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The Revenue Stamp by Amrita Pritam... Dec.2018

Vanity may be reckoned a leitmotif of this autobiography. How could it not be? Lionised as a great poetess from her teens, post which posses of men laid hearts at her feet and more railed against her. Isn’t that vitriolic eruption the greatest compliment to a professional writer from fellow writers?

Religion . Jealously guarded her Punjabiyat, despite Waris Shah? Was it a conversion when she headed the gender brigade?

Sudha M came on the rebound after Imroz appeared? And Sahil’s strategic silences and deep sighs seemed weak? Of what use those masterful romantic verses for a cinematic public and eloquent silences for the lover?

Personal life gets short shrift in the book. Lists of professional foreign travels. Was that the response to Khushwant Singh’s taunt?

Key remembered poems......when invaders arrive, books shrink

When a poet comes, books swell up....

Waris Shah’ dirge....Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah nu........

Mother of Guru Nank, MA Tripta’s. Poems on nine months of pregnancy raised a storm ........ arrogance charge.
Pritam Singh S Eczema disappears within weeks of separation in Jan 1963.

Anti lobby got an extra handle with appearance and permanence of Imroz in her life...6 years younger!

Her son, Navraj’s complaint “ didn’t you think of us when you did all this”? Later “ am I. Sahir uncle’ s son?”
Sahir n her kids.

Personal emotional moments are given shorts shrift.

In those times, honesty allowed writers to write of true life incidents, inform the concerned person, read the piece to them and seek permission to print.

Inter-author. Discussion on varied writings, character building etc.
that open atmosphere is lost today.
Or am I in the wrong circles?

Amrita had simultaneous relationships but kept none. Secret. Totally open,even with her children.
1960 crucial year for Amrita, Sahir, Imroz. She wrote

“ My today left me scarred. I accepted that and now it has brought me serenity.”

Imroz in her life as a steady friend, waiting for her Sahir infatuation to wash away..... “ he is still weaving dreams. What else will he ever do.” He was a painter, whose poetry only emerged after Amrita died in 2005.

Even brought her husband home in his last days.

More By  :  Kusum Choppra


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