Dr. Sukhdev Singh Jhand
Brampton: In the zoom event organized by the Canadian Punjabi Sahitya Sabha Toronto recently, there was a serious discussion about the life and works of prominent storyteller and poet Santokh Singh Dhir. In the event, his nephew playwright Sanjeevan Singh participated with Zoom-medium from Punjab and shared many aspects about his personal and literary life. At the beginning of the function, the chief speaker of the function, Sanjeevan Singh and all the guests were addressed as ‘Greetings’ by the senior member of the Sabha, Maluk Singh Kahlon.
On the request of the moderator of the event, Talwinder Singh Mand, Sanjeevan Singh started his speech by saying that Dhir Sahib was a multifaceted writer. 11 books of his poems and 9 books of stories have been published. He also wrote six novels, an autobiography and a travelogue ‘My England Journey’, but most of his fame came in the field of fiction. Many plays were written and acted by him (Sanjeevan) based on his major stories ‘Koi Ek Swar’, ‘Sanji Kandha’, ‘Sware Ho Tak’ and ‘Mango’. Sharing personal stories about Santokh Singh Dhir, he said that he used to call him ‘Bhapa ji’ and he used to address his father as ‘Chacha ji’. He said that Dhir Sahib used to ride a bicycle only and he was scared even sitting behind a scooter. Santokh Singh Dhir and Balwant Gargi were very close and they used to talk to each other.
Adding to the information about Santokh Singh Dhir, Sham Singh ‘Angsang’, who was associated with the event from Chandigarh, said that Dhir Sahib initially worked as a religious preacher in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, but later became a ‘full-time writer and comrade’. ‘ As he was convinced with the left thinking. He cultivated the pen all his life and supported himself and his family on it. After his death, he drank his body. G. I. was donated to Chandigarh and thousands of workers, farmers and students participated in his ‘Antam-Yatra’. He said that Santokh Singh Dhir was awarded ‘Shromi Punjabi Sahitkar’ by the Department of Languages, Punjab in 1991.
In the year 1996, his book of stories ‘Paatha’ was honored with the ‘Literary Academy Award’. In the year 2002, he was given ‘Kartar Singh Duggal Sarv Shresht Inam’ by the Punjabi Sahitya Academy Ludhiana. On this occasion Kanwaljit Singh Korpal, Sukhdev Singh, Talwinder Singh Mand, Maluk Singh Kahlon and Surinderjit Kaur also refreshed memories related to Santokh Singh Dhir’s life and literature.
In the second part of the event, Kavi Darbar was conducted by Paramjit Singh Dhillon. In this, Iqbal Brar, Gurdeep Kaur Jandu, Sham Singh Angsang, Raj Kumar Ushoraj, Deep Kuldeep, Surinder Kaur Gill, Sukhcharanjit Gill, Harkanwal Korpal, Maluk Singh Kahlon, Satpal Komal, Jagmohan Sangha, Talwinder Mand, Sukhdev Jhand, Raminder Rammi and Jassi. By Bhullar His works were presented. Balraj Cheema, Patron of the Sabha, thanked all the literature lovers who attended the event. Gurcharan Singh, Sikandar Singh Gill, Hardyal Singh Jheeta and Paramjit Deol also attended the event.