by Salim_Chauhan:

[you come up with these philosophical gems that leave me completely at unease - laboring with intensity to understand the multiple paths that you want us to travel only because you feel a certain way]

High maintenance! Seriously, I would like the reader to travel on his/her journey carrying my backpack, so to speak…what they see on the way, where they decide to stop, and the pace is all theirs.
- - -

#9 by Zeena:

[This article leaves me with the sense that both you as a writer of this article and the main character of this article have a sure touch and empathy, but not sentimental style.......]

Let me elaborate: I do feel a strong sense of oneness with Amrita Pritam’s persona, as I have with Anais Nin…that is the reason her translations are enough. I do believe that her autobiography did her no justice, at least the English translation.

And you are right about using he term ‘character’ to describe her…she wasn’t a personality; she was many people…which is why there is such empathy.
- - -
#16 by drlokraj:

[Reason for Amrita`s fame were not her writings alone....more than that it was her life style, proximity to figures like Indira, numerous affairs, her magazine Naagmani which was responsible for providing platform to so many new writers, weight of her recommendations for Sahita Academi awards and drooling of many prominent punjabi writers of that time]

An interesting life lived on the edge has as much influence over people as words. I see no reason why a strong woman who has “drooling” fans ought to be castigated. Amrita Shergill, the painter, suffered from the same fate of being not taken seriously. You agree that Pritam provided a platform to young writers…as for her numerous affairs, she might not have been able to write a lot of the way she did had she not gone through the experiences.

A sadhu sleeping on a bed of thorns is sanctified; a woman – or any ordinary person – being tested in life is dismissed off cursorily.

[Her contemporary Mahasweta Devi was and is comparatively much better writer, but has never been that popular with the media and press.]

Mahasweta’s works have a strong political content which puts her in a different category. E.g. she would be feted by Naxalites and tribals, for she was an activist. Amrita Pritam’s ‘activism’ was to seek an internalised order in the chaos of small personal lives, including her own.

Reason for Amrita`s fame were not her writings alone....more than that it was her life style, proximity to figures like Indira, numerous affairs, her magazine Naagmani which was responsible for providing platform to so many new writers, weight of her recommendations for Sahita Academi awards and drooling of many prominent punjabi writers of that time after her starting with none other than Prof. Mohan Singh.

As Kaura said, ``ajj aakhaan waris shah nu`` remains her most popular(may be best) creative work.

Her contemporary Mahasweta Devi was and is comparatively much better writer, but has never been that popular with the media and press.

First chapter of her auto biography ``Revenue Stamp`` is available at :
http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/amrita-biography/

Few links to short stories by Amrita Pritam
http://www.littlemag.com/jan-feb01/amrita.html
http://www.littlemag.com/belonging/amrita.html
http://www.sikh-history.com/literature/stories/kerosene.html
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sangat/SANG0198.htm#Waris

And on chowk the repeat of her poem ``waris shah nu`` along with user interacts
http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005129&channel=leafyglade%20inn

Re: # 12 ``we don`t derserve her among us..``

Well Zeena since FV aunty is not retiring anytime soon. Perhaps it`s time for you to say buh-bye...

RE:- #8

Salim sahib
Can`t agree more........We are on the same page......

Yes, FV is the best thing that has happened to chowk.com.

Some times I wonder, we don`t deserve her among us. She surely is a high caliber writer.

FV,

I loved this one!

Not being familiar with the people involved,

this life-story still somehow touches the heart.


Ras

On side note:-
This article gives me the feeling of a fine embroidery which is excellently crafted with beautifully controlled meaning and emotions in such a compact and constricted way that is based on a plot driven and character driven both at the same time which is ultimately style driven....................

Farzana
Let me be honest with you here. I do not know anything about Amrita Pritam`s name or works prior to reading this article.
After reading your article, I felt the depth of Amrita Pritam`s character and her connections to other characters of your article. Sort of touchy feely...............
Your sophisticated and beautifully written article reminds me of Farzana versey, a writer who is at the pinnacle of her maturity and unique style......

You have achieved that climax of a writer who is joy to read for the least literal person like myself. I must applaud your talent by saying, this article of yours is very much worth reading for each and every one of us.

This article leaves me with the sense that both you as a writer of this article and the main character of this article have a sure touch and empathy, but not sentimental style.......

For those who love complex characters mixed with splendid and intelligent aroma this article will be a special delight to read , re read and re read, till they feel that they are themselves the actual characters of this article....................

Farzana Versey, {``It takes a kind of courage to admit that someone can overwhelm you without in any way taking away from you.``}


Farzana,
Beautifully written - almost every sentence needs to be read over and over and over to grasp the full meaning. That is the talent you have. Sometimes, when you are describing something you are so clear that one can transform your article into a manual. Just when I have your style figured out, you come up with these philosophical gems that leave me completely at unease - laboring with intensity to understand the multiple paths that you want us to travel only because you feel a certain way.

I had never heard of Amrita Pritam. Your article compelled me to read up about her and discover this wonderful woman from GujranWala, one of my favorite places in Pakistan. Amrita Kaur turned into Amrita Pritam and said:

``When I moved into your bed
I was not alone — there were two of us
A married woman and a virgin
To sleep with you.
I had to for the virgin in me
I did so
This slaughter is permissible in law
Not the indignity of it
And I bore the onslaught of insult.

Thank you, Farzana for this wonderful article. :)

She was an emotional person....her heart ruled her destiny.....she couldn`t bear the trauma of partition......the memories were too gruesome - she never visitedher childhood homes.

Her claim to fame is ``Aj aakhaan Waris Shah noo.`` - amoving poem about the plight of women during partition.......

the other stories i`ve read are mediocre in comparison......

like another artists, she thought with her heart and lived in lala land....of utopia.....or imagination......

in real world, tuths and realities are bitter; she shouldn`t judge her father`s actions of keeping separate tumblers............An article will come by KS Mitha on this issue....

Re: # 4
Huh. If u have a complex don`t blame it on me.

What is wrong with this observation ?

The human mind prospers and `dares` to think out of box - only when it understands that
its primary concern (to stay alive / no harm to near ones) is guaranteed.... Otherwise it will
jusr do what it believes is safe enough.

All this freakin art house talk does not change that reality.

Those girls wud not have dared to go to Wagah; and then feel safe enough to go back to family
had their been a guillotine over their head.

Farzana:
Interesting article.
Though on a foot-note side in fine print; Amrita has been covered zillion times on Chowk UP.

PS: It seems that you are using her titles from English translations. Is her work translated into English?

wiseguy, you undid it all with your hate agenda. Still?
Cheerios to you

wiseguy, you undid it all with your hate agenda. Still?
Cheerios to you

Re: # 1
> Why do people fall for mysteries. ...
because the threat of beheadings and honour killings is not there....

Good! as the news of two Indian Girls trying to cross into Pakistan made headlines.

There are still so many stories to tell. Many were told by Amrita, Bedi, Minto, A Hameed, Krishan Chander and even Rushdie in his Midnight`s Children. Many more will take birth because of the virtual world the internet creates.

But there remains a paradox. In 1947, people were ready to migrate for the adopted countries out of ancestoral lands. In these cyber love affairs, its the other way round.

So what has changed? Why do people fall for mysteries. Is it the innate sense of facing a challenge or is it the mystifying, `whats behind the curtain` or yet a rebellion of sorts?

Cheerios