People

A Poet For All Seasons: Amarjit Singh Chandan

by VIVEK GUPTA

 

 

 

Words became a weapon for Amarjit Singh Chandan when his literary career began in the late 60s.

He edited an underground literary journal called Dastavez (The Document), which was published during the Naxalite days of Punjab and introduced most of Punjab's celebrated poets of the era, such as Lal Singh Dil, Sant Ram Udasi, and Pash, whose worls were first published in the journal.

Twenty years later, Amarjit was in London and had turned into a poet, yielding the same powerful words. But this time, his expressions were different, idioms abstract and emotions more profound.

Now established as one of the most celebrated contemporary Punjabi poets, Amarjit, 65, is devoted to his mother tongue despite having stayed outside Punjab for three decades.

According to him, ``Words always change with time and find new layers in different circumstances. But I must add that the challenges raised by the alienation and marginality of the host country made me fight for survival.``

Amarjit`s contribution to Punjabi language is immense. Besides writing and editing, he has translated over 30 anthologies of poems, fiction and creative non-fiction written by legends such as Brecht, Pablo Neruda, Yiannis Ritsos, Nazim Hikmet, Vallejo, Cardenal, John Berger and many more, into Punjabi.

He was also one of the 10 British poets to be selected by poet laureate Andrew Motion for the British National Poetry Day in 2001.

Amarjit`s collection of poems titled Sonata For Four Hands was recently published by England`s mainstream publication house, Arc.

The collection has a foreword by the great British writer John Berger.

In Chandigarh, Punjab`s capital, for a personal visit, the poet hesitates a bit while recalling those heady days of Punjab, almost four decades ago. But he also understands that it is not easy to get away with it, as he comments, ``I know that I`ll always carry this baggage, but I am not remorseful about it.``

However, he seems most allergic to being typecast.

``There are people who still consider me as a Naxalite poet, but my poetry bears bears no reflection of my political persona.``

As put by several art critics about Amarjit`s poetry, ``ìt does not invoke words with easy sentimentalism. There is silence in his poems, with a deep sense of unspoken words.``

To his credit, Amarjit has accorded justice to his newer roots in England, by adding a new dimension to contemporary British poetry with his ironic, lyrical, sometimes angry poems.

Yet, a longing for ``home`` remains apparent in his works.

He says.``I think my poetry cannot be pigeonholed. There are people who criticise me for using archaic Punjabi language, but I must tell them that the source of my works lays in lokbani (folklore), Gurbani and Sufibani, which are the real sources of Punjabi culture and language.   

That brings him to his concern about the changing perceptions in second-generation Punjabis living in the diaspora as well as the youngsters of Punjab and India.

``While people of my age were more attached with their roots, there are bigger issues now. Many popular Punjabi writers in the United Kingdom, despite having Punjabi sensibilities, are writing in English and it`s the same story in Punjab.``

His message for Punjabis is to preserve language.

``We need to make archives that contain photographs, sounds and artefacts, for the future generation.``

 

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times. Edited for sikhchic.com.

November 12, 2011

 

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