Amrita Pritam

August 31, 1919

Birth Place : Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan

Amrita Pritam Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Amrita Kaur was born on August 31, 1919, in Gujranwala, Punjab, British India (now simply India). Her parents were Raj Bibi and Kartar Singh. Sadly, her Amrita’s mother died when she was just a child. As a teenager, Amrita was married and changed her last name to Pritam. This is the name she is best known for now.

Career

Pritam’s career began early in life, as she started writing poetry when Amrita Pritam was just a teenager. Her poetry was so great from the beginning that the first book of poems called Amrit Lehran was published when she was only sixteen years old.

From the mid-1930’s to early 1940’s, Amrita Pritam focused on her writing. During this time, she published over half a dozen poetry books. These books are listed below.

Jiunda Jiwan
Trel Dhote Phul
O Gitan Walia
Badlam De Laali
Sanjh de laali
Lok Peera
Pathar Geetay

In the 1940’s, Amrita Pritam continued to focus on her writing, but she also joined the Lahore Radio Station. While here, she promoted social works to improve the lives of the people of India. During the late 1940’s, there were riots in the streets of India. During this stressful and deadly time, Pritam escaped the Punjabi area and moved to New Delhi. She stayed here for several years to ensure her safety.

In 1950, he penned her first major novel titled Pinjar. Here, Amrita Pritam wrote about her struggles with the riots, as well as the way the riots affected other women in the area. Throughout most of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Pritam focused primarily on her writing. During this time, she published several poetry books as well as novels.

In 1976, Amrita Pritam published her first major autobiographical work, Rasidi Ticket. She also published two other autobiographies in her lifetime: Shadows of Words and A Revenue Stamp. Some of her other famous works are listed below.

Doctor Dev
Yaatri
Stench of Kerosene
Kahaniyan jo Kahaniyan Nahi
Ik Si Anita
Chak Nambar Chatti

Awards And Accomplishments

Amrita Pritam won some awards, mostly for her writing. Some of her most prestigious awards are listed below.

Sahitya Akademi Award (1956)
Padma Shri (1969)
Vaptsarov Award (1979)
Bhartiya Jnanpith Award (1982)
Padma Vibhushan (2004)

Amrita Pritam has also earned several honorary degrees from the following universities: Delhi University, Jabalpur University, and Vishwa Bharati. It should be noted that Pritam never actually attended a university or college.

She was also a member of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Family Life

Amrita Pritam was married to Pritam Singh in 1936. Together, the couple had two children. Sadly, the marriage was not a happy one, and Amrita separated from Singh in 1960. Although she never married again, she did live with another man (Imroz) who she was presumed to have a romantic relationship with for about 40 years.

Health And Death

Near the end of her life, Amrita Pritam was known to have been very ill. She died on October 31, 2005, in Delhi, India. She was 85 years old when she passed away.