Kulwant Singh Virk (20 May 1921 – 24 December 1987) was an author who wrote mostly in Punjabi but also extensively in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. His short stories were translated into several other languages, including Russian and Japanese. Kulwant Singh Virk was born on 20 May 1921 in the village of Phullarwan,

Sheikhupura district Sheikhupura District ( pa, ; ur, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of ...

, Punjab Province,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Virk's writings have won several awards. In 1958 he won his first award for his short story compilation titled ''Dudh Da Chhappar'' (''A Pond of Milk''). He won the national

Sahitya Academy The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

Award in 1968 for his short story compilation ''Nave Lok'' (''New Folks''). He was also recognised by the Literary Forum of Canada in 1984 and acclaimed for his contribution to literature by the Punjab Sahitya Academy in 1986. After his retirement, Virk temporarily moved to Canada but returned to Punjab after a few months. He suffered a devastating stroke in 1987 and travelled back to Canada to receive medical care. As a result, he died on 24 December 1987 in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.

Story collection

* ''Chah Vela(1950)'' * ''Dharti te Akash(1951)'' * ''Turhi di Pand(1954)'' * ''Ekas ke hum barik(1955)'' * ''Dudh da Chapar(1958)'' * ''Golan(1961)'' * ''Virk diyan Kahaniyan(1966)'' * ''Nave Lok(1967)'' * ''Duadashi'' * ''Astbaazi(1984)'' * ''Merian Saarian kahanian(1986)''

Translation works

A Farewell to Arms (

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

)

Books about Virk

* Kulwant Singh Virk da Kahani Sansar: Waryam Singh Sandhu * Kahanikar Kulwant Singh Virk: Dr. Randhir Singh * Chand and Dr. Bikram Singh Ghuman * Kulwant Singh Virk Ik Adheyan: T.R. Vinod

Awards

* Language Department Punjab (1959) *

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 ...

(1968) * Honored as Shiromani Sahityakar by Department of Languages, Punjab (1985)

Legacy

Many of Virk's stories have been translated into Indian and foreign languages. A book was published in Russia under the name of Dharti Henthla Balad,‘ਧਰਤੀ ਹੇਠਲਾ ਬੌਲਦ’ ਕੁਲਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਿਰਕ
/ref> Dudh da Chapar, Khabal etc. were dramatized on television.

References

External links

ਪੰਜਾਬੀਪੀਡੀਆ ਉੱਤੇ ਕੁਲਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਿਰਕ ਬਾਰੇ ਲੇਖ