Kulpreet Yadav is an ex-Army man. He writes and promotes new talent through his magazine Open Road Review.
He liked Roll of Honour and sought to pursue the genesis of the book to the location in which it is based – Sainik School Kapurthala. Having visited the school, he wrote to me asking why I hadn’t visited the school after passing out from there in 1990. That and Lakshmi’s desire to witness/acknowledge the site led me to school last week.
This interview was done a few days before the visit but talks about how I was already making peace with the idea. Thank you Kulpreet.
Please read …
Tags: 1984, anti-Sikh, pedagogy, public schools, Roll of Honour, Sainik School Kapurthala
In this country, where societies have crumbled, systems have eroded, ideologies have been bartered, I still believe in individuals who have risen above sectarianism to uphold what is the idea of a nation.
Of everything I have heard about Roll of Honour, one of the most precious is this by Nandita Haksar, the human rights lawyer. Though I met her only recently she has been my hero for decades.
Read the piece, one of the finest testimonial account of the 1984 violence. Here …
Tags: 1984, Amandeep Sandhu, anti-Sikh, Nandita Haksar, PUDR, Roll of Honour
Aparna Banerji is based in Jalandhar. When we went there to participate in the Gadri Babeian da Mela, she caught up with Daljit Ami. It was covered the next day in The Tribune. Aparna is a second generation Punjabi. She was born in Jalandhar, speaks the language fluently, and example of what it means to find assimilation.
Please read …
Tags: 1984, Amandeep Sandhu, anti-Sikh, Daljit Ami, Gwah de Fanah hon to Pehlan, Roll of Honour
Gwah de Fana hon to Pehlan was released by Rahul Singh, Rajesh Sharma, and Rajeev Kumar at the Chandigarh Literature Festival on October 31. The release marked the 30th anniversary of Mrs Gandhi’s assassination and seeks to bridge the gap between English and Punjabi, how the previous generation views the anti-Sikh pogrom and how the next generation is dealing with it. Ms Nirupama Dutt also put the book to discussion with Daljit Ami and me.
Hindustan Times covered the event. Please read here …
Tags: 1984, Amandeep Sandhu, anti-Sikh, Daljit Ami, Gwah de Fanah hon to Pehlan, Roll of Honour
It is with great pleasure I wish to let you know that ‘Roll of Honour’ has found home in Punjabi. The book is truly grateful to have Daljit Ami as our translator. I have had the honour of working with him through the translation. We are thankful to Harish Jain of Lokgeet Prakashan to have agreed to publish the book. Thanks are due to Rupa Publications.
The cover picture we used is the one which hung in my study as I wrote the book. It is by Sarika Gulati. The cover design is by Natasha Taraporevala.
The Punjabi text ‘Gwah de Fana hon to Pehlan’ will be released on October 31, 2014 at 10 AM at the Chandigarh Club. This event is part of the Chandigarh Literature Festival. After the release well-known author and critic Nirupama Dutt will be in discussion with Daljit Ami and me.
Here is the cover. We seek your blessings.
Punjabi Book Cover
Tags: Chandigarh Literature Festival, Daljit Ami, Gwah de Fana hon to Pehlan, Lokgeet Prakashan, Nirupama Dutt, Roll of Honour
Thanks to Margerie from Ireland for chasing me to to this interview. It has come out well.
‘I battled my own self for the longest period, even went through clinical depression for a few months. There are issues like masculinity, sodomy, gay sex, my own views on the events of 1984, the code of honour among schoolmates, communal violence and so on. All of them troubled me when I wanted to write about them. I felt I will earn enemies. It is best to stay silent rather than invite criticism. But I could not sleep. I felt I was cheating by not writing. This is my truth of communal violence and of public schooling in our country. I needed to write it, put it out, to gain some semblance of equanimity in my life. I am very thankful the people have accepted my truths. The book has been lauded, nominated for awards; I have earned a good scholarship from it. The acceptance is a validation of my effort. I feel, in our world, we have space for truth. Let us work to bringing out those truths.’
Read more here …
Tags: 1984, Bluestar, Khalistan, military school, Mrs. Gandhi, Punjab, Roll of Honour, schizophrenia, Sepia Leaves
So, the book is getting around. Around the 30th anniversary of the attack on Golden Temple, Operation Blue Star, I received this review of my novel Roll of Honour from a US based Sikh website.
‘Sandhu’s story is full of shocking brutality, and definitely not for younger audiences. Unfortunately, so are many of the stories of 1984. For those who are willing to give this book a chance, however, Roll of Honour offers a lesson that readers are not likely to forget.’
Read more here …
Tags: 1984, Bluestar, Khalistan, military school, Mrs. Gandhi, Punjab, Roll of Honour, schizophrenia
At The Hindu Lit Fest, Chennai I met senior journalist Ziya Us Salam who hosted the panel of nominees. He said some very nice things to me personally and publicly. At the Delhi edition of The Hindu Lit Fest I was taken aback when he asked me to catch up with him. A few days later I got a text message on my mobile phone: Cafe UNO, Shanglri-la, Janpath, 2.00 pm.
I am the kind who is happy just anywhere talking about things that matter – like Ziya’s family migrating to Delhi from Lahore during Partition and he growing up as part of the only minority community family in a pre-dominantly refugee neighbourhood in Delhi. These are the kind of stories that challenge the divisive, parochial configurations of our society. Respect! I wanted to know more about him. My listening, empathizing appetite was on a surge so I did not realize I needed to order food. That evening, a friend told me I was supposed to order food, this is a food-cum-writer talk column. I wondered how budhoo I am and how I had spoilt the hotel’s chance of getting featured.
Yet, to my surprise, the article has come and the senior journalist shows us how he can turn a no frills intense interview into a worthy piece. Here is the article on how a book is received, lost, nominated, read, talked about, and more. Please read.
Tags: Cafe UNO, Roll of Honour, Shangri-la Eros, The Hindu, Ziya Us Salam
The Hindu Lit for Life was from January 11 to 13. My book Roll of Honour was nominated and my presentation, with other writers’ is in this link. Please see from Minutes 9.45 to 19.45 for my section. Click here …
Tags: Author Presentation, Roll of Honour, The Hindu Lit for Life 2014
Friends, since I review books I was wondering how to talk about each of the book nominated for The Hindu Prize 2013. I just finished reading all of them. I am saved the effort because Swati Daftuar did a fine job summing them up.
Here is the article.
Tags: Another Man's Wife, Foreign, Hindu Prize 2013, Roll of Honour, The Illicit Happiness of Other People, Vanity Bagh
