Amrita Pritam, RIP

[surjit singh]

Hi RMIMers:

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=332456

[irfan]

A great writer. May God rest her soul in eternal peace.
One of her famous piece of poetry which I recall :

Aj aakhaN Waris Shah nuN
KithoN kabaraaN vichoN bol
Te aj kitab-e-ishq da koi agla varka phol
Ik roee si dhee Punjab di (Heer)
tu likh likh maarey vaen
Aj lakhaN dhiyaN roNdiyaN
Te Waris Shah nuN kehn
Uth dard mandaaN deya dardeaa
Uth dekh apana Punjab
Aj beyley laashaN paeyaN
Te lahoo di bharee Chanaab
.....................
It is quite a long poem.

Regards,

Irfan

[skalr...@yahoo.com]

Irfan saaheb:

Your recalling of the poem had a very sombering impact on me. I still
have a lump in my throat as I write this. And I now long to read more
of her poetry. Surjitji, any hints where to get it from.

May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Satish Kalra

[irfan]

Thank much Kalra ji.
You can find a BIG KHAZANA of Punjabi poetry and music at :
www.apnaorg.com
You can also read Amrita ji's book NaveeN Rutt at this w/site.

Warm regards,

Irfan

[Rahul Upadhyaya]

Strangely enough, no mention of her autobiographical work "rasiidii
ticket" as well as much talked about infatuation of Sahir with her in
this obituary.

surjit singh wrote:
> Hi RMIMers:
>
> http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=332456

[Pavan Jha]

in her own words :

Aaj maine apne ghar ka number mitaya hai
Aur gali ke Mathe pe laga gali ka naam hataya hai
Aur har sadak ki disha ka naam paunch diya hai
Par agar aapko mujhe zaroor pana hai
to har desh ka, har shahar ki
har gali ka dwar khat-khatao
yeh wk shaap hai, ek var hai
Aur jahaan bhi aazad rooh ki jhalak padhe
Samajhna woh mera ghar hai

May her soul rest in peace..

http://groups.google.com/group/suryatra/browse_thread/thread/f4607faafc967472

[abbasi]

Its indeed a great loss!!
For the last one month or so, I was trying to meet her but
couldn't.......I
talked to her only once many years back and she was such a soft spoken!
Do you know, Gulzar has interviewed Amritaji in a documentary!!!!!
Urmila starrer PINJAR is based on Amrita Pritam's novel, so is Shabana
Azmi
starrer KADAMBARI.Remember AMBAR KI EK PAAK SURAAHI BAADAL KA EK JAAM
UTHA KAR
GHOONT CHANDNI PEE HAI HUMNE BAAT KUFR KI KEE HAI HUMNE, the immortal
song of
ASHA BHOSLE from KADAMBARI, it was written by Amrita Pritam!!
(KADAMBARI was the
debut film of KAVITA KRISHNAMOORTHY as a singer!!)
AMRITA PRITAM wrote many a songs for hindi films like

KADAMBARI
DAAKU
A TRAIN TO PAKISTAN
JAWAHAR
PINJAR
(Any other film.......??)
Do you know SAHIR LUDHIANVI wrote MEHFIL SE UTH JAANEWAALO TUM LOGON
PAR KYAA
ILZAAM................MERE SAATHI KHAALI JAAM, for AMRITA PRITAM!!!!
May her soul rest in peace...

Aur jahaan bhi aazad rooh ki jhalak padhe Samajhna woh mera ghar hai

Abbasi

[Asif]

I read about Sahir talking about her and this poem in Shama I think
years ago. He had taken his mother to meet her some place (a
restaurant maybe) probably to propose to her, and, as it happened, she
left the meeting mid way - and it broke Sahir's heart.

Anyway, may her soul rest in peace! Could someone please translate
that Punjabi poem mentioned in the original post? Thanks.

Asif

[Prithviraj Dasgupta]

OT to this thread:

abbasi wrote:
> (KADAMBARI was the
> debut film of KAVITA KRISHNAMOORTHY as a singer!!)

