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Look Into Amrita Pritam Life With Nothing But A ‘Raseedi Ticket’

Look Into Amrita Pritam Life With Nothing But A ‘Raseedi Ticket’

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Amrita Pritam is a name very well known to all the lovers of Punjabi literature. The scene from ‘Manmarziyaan,‘ (2018) when Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) is getting married, becomes more intense only with ‘Main Tenu Fer Milaangi,’ of Amrita Pritam (recited by Taapsee).

Such were the creations of a legendary Partition Poet. Want to a Look Into Amrita Pritam’s Life? Well, ‘Raseedi Ticket’ Is The Only Ticket Needed For This Journey!

1. Amrit Kaur was born in 1919 in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, present-day Pakistan. Her mother, Raj Bibi, was a school teacher. Her father, Kartar Singh Hitkari, was an editor of a literary journal. He was also a preacher of the Sikh faith.

Amrit Kaur

via pinterest

2. Despite praying to God to save her mother, her mother died when Amrit was only 11 years old. It shook her belief in God. She said to her father, ‘Ishwar koi nahi hota, Ishwar jaisi koi cheez hi nahi hai.’

Amrit

via virgin

3. After it, Amrita moved to Lahore along with her father. She used to feel lonely after and so made friends with writing at an early age. Her first anthology of poems (Amrit Lehran) was published in 1936 when she was 16 years old.

Amrita

via kaurlife

4. Amrit Kaur became Amrita Pritam in 1936, after marrying Pritam Singh, with whom she got engaged in her childhood. The man was an editor by profession, and his father was a leading hosiery merchant of Lahore.

5. Amrita penned down her most remembered poem, ‘Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu’ (1947) expressed her anguish about all the riots and communal violence during Partition. The poem became very famous. It garnered praises and criticisms from the masses.

Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu

via pinterest

6. In 1944, Amrita Pritam met Sahir Ludhianvi at a mushaira in Preet Nagar, a village between Delhi and Lahore. Sahir was a budding poet at that time, and Amrita was leading an unhappy married life. The mushaira was to be the beginning of “yet another” love story.

Amrita Pritam met Sahir Ludhianvi

via firstpost

7. Amrita used to smoke half-burnt cigarettes left in the ashtray by Sahir Ludhianvi whenever he came to Lahore to meet her. She said that holding those half-burnt cigarettes felt like holding Sahir’s fingers.

8. Although she would have divorced her husband in the future, Amrita divorced him in 1961, when her love for Sahir reached its peak. But Amrita and Sahir still did not become an official couple due to Sahir’s commitment issues.

9. Deep down, Amrita knew about it and that his love for her was not as intense. In her last letter to Sahir, she wrote, ‘Maine toot ke pyaar kiya tum se, Kya tumne bhi utna kiya mujh se?’ She had a cup of coffee with Sahir when she handed over the letter to him.

Amrita and Sahir

via scrollin

10. Amrita finally found the love of her life in Imroz, who was a painter. They first met when Imroz designed a cover for Amrita’s poem ‘Sunehre‘. He had asked Amrita for whom she wrote it.

11. Amrita and Imroz’s relationship was unconventional and beautiful. Imroz knew about Amrita’s passion for Sahir, but he never raised an objection/question. His love for Amrita was something close to unconditional.

12. Amrita and Imroz never got married, but they stayed in a live-in relationship for five decades at their residence in Hauz Khas, until Amrita’s demise in 2005.

Amrita and Imroz

via theweek

13. At the age of 86, Amrita Ji took her last breath in New Delhi on 31 October 2005, after battling a long illness. Imroz Sahab was relieved that Amrita’s sufferings came to an end. He didn’t cry.

While she was on her deathbed, Amrita wrote her famous poem ‘Main Tenu Fer Milangi’ for Imroz Sahab. This poem is painfully beautiful since it vibes assurance to Imroz Sahab that both of them will meet again, for sure!

 

Not-so-strangely intriguing, right?

Blog Edited By Ritika Gupta

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