MAIREY AAPNEY by Sukhdev Sidhu;
pp 184; Price Rs250 (pb); Publishers Saanjh Publications, Book
Street, 46/2, Mozang Road, Lahore. Email: sanjhpk@yahoo.com Dr
Harkirat Singh was a teacher at the Chandigarh University and
witness to bringing under plough the virgin lands of Ganji Bar.
His was the first family which reached the spot in the wilderness
and started living under the sky. The area was still surrounded by
mirages located in the vicinity of now Khanewal. The family was
those of veteran military soldiers. The land in the shrubs-covered
desert was allotted to Harkirat`s uncle. They had moved from
Gurdaspur district now in the Indian Punjab. The family moved with
grandmother of Harkirat as the most senior member of the family.
On the marked place there was nobody from any of the concerned
departments. Only the residents of the semi-jungle area having
pastoral or jungli style of living with no taste of farming. One
of such jaanglis, Haider, a passer-by, who provided the best
possible helpand guidance to Harkirat family, which first raised
their katcha house and knew the techniques how to face venomous
snakes, wolves and other dangerous species. The colonisation
started in early twenties and by 1947 there were prosperous
settlements all around. This was the greatest achievement of
Harkirat, his family and other thousands of families. This was `Harkirat`s
paradise` which he could not forget through rest of his life
passed in airconditioned house of Chandigarh where he wrote
memories of Ganji Bar....which he named as his paradise. His book
was transliterated into Lokmukhi script and was published by the
Punjabi Adabi Board.
Sukhdev Sidhu was not born in Pakistan but he opens with a chapter
titled `Maira Pakistan`. He was born 10 years after the creation
of Pakistan when his grandfather after tasting the life of Bar
close to Cheecha Watni where Baba Ram Singh and his father Bhola
Singh got two squares of land which they brought under plough
after very hard work. Grandfather Ram Singhhad gone to Bar with
thirteen sons and daughters.
Sukhdev never came to Pakistan but all his life he heard the
memories his elders repeated regularly without fail. This was
their adven-turous and prosperous part of life when they earned
thousands in form of currency notes which they had no place to
keep secure except the pillow.
Once great grandmother of Sukhdev was given currency notes of one
hundred and eighty ru-pees which she buried in a mud wall and
plaster the hole. When the need arose it was difficult first to
find the hole and second both of the currency notes were
termite-eaten and the amount was in those days not so unworthy.
The most heart-piercing stories are related to the disturbances
which forced Ram Singh to cut down his Kes (head hair). On the way
from Chak No 167-G to India,the most tragic scenes which were
witnessed by his elders have been narrated by Sukhdev. It was a
tragic fall from the top of the prosperity to deep depth of
poverty in ancestral areas in Jullundher from whichMuslims were
being evicted like them and they were pushed to Pakistan borders.
Sukhdev is proud of the fact that his elders had lived in the land
around Harappa.
All that reminds the book of Dr Harkirat Singh Yaadan Ganji Bar
Dian.There are sixteen other caricatures and sketches including
Ghadri Baba and a people poet Gurdas Ram Alam who was much more
popular among the common people than Shiv Kumar Batalvi.
HASTIAN WASTIAN TAKHTIAN....compiler Iftikhar KalarviWarriach; pp
212; Price Rs200 (pb); Publishers Rozan Publishers, Railway Road,
Gujrat.
Iftikhar Kalarvi is more concerned about the research which could
lead him to the traces of heroic traditions of the land of five
rivers. He has already written four books in Punjabi about past
and present personalities of his area mainly within the boundaries
of Gujranwala Division. He is also strongly associated with
Punjabi language movement and the book under review is dedicated
to those Punjabi protagonists, who are opposed to the division of
the language as well as of Punjab on linguistic basis. Iftikhar is
politically more close to the Chaudhries of his district Gujrat,
who have provided immense support to Zardari for the division of
Punjab and without the PML-Q`s numerical support neither the MQM
nor ANP or the PPP have enough strength to bring necessary
amendment to the Constitution. Of course, the Chaudhries assert
that Punjabshould not be divided on linguistic basis but be
divided on administrative considerations. But demand is linguistic
and the prime minister reiterates that it will be Seraiki Suba for
which he is also preparing leadership mainly from his own Gilani
family.
The book under review again consists of the gravestone writings of
important personalities not covered in his previous books. To make
the graveyards as one of the good sources of history he quotes a
verse of Ehsan Amrohvi: To show that many important personalities
belonging to this area but buried somewhere else have also been
mentioned. In this category fall Sir Shahabuddin, Justice S.A.
Rahman, Salma Tasaddaq Hussain; Z.A. Suleri and Altaf Gohar. They
need a separate narration. The rest is a good collection of
information.
STM
The Dawn: Feb 23, 2012