Kulwant Singh Virk (May 20, 1921 — December 24, 1987) is considered a pioneer of contemporary literature. He wrote mostly in Punjabi but extensively in English as well. His short stories were translated into several other languages including Russian by Leo Tolstoy's granddaughter Natasha Tolstoy and in Japanese by Dr Tomio Mizokami, Professor of Indian Languages at the Osaka University. He was born on in the village of Phullarwan in the Sheikhupura district of Punjab in India. His father Asa Singh was a landlord and mother Ishar Kaur was a home maker. After receiving his two M.A. degrees, he graduated from law school but never practiced. He married a daughter of prominent orthopedic surgeon Dr. Karam Singh Grewal in 1949.
Virk served as a second lieutenant with the British Army during the Second World War. He joined the Punjab civil services as a public relations officer in 1949. During his tenure with the civil service he also edited two magazines "Advance" and "Jagriti". He later joined the Indian government's federal civil service and worked in the ministry of information and broadcasting. Later, he was appointed as the press secretary to the premier of Punjab province. Prior to and after his tenure as press secretary, he was the joint director of communications for the Punjab Agricultural University.
His writings won several awards. In 1958 he won his first award for his short story compilation titled ‘Dudh Da Chappar’ (A Pond of Milk). He won the Indian National Sahitya Academy Award in 1968 for his short story compilation “Nave Lok’ (New folks). It was presented to him by then Indian president Dr. Zakir Hussain. He was also recognized 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 he temporarily moved to Canada but returned to his beloved Punjab after a few months. He A memorial function was held in his honour on November 4, 2007 in Chandigarh, India. A website, called "www.ksvirk.in" was also launched on that day to make his contribution to literature more accessible world wide.
Strawberries
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy my legal practice but there is one drawback to it. I never get enough spare time for travelling. All magistrates and judges can take a holiday whenever they wish. But a lawyer can only take time off if; all of them decide to take a holiday at the same time. Some civil courts can close for a month during the year but work in criminal courts never shuts down. Such a shut down is impossible because criminals never chose a particular time to commit a crime, assault, murder, robbery or get into violent confrontations. All of this takes place day and night. There is always a magistrate on duty even on Sundays because the law clearly states that police must present the detainee in front of a magistrate within twenty four hours of his arrest. Even when a criminal lawyer does not have a client he is still expected to show his face around the courts to pretend that he is busy with proceedings. However this rarely happens to me because I have a successful practice which means I am always inundated with new court cases. Also a lawyer can never predict when somebody will show up to engage him or her for litigation. I usually have four or five cases to defend everyday so it is difficult for me to take a break. If the news breaks out in the villages that a particular lawyer is out of town even when he returns people do not come to him for legal representation as they perceive that he still may be away. This obviously can have a long lasting adverse effect on a successful practice.
Last year during summer I was aware that I was stuck really deep in my work. It was hot and my wife was free to travel anywhere. She and the child could spend the summer in the cooler environment of any hill station they desired. When I mentioned this to my wife she expressed that the only hill station she was comfortable in visiting was Dalhousie. “I used to go there with my family before I got married. I can go there alone with the kid. Once I am there I always enjoy spending time my acquaintances” I told her visiting Dalhousie was absolutely the best decision.
When my wife reached Dalhousie, she wrote a letter to let me know that everything was going fine. She wrote that she had rented part of a bungalow. The rest of it was being rented by a couple who were doctors in Punjab. They too had traveled to the mountains to escape the heat of the plains. It is a very picturesque place and the weather is perfect. The little boy was ecstatic to be here. He runs around in the wilderness and observes everything around him thoroughly. She wrote that I must try to join them at least for a week. She enticed me by her closing remark, “A short week spent in the weather of the mountains is equal to a year of pleasure on the plains.”
I was miserable at being alone so I decided to take the trip after a few days. I told the truth to the magistrates and judges. They moved the dates of my trials forward. It wasn’t difficult as they had seen me working very hard for a long time. So I too took the trip Dalhousie.
