Tales long forgotten…
A handful of writers are helping children literature in Punjabi find its place on the shelves
Harnek Singh Kaler
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“How can one respect the mother tongue when one sees a career that’s
largely English dominated?” he questions. And from where did the journey
of this Mohali-based writer began? “It began in 1983 when my son fell
ill and was bound at home. I narrated stories to keep him entertained,”
he tells. Next, he came out with his first book Jungle Tapu that was
later translated into 21 languages. Novels, short stories and plays
followed suit, and so did awards. Keeping him busy at present is work
for his book called Pari Kahaniya Varge Din.
Says Harnek Singh Kaler, assistant editor of Primary Sikhya, “It’s no
longer about just value-centric stories, we need to make the children
aware of their responsibility towards the environment, parents and
society too.” Primary Sikhya is published by the Punjab School Education
Board (PSEB). Confesses Harnek, “I don’t think and write the way I used
to when I started way back in 1977, for birds and animals have given to
way computers and supermans. So I try to incorporate the new elements.”
Harnek started writing for children only when he joined PSEB, prior to
that he used to write on Sant Sahitya. Panchian de Sunehen,, Rukh Bol
Paye and Anmol Dhan are some of his well known works. These days he
writes mostly for the magazine.
Simran Singh Kaler
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Another writer who swears by children’s literature is Patiala-based
Darshan Singh Asth. He laments, “The books need to be reasonably priced
so that it falls within the pocket money of the child.” Introduction of
mobile libraries can help the books reach rural areas and as for the
urban society, he feels the parents and teachers need to be reminded of
their role. He has just finished penning down a three-part riddle series
Bhoojo Bacho Mei Haan Kaun? Recalling his school days in a village in
Patiala he says, “My elder brother used to get books like Bal Bharti,
Bal Darbar, Bal Sandesh for us from the city ” And that’s how his affair
with children’s literature began. In 1979, Bal Sandesh carried two
poems penned down by 14-year-old Darshan then and in 1986 his first book
on short stories Changi Aadtein was published. With more than 30 books
to his credit today, he still feels a lot needs to be done to give
children’s literature its right status.
A Gen-Y budding writer doing his bit for children’s literature is
Simran Singh Kaler. He has just finished writing a play Panch Masta De
Toli and a novel Baba Fakir Singh Diya Golan. Says Simran, ”The only way
to ensure that values reach the children is to provide it to them on an
entertaining platform. They don’t want mere traditional moral science
stories today.” So Simran brings together his childhood experiences with
the trends of today, essentially fantasy in the latter.
All we can say is that till their pens are at work and their passion at a high, there is hope for us.
