Masters of Indian Literature

Before I embark on this article, let me put out a disclaimer to save me from embarrassment later. There are many good critical articles about Gurdial Singh, and his translator, Prof. Rana Nayar, has come out with a 'Gurdial Singh Reader' that collects various articles about his works. Moreover, Prof. Rana Nayar himself has written some excellent articles about Gurdial Singh, and his foreward to Gurdial Singh's novels talk about the literary history of Punjabi writing and place Gurdial Singh in the perfect context. Many a time, I did not want to write this article, for I was apprehensive that I would not match the depth of Prof. Rana Nayar's writings. However, I love Gurdial Singh's works so much that I decided to go ahead and take this step, despite my misgivings; for I wanted an article on Gurdial Singh bearing my name to be available on the Internet. So, I hope you will judge me kindly on this one.

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The second disclaimer I must put up is about the point of view I will adopt while writing this review. I spent all my life in South India, and I do not know North India's culture much, let alone Punjab's, except what I gather from the movies. Gurdial Singh's novels happen in a particular part of Punjab, the Malwa region; hence the cultural references in his books may sometimes escape me, which is natural. Unlike the other Punjab critics and writers, who assess Gurdial Singh's work from within the culture, I write as an outsider. Please keep this in mind when you read the article.

 

No one has written so eloquently about a downtrodden individual as Gurdial Singh has, the key word being 'individual.' Gurdial Singh's novels are always about individuals first; through them, we see the society in which they live and operate. 

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