I could have written an article on Khushwant Singh, but I would rather share some very simple but precious memories. Neither do I claim to be a writer, nor had I ever met Khushwant Singh. I was initiated into his writings with Portrait of a Lady and Mark of Vishnu. Though he wrote about very simple and factual things of life; yet his lucid style, his wit and humour hooked everyone to his writings. I have read almost all of his novels, and also his autobiography Truth, Love and a Little Malice. Reading his weekly columns had always been a pleasure. He didn’t spare anyone. Politicians, literati and glitterati, all came under his hammer. His writings had a Ghalib-like wit in them. And his love for Ghalib had been no secret.
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I had the good luck of interacting with him through letters about his translations of Urdu couplets, which were published in bits in his The Tribune’s This Above All. When I sent him my Punjabi translation of Sir Walter Scott’s My Native Land, he was very appreciative of my work; but what touched me was his child-like excitement. “One of my favourite poems; I had learnt the poem by rote in childhood,” he wrote to me.
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It is said that he didn’t allow people to meet him; but there is something that people perhaps don’t know. If you wrote him a letter, he would definitely write back. If you wanted to have his views or feedback, he would ask you to send a self addressed envelope; otherwise he would write a post card. Even during his last years, he never failed to reply back, no matter how difficult it was for him to write. It made me feel so guilty of writing to him; and thus put him in trouble.
Rest in Peace Khushwant! You were an inspiration for many! You had the guts to live life on your own terms!
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Narinder Jit Kaur is a retired Associate Professor from Patiala,who taught English Literature for 31 Years in various Government Colleges of Punjab. A writer and a translator, she has five books of translations, from Punjabi to English, to her credit Including Voices In The Back Courtyard(Rupa & Co.) -An Anthology Of Short-Stories By Punjabi Women Writers. She writes articles, poems and short-stories in English, Punjabi and Hindi. You can read more from her on narinderjit.com