Dear friends,

the book ‘Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines’ has arrived.

In a virtual world, I get to see pictures from my publishers Westland office and from friends.

Me, the mother, is now waiting to hold the baby. 

In India, you can pre-order the book here …

Abroad, you can pre-order the book here … 

Please bless! Buy! Hope the book opens conversations …

Tags: Amandeep Sandhu, Amazon, Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines, Westland

For many years now Punjab has both attracted and perturbed me. As a novelist writing in English on Punjab I have wondered why does Punjab remain lukewarm to my attempts  at writing about it. It has taken a long time for me to recognize and grapple with the language divide which exists in Punjab.

Punjab remains lukewarm to the attempts of the English media to narrate its multiple realities. So, while the translation of ‘Roll of Honour’ was much reported about recently in all major English newspapers, assi Punjabi tan udo hi bolange jado kitab Punjabi wich aaugi. (We Punjabis will respond only when the book comes in Punjabi). That has been the unheard comment I have discerned. For that and to connect with the land we decided to translate the book into Punjabi.

Just before leaving Chandigarh on November 6th, to my satisfaction, I saw a four column coverage of ‘Gwah de Fana hon to Pehlan’ in the Punjabi Tribune. With foto and all ji. In picture are the Vice Chancellor Punjabi University Jaspal Singh, Head of English Department Rajeh Sharma, head of Guru Granth Sahib studies.

Please read …

Let the dialogue begin!

Tags: Amandeep Sandhu, Daljit Ami, Gwah de Fana hon to Pehlan, Jaspal Singh, Punjabi University, Rajesh Sharma, Roll fo Honour

The Punjabi translation of ‘Roll of Honour’ by Daljit Ami is now available online. It is reaching book shops across Punjab by the weekend and other e-commerce sites by early next week.

The Punjabi title is spelt as ‘Gwah De Fanah Hon Ton Pahilan’. The publisher is Lokgeet Prakashan/Unistar Books.

Please buy. Please gift. Please bless!

Link here …

Tags: 1984, Amandeep Sandhu, anti-Sikh, Daljit Ami, Gwah de Fanah hon to Pehlan, Roll of Honour

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

I spoke at The Hindu ‘Lit for Life’ at Siri Fort in Delhi on Feb 8 as part of a panel discussion on the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. As a curtain raiser Swati Daftuar caught me just as I was catching a crowded, noisy vehicle a few days before. This interview is completely spontaneous. Please read, there are some points I raise here on which I would otherwise tread cautiously. Thank you Swati, this is how this should have been done.

“The fundamental issue I have is that, post the ’84 riots, the Sikh narrative has become a narrative of victim-hood. I don’t think Sikhs were ever conceived as victims or needed to portray this all the time. Along with that, the in-fighting within the community post the riots is another concern I have.”

Please read.

Tags: Amandeep Sandhu, riots, Swati Daftuar, The Hindu Lit for Life

Time after time, The Hindu really gets me right. This time it was Swati Daftuar an alumni of Asian College of Journalism and Welham Girls, both my alma maters. Thank you Swati!

‘I feel our literature lacks that seer point of view — one that shows a path or even adequately problematises our crises. That engagement, and not entertainment alone, remains the main function of literature. We are not there yet.’

Please read here …

Tags: Amandeep Sandhu, Roll of Honour, The Hindu Prize 2013 shortlist

Friends, acknowledging my work as a technical writer, a technology magazine was the first to interview me when ‘Roll of Honour’ was released last year. Techgoss.com, came back again now to check how I feel upon being nominated. The quote is linked to the earlier interview. Thank you Suneetha Balakrishnan.

‘Roll of Honour evokes the agony of not being able to resolve the dilemma of who is the self and what is the self’s identity. Yet, it acknowledges, that a space larger than the narrow partisan interest of a community is available and must be acknowledged. For that we have to move beyond the pain. We must learn to heed to the wounds. The nomination does that for me: it heals me, both personally and as a writer. I feel I have been heard.’

See full quote and link to an earlier interview here …

Tags: Amandeep Sandhu, Roll of Honour, Techgoss, The Hindu prize 2013