A Life Incomplete, page 25
Waryam Singh, too, bears a similar message. He refers to himself as one from a very low caste, possibly even an untouchable. And yet, his virtues persuade even a conservative like Babu Ganga Vishan to accept him as a son-in-law and to bequeath his property to him.
Although commonplace today, these ideas were fairly revolutionary at the time and ran counter to prevailing social mores in the Punjab of the 1920s and ’30s. Nanak Singh’s abiding commitment to rational thought, social egalitarianism and religious tolerance were key elements in making him an important driver of social change for an entire generation of Punjabis.
As a writer, he hit a golden patch between 1930 and 1960, producing at least one substantive novel each year that goes beyond fiction to provide a glimpse into the contemporary social history of that period. His novel Ik Mian Do Talwaraan – based on the life of Kartar Singh Sarabha and the Ghadar movement of the early twentieth century – won him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962. By the time he passed away in December 1971, he had left behind a formidable body of work – a total of fifty-nine books including thirty-eight novels. Forty years after his death, several of those have entered the realm of ‘classics’ of Punjabi literature. They are prescribed texts in high school and college courses and dozens of doctoral dissertations have been completed on the works of a man who had virtually no formal education. Many of his books are in their twentieth or thirtieth imprints and his position at the pinnacle of Punjabi literature as the ‘Father of the Punjabi Novel’ remains uncontested and secure.
TRANSLATION
Soolan Di Sej
(1936)
Pathar De Panchhi
(1937)
Rajni
(1939)
Tasveer De Doven
Passey
(1941)
Pathar Kamba
(1942)
France Da Dakoo
(1942)
Praschit
(1943)
From a grandson who is a diplomat trying to masquerade as an amateur translator, this book is an effort to bring his work out of the narrow confines of Punjabi and into the larger literary public.
Pages from the handwritten manuscript of Nanak Singh’s novel Ik Mian Do Talwaraan which won the Sahitya Akademi Award. The novel captures the nationalist zeal and revolutionary spirit of the Ghadar movement of the early twentieth century through the life of Kartar Singh Sarabha. The Ghadar Party was founded by a cross-section of Indians in California in April 1913 with the simple motto ‘Stake everything for the freedom of the country’. Like many other Ghadarites, Sarabha returned to India from California to fight for India’s independence from British rule. However, a police informer revealed their plans; the campaign was unsuccessful and many of the aspiring revolutionaries were arrested. Sarabha was one of sixtythree Ghadarites who were tried and sentenced at the Lahore Central Jail in 1915. Describing him as the most dangerous of all the rebels because ‘he is very proud of the crimes committed by him’ the court sentenced Sarabha to death. Barely nineteen years old, he was hanged in Lahore on 16 November 1915 and became an inspiration for other young revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the constant motivation and encouragement from my parents who insisted that my grandfather’s works deserve a wider audience and believed that I am the one who can make this happen. My wife Mani, who always wants me to do more, took additional burdens on herself and made sure that I could spend quality time on the translation. I am also deeply grateful to Dr Rajinder Singh for his valuable assistance on many facets of translation. Shantanu’s editing ironed out the rough edges and Karthika’s positive energy is infectious.
About the Author and the Translator
NANAK SINGH (1897–1971) is widely regarded as the father of the Punjabi novel. With little formal education beyond the fourth grade, he wrote an astounding fifty-nine books, which included thirty-eight novels and an assortment of plays, short stories, poems, essays and even a set of translations.
Born as Hans Raj in Jhelum district (now in Pakistan) he converted to Sikhism while still in his teens. Nanak Singh was reportedly present at the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 and wrote the long poem ‘Khooni Visakhi’, a devastating critique of British rule that led to the banning and confiscation of the book. A second book, Zakhmi Dil, was in a similar vein and flowed from his experience as a prisoner in Lahore’s Borstal Jail in 1922. He turned to writing novels after his stint in jail, winning the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award in 1962 for Ik Mian Do Talwaraan. Pavitra Paapi, another classic, was made into a popular Hindi movie in 1968, while a third, Chitta Lahu, was translated into Russian by Natasha Tolstoy.
NAVDEEP SURI is an Indian diplomat who has served in India’s diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London and as India’s consul general in Johannesburg. He has also headed the West Africa and public diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs. His innovative use of social media in public diplomacy has received extensive recognition and two prestigious awards. Suri speaks Arabic and French, has a master’s degree in economics and has written on India’s Africa policy, on public diplomacy and on the IT outsourcing industry. His translation of Pavitra Paapi, the classic 1930s Punjabi novel written by his grandfather Nanak Singh, has been published by Penguin as The Watchmaker.
Photographic Insert
Nanak Singh receving the Sahitya Akademi Award from
President Dr S. Radhakrishnan.
First published in India in 2012 by Harper Perennial
An imprint of Harper Collins Publishers India
Copyright © Nanak Singh 2012
Translation copyright Navdeep Suri 2012
ISBN: 978-93-5029-208-2
Epub Edition © June 2012 ISBN: 9789350295137
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Nanak Singh, A Life Incomplete