Hindi film debut possibly. KavithaK had sung in a Bengali
movie called 'Shriman Prithviraj' in 1971 - a Rabindrasangeet
duet with Lata that goes "sakhii bhaavanaa kaahaare bale".
(HemantK was the MD, KavithaK was his daughter Ranu's classmate,
hence the connection - that's what I heard/read somewhere.)
I think this was her first recorded song.

-Prithviraj

[guz...@hotmail.com]

Asif wrote:
>

>
> Anyway, may her soul rest in peace! Could someone please translate
> that Punjabi poem mentioned in the original post? Thanks.
>
> Asif

Here is a cut & paste from chowk.com:

Aaj aakhaN Waris Shah nuuN

aaj aakhaN Waris Shah nuuN, kitoN kabraaN vichchoN bol,
te aaj kitab-e ishq daa koii aglaa varkaa phol

ik roii sii dhii punjaab dii, tuuN likh likh maare vaen,
aaj lakhaaN dhiiaaN rondiaa, tainuN waris shah nuN kahen

uTh dardmandaaN diaa dardiaa, uth takk apnaa Punjaab
aaj bele lashaaN bichhiaaN te lahu dii bharii chenab

kise ne panjaN paniaN vichch dittii zahar ralaa
te unhaaN paniiaaN dharat nuuN dittaa paanii laa

is zarkhez zamiin de luun luun phuttia zaher
gitth gitth charhiaaN laaliaN fuuT fuuT charhiaa kaher

veh valliissii vha pher, van van vaggii jaa,
ohne har ik vans di vanjhalii ditti naag banaa

pehlaa dang madaariaN, mantar gaye guaach,
dooje dang di lagg gayii, jane khane nuN laag

laagaaN kiile lok muNh, bus phir dang hi dang,
palo palii punjaab de, neele pae gaye ang

gale`oN tutt`e geet phir, takaleon tuttii tand,
trinjanoN tuttiaaN saheliaaN, chaRakhRre ghuukar band

sane sej de beriaaN, luddaN dittiaaN rohr,
sane daliaan peengh aj, piplaaN dittii toR

jitthe vajdii sii phuuk pyaar dii, ve oh vanjhalii gayii guaach
raanjhe de sab veer aaj, bhul gaye uhadii jaach

dhartii te lahoo varsiyaa, kabraaN paiaaN choan,
preet diaaN shaahzaadiaaN, aaj vichch mazaaraaN roan

aaj sabbhe `Qaido` ban gaye, husn ishq de chor
aaj kitthoN liaaiye labbh ke waris shah ik hor

aaj aakhaN waris shah nuuN, kitoN kabraan vichchoN bol,
te aaj kitaab-e ishq daa, koii aglaa varkaa phol

Translation

Today, I call Waris Shah, "Speak from inside your grave"
And turn, today, the book of love's next affectionate page

Once, one daughter of Punjab cried; 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 snake-bite; 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, 'Qaido;' thieves of beauty and ardor
Where can we find, today, another Warish Shah, once more

Today, I call Waris Shah, "Speak from inside your grave"
And turn, today, the book of love's next affectionate page

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005129&channel=leafyglade%20inn

Regards,

Vijay Kumar

[Asif]

Thanks Vijay for an excellent, lyrical translation. I just wish I knew
Punjabi, so I could enjoy her original poem more. Just wondering why
she sought out Waris Shah to express her agony? I am not sure if I
ever heard of his name before. Could someone please tell a bit about
him too? Thanks.

Asif

[guz...@hotmail.com]

Waris Shah was a sufi poet and wrote the famous love poem 'Heer Ranjha'
in Punjabi. Amrita Pritam wrote her ode to Waris Shah ostensibly to
highlight the plight of women in Punjab at the time but also to
underscore the trauma of partition. In recent years, Punjabi writers
from Pakistan gifted Amrita Pritam three 'chaadars' from the tombs of
Waris Shah, Bulleh Shah and Sultan Baahu. The inscription reads
something like 'you are the true daughter of Waris Shah and the waris
(inheritor) of our Waris.'

Regards,

Vijay Kumar