Main Tumhen Phir Milungi

by Amrita Pritam

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

About the author

Amrita Pritam (Punjabi: ਅਮ੍ਰਿਤਾ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ, امرتا پریتم ) was considered the first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist, and essayist. She was the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, who is equally loved on both the sides of the India-Pakistan border. With a career spanning over six decades, she produced over 100 books, of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were translated into several Indian and foreign languages.

She is most remembered for her poignant poem, Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (Today I invoke Waris Shah - "Ode to Waris Shah"), an elegy to the 18th-century Punjabi poet in which she expressed her anguish over massacres during the partition of India in 1947. As a novelist, her most noted work was Pinjar (The Skeleton) (1950), in which she created her memorable character, Puro and depicted loss of humanity and ultimate surrender to existential fate. The novel was made into an award-winning eponymous film in 2003.

When British India was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947, she migrated from Lahore to India, though she remained equally popular in Pakistan throughout her life, as compared to her contemporaries like Mohan Singh and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.

Known as the most important voice for the women in Punjabi literature, in 1956, she became the first woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for her magnum opus, a long poem, Sunehe (Messages). She received the Bhartiya Jnanpith, one of India's highest literary awards in 1982 for Kagaz Te Canvas (The Paper and the Canvas). The Padma Shri came her way in 1969 and finally, Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award in 2004, and in the same year she was honoured with India's highest literary award, given by the Sahitya Akademi (India's Academy of Letters), the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship given to the "immortals of literature" for lifetime achievement.

Reviews

[Jenil Desai · Rating 5 out of 5]

अमृता प्रीतम का यह आखिरी काव्य संग्रह है, एसा लगता हो जेसे वो आने वाली आखिरी पलों को देख पा रही हो या उसे महसूस कर पा रही हो....कुछ कुछ पंक्तियाँ मेरी समझ के बाहर रही, शायद एक अर्से के बाद फिर पढ़ने पर समझ आएगी. अपने कुछ सपनों को भी अमृता जी ने मूर्त रूप दिया है, जिस में सृष्टी के रूपों को, कर्ताधर्ता को अपने आसपास महसूस करती है , और अपने ख़यालों में डूबी रह जाती है, मुजे पसंद आयी कुछ पंक्तियाँ,

●जीने लगो तो करना फुल जिंदगी के हवाले,
जाने लगो तो करना बीज धरती के हवाले.......

●यह जिस्म जब मिटता है
तब सब कुछ खत्म हो जाता है
पर चेतना के धागे
कायनाती कणो के होते हैं
में उन कणो को चुनूंगी
धागों को लपेटूंगी
और तुम्हें में फिर मिलूंगी

[Mohit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I had said this earlier also. Sometimes publishers start taking readers for granted and greedily try to commercialise the essence of literature by shortchanging the works of great writers.

Like this anthology in particular which goes by the name of Amrita ji’s most famous work of poetry but contains very substandard works of hers. Not cool at all.

Skip.

[Helly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book, heavy at times but worth it every single page

[Sia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I feel the language a bit tough. I mean only the main poem which Main Tumhe Phir milungi hi mujhe smjh me aayi.

But now I'm eager to read all her other books.

[naveen gupta · Rating 2 out of 5]

little high level