I don't know where I read about Amrita Pritam recently but I tried to get her autobiography and did not. So I got her best novel and another book about the relationship between her and Imroze. Amrita Pritam is a Jnanpith Awardee.
'Pinjar' (skeleton) is about the trauma of partition from the woman's point of view. Sure, the men killed one another and raped the women and all that but this story showed another aspect of it - the kidnapping of women from the men of other religions. So Hindu families from Pakistan had to leave their belongings and homes and run for their lives and cross the border - and did if they were lucky - but if they were not, the Muslim men would kidnap them (and maybe marry them). Perhaps it was the same on the other side.
Anyway the story is about this woman who is engaged to be married to a Hindu boy but in the confusion of partition is kidnapped by a Muslim man, as a revenge for what her ancestors did to his family. He is a nice guy though and treats her well and marries her. She becomes a Muslim, runs away to her home, is rejected and sent back, accepts her situation. Over time she does find her brother, her fiancee, her sister in law, and helps her cross over to India. When asked to escape with them she chooses to stay back with her husband and children. Powerful story told through the lens of women and how they unwillingly became pawns in this mayhem
The other story 'That Man' is about a boy born to a priest and his mother who has been childless - and as an offering, offers him back to the service of God. He detests his mother for having given him away, for having had him from the priest, until in the end he accepts that its no big deal. Throughout though, the author keeps citing impossible stories from mythology that offers a commentary on how we choose to believe things.
The stories were written in Punjabi and were translated buy Khushwant Singh into English. Glad I read these. Now to get my hand on her autobiography.
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