In the second half of the twentieth century, a number of
Punjabis
The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
migrated to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and other countries. Among them a number of writers have emerged, writing variously in English and in
Punjabi. Amongst these writers are
Amarjit Chandan
Amarjit Chandan (Punjabi: ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਚੰਦਨ, born 1946) is a Punjabi writer, editor, translator and activist. He has written eight collections of poetry and five collections of essays in Punjabi. He has been called "the global fac ...
,
Harjeet Atwal
Harjeet Atwal ( Punjabi: ਹਾਰਜੀਤ ਅਤਵਾਲ, born 8 August 1952) is a British Punjabi writer and novelist. He has written more than 20 books and he is also the editor of Punjabi magazine ''Shabad''. He is also known as a storytel ...
,
Veena Verma Shivcharan Gill, Sathi Ludhianvi, K.C. Mohan, S.S. Santokh and Yash. In addition to these immigrants, British-born writers are emerging. These include Dominic Rai,
Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon
Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon or Roop Dhillon ( Punjabi: ਰੂਪਿੰਦਰਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਢਿੱਲੋਂ, born 1969) is a British Punjabi writer of fiction and poetry.
Early life and education
Dhillon was born in West London and initi ...
and
Daljit Nagra
Daljit Nagra (born 1966) is a British poet whose debut collection, ''Look We Have Coming to Dover!'' – a title alluding to W. H. Auden's ''Look, Stranger!'', D. H. Lawrence's ''Look! We Have Come Through!'' and by epigraph also to Matthew Arn ...
.
Shivcharan Jaggi Kussa
Shivcharan Jaggi Kussa was born in the village of Kussa, in
Moga district
Moga district is one of the twenty-two districts in the state of Punjab, India. It became the 17th district of Punjab State on 24 November 1995 cut from Faridkot district. Moga District is among the largest producers of wheat and rice in Pu ...
. He migrated to Austria in 1983 where he served with the German and Austrian border Police. Since 2006, he has been living in the east end of London and has produced a series of 38 Punjabi novels. His four world famous novels have been translated into English and are available on Amazon. He wrote, film scripts, screenplays and dialogues for serval feature and short films. Many films were made based on his writings. Now he is busy filming his scripted Hindi web series NRI. He writes realistic satirical novels about corruption in the Indian Police force and Punjabi society in general.
Since 2010, he has also written for
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
Punjabi and Hindi films. He has won many awards, including 7 gold medals and a further 17 literary awards, including the Nanak Singh Novelist Award from Punjabi Satth Lambra, Balwant Gargi award at Prof. Mohan Singh mela. He has also received two different awards in the Parliament of London in 2010 and May 2023.
Novels: Purja Purja Cutt Marye, Tavi Ton Talwaar Takk, Bareen kohi Balda deeva, Tarkash Tangiya Jandd, Gorkh Da Tilla, Jatt Vaddhiya Bohrh Di Chhaven, Ujjad Gaye Graa'n, Baajh Bhraavo Mariya, Haaji Lok Makke Vall Jande, Etti Maar Payee Kurlaane, Sajjri Paid Da Retta, Rooh Lai Giya Dila'n Da jaani, Daachi Vaaliya Mod Muhaar Ve, Jo gi Uttar Pahaadon Aaye, Chaare Kootan Sunniya, Laggi Vaale Kde na Saunde, Boddi Vaala Taara Chadhiya, Dila'n Di Jaah, Tobhe Fook, Kulli Yaar Di Surg Da Jhoota, Dard Kehn Darvesh, Kossi Dhupp Da Nigh & Ikk Meri Akkh Kaashni...
Amarjit Chandan
Amarjit Chandan
Amarjit Chandan (Punjabi: ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਚੰਦਨ, born 1946) is a Punjabi writer, editor, translator and activist. He has written eight collections of poetry and five collections of essays in Punjabi. He has been called "the global fac ...
was born in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
in November 1946. He worked for various Punjabi literary and political magazines, including the Bombay-based Economic and Political Weekly before migrating to England in 1980, where he lives with his radio-broadcaster wife and two sons. He has published eight collections of poetry and two books of essays in Punjabi in the
Gurmukhi script
Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly re ...
and two in the
Persian script
The Persian alphabet ( fa, الفبای فارسی, Alefbâye Fârsi) is a writing system that is a version of the Arabic script used for the Persian language spoken in Iran (Iranian Persian, Western Persian) and Afghanistan (Dari, Dari Persi ...
and one in English translation titled ''Being Here''.
His works include ''Jarhan'', ''Beejak'', ''Chhanna'' and ''Guthali''. He has edited many anthologies of world poetry and fiction, including two collections of British Punjabi poetry and short stories. His poetry has been published in Greek, Turkish, Hungarian and Romanian and Indian languages. His profile and work is listed on the Danka - Pakistan's Cultural Guide.
Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon
Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon
Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon or Roop Dhillon ( Punjabi: ਰੂਪਿੰਦਰਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਢਿੱਲੋਂ, born 1969) is a British Punjabi writer of fiction and poetry.
Early life and education
Dhillon was born in West London and initi ...
is from
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
and writes novels, short stories and poetry in a British form of Punjabi which he taught himself to write. He has also published poetry in English.
His debut novel, ''Neela Noor'', was published in 2007. He writes in the locally spoken form of the language influenced by English;
[ His work is mainly influenced by Western literature and confronts social issues including racism, gender bias and incest.][ ''Bharind (The Hornet)'' is a collection of short stories and poetry.][ In his later novels such as the experimental gothic novel ''O'', he employs a genre he calls ''Vachitarvaad'', which encompasses science fiction, fantasy, horror and ]magical realism
Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to:
* Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse
* "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr
* '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...
.
Harjeet Atwal
Harjeet Atwal
Harjeet Atwal ( Punjabi: ਹਾਰਜੀਤ ਅਤਵਾਲ, born 8 August 1952) is a British Punjabi writer and novelist. He has written more than 20 books and he is also the editor of Punjabi magazine ''Shabad''. He is also known as a storytel ...
is a Punjabi writer mainly known as a novelist and story-teller. Some of his novels are; ''One Way'', ''Ret'', ''Sawari'', ''Southall'', ''British Born Desi'', ''Das Saal Das Yug'', ''Early Birds'', ''Geet''. He has written seven short stories books, one poetry collection, one travelogue, one biography and many more articles for different news papers and magazines. He is editor of a literary magazine as well named ''Shabad''. Since 1977 he has lived in London. He was born on 8 September 1952 and is married with three children.
See also
* Urdu in the United Kingdom
Urdu is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, 269,000 people (0.5% of UK residents) listed Urdu as their main language. Ethnologue reports the total number of Urdu speakers in the UK at o ...
* British Punjabis
References
{{Reflist
Punjab
Punjabi culture
Punjabi-language poets
Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom
Languages of the Pakistani diaspora
Languages of the United Kingdom