Baldev Singh (11 December, 1942), also known as Baldev Singh Sadaknaama, is an Indian novelist and story writer in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

-language. He received the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

2011 for his novel ''Dhahwan Dilli De Kingre''. As of 2012, he has written 55 novels and various short stories and plays.

Early life

Baldev Singh was born in the village Chand Nawaan in Moga district. He started his career as a teacher in the

Muktsar Sri Muktsar Sahib (/ʃriː ˈmʊktsər saːhɪb/) (often referred to as Muktsar (/ˈmʊktsər/)) is a historical city and district headquarters in Punjab, India. The 2011 Census of India put the total population of Sri Muktsar Sahib municipality ...

area and spent some time in Himachal Pradesh as a teacher as well. Later he moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and worked as a truck cleaner, taxi driver and truck operator.

Career

Singh is known for his novels ''Sadaknaama'' and ''Laal Batti''. His novel ''Sadaknaama'' was a road narrative of truck drivers from Punjab. It started as a column in

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body of wo ...

's magazine ''Nagmani'' and was later published as a

three-volume novel The three-volume novel (sometimes three-decker or triple decker) was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular literatur ...

. The stories in the novel were based on Singh's real experiences. He himself was a truck driver for 10 years, while working as a teacher. The book became very popular in Punjabi literature and "Sadaknaama" became part of his name for his fans. His novel ''Laal Batti'' dealt with the

red-light area A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

of Kolkatta, for which he studied his subject for over a decade. It was also adapted into play by Manch Rang Manch, and directed by Kewal Dhaliwal. His novel ''Annadaata'' was about plights of farmers in Punjab and is also part of the Punjabi literature curriculum in the

Guru Nanak Dev University The university is Entitled by University Grants Commission to offer higher studies degree courses online. Guru Nanak Dev University's campus is spread over near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly west of the Amritsar, next to Khalsa College, A ...

and

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

. He plans to write sequels to both these books. His play ''Mitti Rudan Kare'' also remains popular. His work ''Dhahwan Dilli De Kingre'' was about the legendary rebel Dulla Bhatti. The novel won him a Sahitya Akademi Award for Punjabi in 2011. He recently published a monogram on

Giani Gurdit Singh Giani Gurdit Singh (24 February 1923 – 17 January 2007) was born in Mithewal village ( Sangrur district) in the state of Punjab, India. He was considered one of the greatest contemporary writers in Punjabi, and his book ''Mera Pind'' is regard ...

(1923-2007), a noted Punjabi writer, for Sahitya Akademi, Delhi’s, "Makers of Indian Literature" series.

Works

* ''Sadaknaama'' * ''

Laal Batti ''Laal Batti'' (Punjabi: ਲਾਲ ਬੱਤੀ) is a Punjabi novel written by Baldev Singh. Synopsis The novel revolves around the red light area Sonagachi in Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name un ...

'' * ''Anndaata'' * ''Dhahwan Dilli De Kingre''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Baldev Punjabi-language writers Living people 1942 births Punjabi people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Punjabi Indian male novelists Indian male short story writers 20th-century Indian short story writers Novelists from Punjab, India 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian male writers People from Moga district People from Kolkata

Early life

Career

Works

See also

References