Chapter 1 of this travelogue is about Balraj Sahni's boarding the Amritsar-Lahore train to go to his first destination during his journey to Pakistan in 1962.

Mera Pakistani Safarnama (My Pakistani Travelogue) is a Punjabi travelogue by Balraj Sahni, based on his 1962 visit to Pakistan, more than a decade after Partition. Written in Punjabi and first serialised in 'Preet Lari' magazine in the early 1960s, the book documents Sahni’s journey through Lahore, Rawalpindi, Bhera, Jhang, and Sargodha—places tied to his childhood and pre-1947 life. Structured as a factual travel account, it records encounters with people, observations of cities and countryside, and recollections of institutions, homes, and streets shaped by displacement. The text is a primary literary document of post-Partition return, grounded in lived experience rather than political commentary, and remains a significant Punjabi prose work on memory, geography, and divided Punjab. The book is more relevant today in the politically charged and communal environment of the sub-continent.

Balraj Sahni (1913–1973), born Yudhishthir Sahni in Rawalpindi (then British India, now Pakistan), was a prominent Indian actor, writer, and intellectual whose work bridged literature, theatre, and socially engaged cinema. He was educated at Government College Lahore and later at the University of Cambridge, where he studied English literature. His early professional life included teaching at Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan (Visva-Bharati University), an experience that shaped his humanist outlook and cultural sensibilities.

Sahni’s literary output was primarily in Punjabi and Hindi prose. His major writings include Mera Pakistani Safarnama Mera Russi Safarnama, documenting his travels in the Soviet Union; and Meri Filmi Aatmakatha, an autobiographical account of his life in cinema. He also wrote essays, diary fragments, and reflective prose that addressed culture, displacement, education, and social responsibility. His writing is valued for its clarity, observational detail, and grounding in lived experience rather than ideology.

In cinema, Balraj Sahni was closely associated with Indian parallel and socially conscious cinema. He acted in over 100 films and is best remembered for roles that portrayed ordinary people with dignity and restraint. His performance as the impoverished rickshaw puller in Do Bigha Zamin (1953) is widely regarded as a landmark in Indian realist cinema and earned international recognition, including at the Cannes Film Festival. Other notable films include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), Kabuliwala (1961), Garm Hava(1973), Waqt(1965), and Haqeeqat (1964). His final major role in Garm Hava, released shortly before his death, addressed the condition of Muslims in post-Partition India and is considered one of the most important films on the subject.

Sahni was also active in theatre and cultural movements, including the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), which aligned art with social change. His contribution to Indian art lies in his consistent commitment to realism, ethical storytelling, and the representation of marginalized lives—across both page and screen.

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MuddhoN SuddhoN (From the Beginning) by Kulwant Singh Virk is a tale of hope in dismal times.

KULWANT SINGH VIRK

Phullarwan, Sheikhupura; 1921 – Toronto, 1987

Master Storyteller

Kulwant Singh Virk is arguably the greatest Punjabi short fiction writer of the 20th century. In Lahore he received his MA in English from FC College in 1940 and a degree from University Law College. He joined the army in 1942, serving as King’s Commissioned Officer. Just after Partition he worked as Liaison Officer of the Govt of India in Pakistan. Later he wrote ‘Greater East Punjab’ suggesting linguistic regrouping of northwest India. He was Director, of the Communication Centre, at the Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana. In 1977 he worked as press officer of the East Punjab chief minister. Later, he edited the journals Jagriti (in Punjabi) and Advance (in English) both published by the government of East Punjab.

In a period spanning forty years - from 1944 to 1984, Virk enriched Punjabi literature with about 140 short stories set in rural and semi-urban Punjab.

Just after partition he on his official duty crossed the newly carved international border to recover abducted Sikh and Hindu women in West Punjab. A real incident of a Sikh woman who was forcibly converted and who refused to go back to her Sikh family made him write a short story ‘Khabbal’ (The Perennial Grass) which is one of the best Punjabi short stories written on the theme of 1947. (This story is at par with Rajinder Singh Bedi’s ‘Lajwanti’ but in sharp contrast to the sentimental one titled ‘Maghvia’ written by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi.)

Known for his psychological but realistic portrayal of characters, Virk selects some common incident of life and then, by virtue of his intellectual acumen, renders it into a story. His Chhah Vela (Breakfast time, 1950), Dharti te akash (Earth and the sky, 1952), Turhi di pand (A bundle of straws, 1954), Ekas ke hum bãrak (Children of the Lord, 1955), Dudh da chapped (A pool of milk, 1958), GolhaN (The figs, 1961), Naven lok (New people, 1968) and Astbaji (Fireworks, 1987) reveal different facets of Jatt peasantry and their changing milieu because of (changes or lack of changes) in education and economic development.

His stories are epiphanies of life. The characters of his stories are loved and sympathised with by the reader notwithstanding their drawbacks and defeats in life. With a few subtle touches, he paints the inner conflict of his characters, and he does not bother to 'round-up' the tale.

There are many short stories bearing the Virk stamp - Dharti Hethhla Bould, ‘Dudh Da Chhappar’, ‘Toori Di Pand’, ‘Chacha’, ‘Chhah Vela’, ‘Do Aanne Da Ghah’, ‘Master Bhola Ram’, ‘Ranbir Kaur’, ‘Barrister Sahib’, ‘Professor Sahib’, ‘Baba Ram Sarup’ and ‘Puran Bhagat’ - portray varied themes of socio-economic and ecclesiastical nature. In these stories a single character acts as the spokesman for a particular class of people.

In some short stories Virk has brilliantly dealt with the theme of “unfulfilled desires”, which relate to marriage, sex and old age etc.

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Listen to the full AudioBook of the autobiography of Sahitya Akademi winner author Ajeet Cour who herself is a survivor of domestic violence. In this 8:30 hours long story revealed in the sequel to her Khanabadosh, she has revealed this traumatic experience In her autobiographical book, Cour revealed her suffocated life despite being an economically independent woman. She said, ”A husband’s beatings, hatred and disgust and getting thrown out of the house repeatedly. I had borne everything, despite earning and sustaining myself and my daughters.”Despite having faced such hardship in her personal life, Cour has contributed a lot to the literary works of her native Indian language of Punjabi and to the literary and cultural fraternity of India and the Indian subcontinent. She received the Sahitya Academy Award in 1985, a prestigious literary award of India. She is also a recipient of Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honors in India, in 2006. (Birat Anupam-January 3-2021)I narrate her autobiography - Kooda Kabada (Garbage) on my YouTube Channel also - which has more content than here.

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