The free spirit of Amrita Pritam
Amrita Pritam was a pioneering Indian writer who made an indelible mark on Punjabi literature and women's writing. Though she spent a significant part of her life in Lahore, the horrors of partition forced her to relocate to India. However, her love for the land of Punjab never ceased, as evident through her powerful writings.
Born in Gujranwala in 1919, Amrita lost her mother early and moved to Lahore with her father. She got married at 16 in a traditional Punjabi match, but it was not long before she fell passionately in love with poet Sahir Ludhianvi. This socially defiant relationship inspired some of Amrita's most evocative love poetry in Punjabi.
Amrita broke many shackles in her personal and literary journey. She divorced her husband and raised her two children as a single mother. She candidly expressed female desire in her writings, advocating for women's equality and freedom at a time when it was radical to do so.
The trauma of partition deeply impacted Amrita's psyche. She wrote about the violence and displacement with piercing clarity and empathy. Her poem ‘Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu’ urging the 18th-century poet Waris Shah to arise and witness the suffering of his Punjab remains one of the most haunting artistic works on partition.
Amrita went on to become one of the leading literary voices of independent India. She was the first prominent woman in Punjabi literature and the first female recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. She received the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri for her contributions to Indian literature.
While awards and acclaim came her way, Amrita never forgot her roots in Lahore. The city continued to live deeply in her words and memories. She often spoke of the multi-religious fabric of pre-Partition Punjab that shaped her secular worldview.
Amrita Pritam was a “free spirit,” as she described herself—liberated, creative, defiant of norms, and deeply humane. Her life and works embodied the eternal spirit of Punjab, transcending the divisions of Partition. She remains one of India's most influential 20th-century writers, having fearlessly expressed herself and given voice to the most silenced sections of society.
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