When I reached Dalhousie I noticed that my wife who usually followed me around in the plains was leading me around in the mountains. She had been here before and was familiar with all the places, roads, colonies, shops and markets. But I was merely a new comer and had to see and learn a lot.
When we walked around she would stop, point and ask me to look into a particular direction. I saw a beautiful river in a valley surrounded by mountains. At another spot she asked me to pay attention to the wonderful sight of glowing snow capped mountains on the horizon. Everything looked like an exquisite painting created by divine hands. I was overjoyed at being in such a perfect world.
My wife assisted me in locating and enjoying the numerous glorious sights. Within days I had seen everything in our proximity. So I asked her for other pristine wonder of that paradise. She told me that there was a beautiful place about ten miles away and it was a hamlet called Khajiar. Because of the distance one could definitely walk to it but returning the same day was impossible. So the only option was to stay there overnight. Moreover it was an uphill walk so one would get really tired at the end of it. The entire walk was through a beautiful dense green forest. Khajiar itself was a huge meadow land. The small valley was surrounded by mountains. There was a small lake in the middle of the meadowland. The lake had a small floating island in the centre which had very high green grass growing on it. This little island floated around on the water. At night it would be at one spot and in the morning it had moved to another. Khajiar sounded like is an enchantingly mysterious place!
I listened to the vivid description of the hamlet in fascination I decided it was unavoidable for me to visit Khajiar immediately. But I did not want to go alone and needed someone to accompany me. My wife told me that she had already been there just a few days before my arrival. “Why don’t you take the boy with you? He just loves fresh strawberries. There are so many strawberry bushes on the way.” As soon as the boy heard about strawberries he was ready and willing to join me on the trek.
The next day both father and son embarked on our picturesque journey. After walking a little bit out of Dalhousie we came across a stream. There was a small bridge to go over the stream. At the edge of this bridge was a heap of fire wood and sacks of coal. Someone must be making coal around there. The boy recognized the place and said that there were many strawberry bushes all around there. We got away from the path and began climbing the hill. Out of the blue we came face to face with an awesome sight. It was as if Mother Nature had planted a large field of strawberries with her own hands. I began plucking the berries for my son and devoured some myself. The weather was just picture perfect. We were delighted to be the guests of the glorious and majestic mountains around us.
On the trek up to Khajiar we came across many more places where strawberry bushes were growing in abundance. We plucked and we ate. When the boy could not find anymore bushes he began to look tired. I picked him up in my arms and walked uphill.
By the time we reached Khajiar I had become very tired. But as soon as I saw the scenic beauty in front of my eyes I was rejuvenated. There was a huge carpet of green grass in front of us. I felt like running on it. I had never seen pine trees as high as the ones around the valley. These trees must be unique because there was a plate stuck on each one of them by the forest department describing their circumference, height and approximate age. You could see the little green island in the water of the lake at some distance. Behind the lake there was a temple and a couple of other buildings. As a person living in the plains I became cognizant of the fact that the people living in the mountains existed in a very different world. The experience of existing in this incredible new world was greatly enhanced by the paradise in front of my eyes! We walked around the meadow. One of the few buildings on it was a guest house for travelers. An attractive young English woman was sitting outside on a chair and was lost in reading a book.
The sun was about to set and I was a bit worried about securing a place to stay for the night. No one else was around the guest house beside the woman so there must be another room vacant for us? When I went closer I realized that the white young woman was much prettier than what I had perceived from a distance. I walked right by her inconspicuously. It would have been futile to make acquaintance with her if I could not find a room for the night in the guest house. The status of a new guest looking for accommodation is more fragile than that of someone who already has a room to stay. I started looking for the keeper of the guest house with my little boy by my side.
Having my little boy with me would assist me in breaking ice with the young English woman. Even if she was reluctant in talking to me initially she would certainly warm up to the little boy. I found out that there were only two suites in the bungalow. Luckily one of them was unoccupied. The housekeeper brought the guest register over and I entered my name and address.
