Dalip Kaur Tiwana, a name to reckon within the field of Punjabi fiction the world over, and one of the strongest pillars of Punjabi literature passed away yesterday and obituaries are pouring in from every nook and corner of the world. Her family, friends, readers, and students are mourning this great loss. The voice that became the voice of thousands of ordinary women of Punjab, has been silenced forever. A relentless writer with a literary career spanning about seven decades, Tiwana will always be remembered for her proficiency and efficacy.
‘Bus Conductor’ was the first story that we read in school, a story, which was high in emotional quotient, stayed in the mind for long not only for its content but her lucid style. As childhood is an impressionable age, good writers were awe-inspiring figures with larger than life image in the mind.
Dalip Kaur Tiwana who authored about 70 books including novels, short stories, and autobiographies was feted with innumerable awards including Padma Shri ( which she returned in 2015), Sahitya Akademi Award and Saraswati Samman. Each of her works has added to her creative acumen, to her popularity and fame as a writer; but for me, her Magnum Opus ‘Katha Kaho Urvashi’ will always remain the best.
It was in the early 1980s that living in the University Campus, Patiala I met her and that awe-inspiring image melted into a very soft-spoken, modest, and affable person. Heard her on the stage a number of times and found her so humble, down to earth and unassuming, in spite of all the popularity, respect, reverence, and accolades that she had earned with her writings. In her talks, a very polite and subtle sense of wit and humour was unmistakable.
Because of my love for literature – English, Punjabi, and Hindi – I talked to her about my desire to translate Punjabi literary works into English. She gave me one of her novellas and asked me to try my hand on that. It was my first attempt at translation and it was published by National Book Trust. This was a very good start and a boost for my future translation activities.
She was very supportive when I decided to translate Punjabi stories by women writers into an anthology. I picked up her story ‘Rabb Te Ruttan’ (God and Seasons) which has now been prescribed in a course at DAV University, Jalandhar.
For me, she was, and will always remain, a writer par excellence, an icon, a mentor and a great inspiration.
May her soul rest in peace.
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.