SANDHU, GULZAR SINGH (1933/5-)

Sandhu, Gulzar Singh was born at Kotia Badia, district Ludhiana in 1933/5, his mother\’s native place. His family hails from the village of Soni in Hoshiarpur district. Both from the father\’s side and the mother\’s side, he draws upon a lineage of Jagirdars or fief-holders from the time of the Sikh rule, but by no means aristocrats in worldly possessions. Sandhu did his B.A. from the Khalsa College, Mahilpur, in 1953, and later did his M.A. in English Literature from the Punjab University. He migrated to Delhi and secured an editorial job in the well-known Punjabi monthly, Pritam. Later, he switched over to a sub-editor\’s job in the Punjabi section of the Publications Division of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

He has four collections of short stories to his credit, entitled Husan de haani (Peers of beauty, 1962), Ik sanjh purani (An old association, 1965), Sone di itt (A brick of gold, 1970) and Amar katha (Immortal story, 1979) which was picked up for the Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 1982. His stories give an insight into the social and economic conditions prevailing in the villages of Punjab. There is one prose work to his credit, entitled Sade har shingar (1958), and a translation into Punjabi of Maxim Gorky\’s work, titled as Jivan te sahit (1961).

References :

1. Keshav Malik, Indian Poetry Today, 2 Vols., Delhi, 1985
2. Sekhon, S.S., A History of Punjabi Literature, Patiala, 1993.