“Who is in the other suite” I asked pleading ignorance. “Just the young English lady sitting outside on the porch?”
“Yes sir and she is all alone”
“Will we get dinner here?” I changed the subject quickly.
“Yes sir. What would you like?”
“Fish and Chicken.” I was thinking of what the English woman would prefer?
“We can arrange that.”
“We don’t have bedding either.” I said.
“That will be provided as well”
Then I remembered something else which was really crucial for solidifying the upcoming passionate encounter. “Is there a liquor store here?”
“Yes Sir. You will find it among the row of the shops.”
I took my son with me. I bought a small bottle of whisky and put it in my pocket. To be on the safe side I also bought three bottles of beer. I carried two in my hands and handed one to my son. I was a light drinker and could not finish all of my purchases even if I drank all night long.
I dropped the bottles at the edge of the lake and lay down on the grass. My son ran and played around me. I was ecstatic at purchasing the alcohol. There is nothing like being fully prepared for an upcoming thrilling event. Had that liquor shop been closed my preparation would have been incomplete. There was enough for her to drink all night long. I was ecstatic at being such an expert at handling delicate situations.
The English woman was still reading outside her room. The boy began walking around to explore his new surroundings. He leapt with joy when he found a cone which had fallen from a pine tree. He threw it around as if it was a ball. He caught it with his hands first then he kicked it around with his feet.
The sun had not set yet. I decided that I need the right moment to start a conversation with the young lady. Sunset would be the best time to approach her as it would get dark and she would have to stop her reading. Perhaps she would be eager to look for an alternate source of entertainment. Who knows what might happen but it would be great if we could begin conversing. There would be a lot to talk about. We could possibly discover that we had many things in common. The boy would be in deep sleep soon. Carrying on a conversation with her would be uncomplicated. I know my thought process is the same as the western people. After all these are the same English people my elders fought against. I don’t think we are really different from them except the color of the skin.
The sun had set now. We picked our bottles and walked towards the guest house. When we got closer the English woman smiled at my little boy perhaps because he was carrying a big beer bottle in his arms. Being the father of the boy I reciprocated and smiled back at her. She began to smile a bit more but quickly resumed reading her book. We walked towards our suite in the guest house. Luckily I had already broken the ice with her. It was getting darker she would not be able to read much longer anyway.
There were two beds in the suite. Two glasses were placed in a tray on top of the table. The keeper must have understood my intentions when I asked him about the liquor store. The second glass was obviously for the young lady! The keeper had turned out to be quite a bright chap.
He followed us into the suite “What time would you like your dinner sir?” he asked.
“I will let you know in an hour!” I wasn’t sure. Who knew which way the cookie was going to crumble?
“If the decision about dinner is going to take longer can I bring some warm milk for the child? He probably wants to go sleep now. He should not sleep on an empty stomach.” Her caretaker expressed his concern.
“He is certainly not going to sleep yet! He will eat first!” I wanted to avoid the hassle of discussing this matter with the keeper any more.
“No sir he goes to sleep really early. I know him. He gets extremely tired while walking to Khajiar.”
“What are you talking about? “ I was trying to find a way of getting rid of the caretaker.
“He has been here before. His mother asked me to get some milk for him around this time but he fell asleep. She tried hard to feed him. He did get up for a few minutes and sat down but he never drank the milk.”
“That’s fine but you will see that he will not go to sleep early tonight.” I said mischievously thinking about what was possibly going to take place in the room next door all night.
The keeper continued, “However there is one thing. A child goes to sleep quickly with his parents. The other day he was here with his parents. Today he is with you. They had stayed in this very room. You must know those people really well because they let the child come with you. They are a real nice couple.”
It did not take too long for me to understand what the keeper was saying.
“Okay, go ahead bring the milk” I muttered with great difficulty. Then I bolted the common door between the two suites and collapsed limply on the bed.
http://nirupamadutt.blogspot.com/2008/10/kulwant-singh-virk-master-story-teller.html
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