Amritsar, February 11
Discussing the history and significance of women during the period before and after the Partition of India, the Majha House invited writer and poet Rupinder Kaur Waraich and researcher Harleen Singh.
Women in Punjab
Toronto-based Harleen Singh has been working on The Lost Heer project since 2017, archiving oral histories of women, who were survivors of the Partition. A project close to his heartHarleen also talked about the ancient social and cultural practices of Punjab in context to women. He talked about the Kudessans, or the women bought and married specifically for the purpose of bearing male heirsRupinder Kaur said that her poetry’s corpus ‘Rooh’, her debut book that was acclaimed and won her several accolades, expresses the agony of the women of today and the past
The two had a conversation with academician and poet Sarabjot Behl.
Toronto-based Harleen Singh has been working on The Lost Heer project since 2017, archiving oral histories of women, who were survivors of the Partition. A project close to his heart, Harleen shared that since both his grandparents had migrated from Pakistan during the Partition, his interest in researching and documenting the journey of women in Punjab during the time happened organically.
“The Lost Heer Project is about documenting women in the colonial Punjab, during the 1849-1947. I felt that voices of women, who were involved in the everyday lives and need to be represented. We know about famous Punjabi women like Maharani Jinda Kaur and others, but what about women, who were ordinary citizens, not famous,” shared Harleen.
“I was interviewing survivors and eyewitnesses, who share their stories of the Partition. But it took a lot of research and hard work to record the stories of those women,” he added. He was surprised to know that in seventy years, these women had never spoken openly to anyone about that tragedy and never voiced their pain. But even after so many years, this pain has not ended, nor have these wounds healed. Naming his project, ‘The Lost Heer’, Harleen said that Heer to him, and to Punjabis, finds an instant connection.
“It’s a name that was chosen because all Punjabi people know about Heer and this name creates an identity instantly. Heer represents a quintessential Punjaban, represents an image of a woman of Punjab, who has strength, resilience and character,” he said. Harleen is in process to write a book on his research, which might be out by next year.
Harleen also talked about the ancient social and cultural practices of Punjab in context to women. He talked about the Kudessans, or the women bought and married specifically for the purpose of bearing male heirs. Bringing Kudesans from Himachal, marrying them was a common thing in the desire of a son.
In this context, Rupinder Kaur said that her poetry’s corpus ‘Rooh’, her debut book that was acclaimed and won her several accolades, expresses the agony of the women of today and the past. She compares the women of both times and feels sad to see that while women have progressed in society, they are still not equal to men.
“Even today, in the UK, women get paid less than men. This disparity is even found in India and in general, most women still face domestic abuse and other issues, despite our progression as a society and economy,” she said.
Rupinder, who is based in the UK, has also been facilitating workshops and her body of work mostly focuses of womanhood, language and history. She writes in English and Punjabi.
She also shared two of her poems, ‘Heer’ and ‘Maa’ with the audience, one of which was inspired by Amrita Pritam. “I have extensively read Amrita Pritam and UK poet Rachel Long, whose narrative brings the verse alive,” she shared.
