Late Poet Amrita Pritam’s Birthday falls on August 31st. She was born in 1919 on this day and would have been 99 years old if she hadn’t expired in 2005. Amrita Pritamji is the first important female Punjabi Poet, Essayist and Novelist. She is also a leading Punjabi Poet of the 20th Century. In a career of more than 60 years, she wrote more than a 100 books of essays, fiction, poetry, biographies, a Punjabi folk songs collection and an autobiography. These books were translated into several Indian and foreign languages.
Amrita Pritamji was conferred the Padma Shri in 1969 and Padma Vibhushan in 2004. 2004 also saw her bagging the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship for her lifetime achievement in the field of Literature. Amrita Pritamji shares her birthday with yours truly. I used to write poems as a child. These were just kiddish scribbles. By the time I began learning about literature, I had realized that my birthday also fell on the same day as Amrita Pritamji’s. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet her. But, I cherish her contribution to humanity.
Some Bollywood songs penned by Amrita Pritam are as follows:
Ambar ki ik paak surahi… Kadambari (1976) This song takes pride of place. There are 2 reasons for that. One – because it was the first song by Amrita Pritam that I got introduced to. Second – because my favorite singer Asha Bhonsle has sung the song.
Charkha chalati Maa… Pinjar (2003) This award-winning movie was based on her own novel of the same name.
Rishte ghade da paani… Amrita Pritam (2007) Amrita Pritam’s life and career was visually interpreted in this movie.
Tu aaj apne haath se… Daaku (1975)
Ae mere dost… Amrita Pritam (2007)
O Sai tere charkha ne… Amrita Pritam (2007)
Aakhan Waaris Shah nu… (poems) Amrita Pritam (2007)
Kufr (poems)… Amrita Pritam (2007)
Waaris Shah… Sampooran (2007)
Chanan di phulkari… Amrita Pritam (2007)
