Punjabi writer Swaran Kaur Bal dead

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 11

Swaran Kaur Bal (87), a prominent folklore activist and Punjabi writer, who wrote several books on culture and folk traditions, passed away late on Wednesday night at her home in village Butala, near Baba Bakala Sahib.

Interestingly, her first book itself, published in 2000, a collection of Punjabi folk songs titled ‘Majhe Di Main Jami Jayi’ remained her bestselling work not only in India but also in many other countries which encouraged its publishing house, Punjabi Saath, to reprint it in 2003, 2009 and 2017. Her last book was released in 2005, an autobiography ‘Zindagi Da Pandh’, also published by Punjabi Saath, a global organisation, which aims to promote Punjabi culture and literature.

Born in 1937 on June 6 in village Thatha of Tarn Taran district, she kept herself busy even after her retirement as a government school teacher. Heading the Majha Punjabi Saath, she had been organising ‘Mela Charkhe Da’, an annual event to give a platform to the women of her village to showcase their talent in traditional dances, folk songs and more, even till her early 80s. The cynosure of the event was spinning the traditional wheel (charkha) in which a large number of elderly women even from the neighbouring villages participated.

She was also quite active on radio and TV where other than her interviews, she also sang folk songs and took along many women from the village. She had also played a big role in setting up a sports club in the village, players from which reached several international hockey tournaments, including Olympics held in Japan.

The villagers had named her ‘Grandmother of Butala’, who always gave credit to her school, Mata Sahib Deva Kaur Ashram Bhujangan in Kairon, Tarn Taran, where she was chosen as the head girl. “Despite the 1930s when girls weren’t encouraged to pursue education, her parents and uncles came out bravely in support which helped her study. This also helped imbibe leadership qualities in her,” said Dr Nirmal Singh, founder of Punjabi Saath and editor of her books.

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