Set in rural Panjab of the first quarter of the 20th century, the novel unravels the cultural ethos through social, political and religious intricacies. The narrative begins in 1901. A newly-wed couple, Baij Singh and Daya Kaur, migrate from their village in the eastern Punjab to the western Punjab (now part of Pakistan after the partition of 1947) and try to make the newly-dug canal system a success in the chak (hamlet) they inhabit. The story revolves around complex emotions of the protagonists, who, faced with a difficult life of peasantry, painfully attempt to secure the future of their children. This novel was written originally in English but its Punjabi translation, Lahu Mitti appeared in several editions and earned Sekhon a lot of appreciation. The narrative technique of the novel interwined with history and family realities introduced the realistic mode of writing, which was till then absent in Punjabi fiction.
Sant Singh Sekhon (1908-1997) was one of the pioneering Punjabi writers of the 20th century. As a novelist, short story writer and playwright, his contribution is unparalleled. Recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Mittarpiara and Padma Shri, Sekhon is hailed as the major trendsetter in Punjabi for his analytical literary criticism, histories of Punjabi literature and language, etc. A prolific translator of classics from Punjabi to English and vice-versa. Sekhon's autobiography is also considered a classic in itself.
Blood and Soil is a novel by Sant Singh Sekhon, written in English in the 1930s. At that juncture, he had resolved to engage English as his medium of writing. Around that time, he wrote a play Eve at Bay. He also took to the writing of poems and articles. Some of his poems were published in New Verse. His articles appeared in Adelphi, of which Middleton Murry was the editor. Sekhon wanted to write in all the three literary genres i.e. poetry, drama and fiction. Though meagre in volume, his writings in English were very promising.
From the 1940s onward, Sekhon was determined to write primarily in Punjabi. Impelled by the national struggle for freedom from the colonial rule and the urge to see the country progress in the socialist direction, he resolved to enrich his language, lagging behind due to social, political, communal and historical reasons. In the six decades to follow, he established himself as a celebrated story writer, playwright, novelist, translator, literary critic and historian of Punjab language and literature. So overwhelming was his engagement as multi-faceted writer of Punjabi that he did not bother to bring his earlier writing in English into book format.
Since then, the English version of Blood and Soil has remained in manuscript form though its Punjabi translation Lahu Mitti has appeared in several editions. This novel has been hailed as the first realistic novel in Punjabi. If the Punjabi translation is thus hailed, there is all the more reason to bring out the original English version into book format. It can provide the occasion to see how a Punjabi intellectual, in the prime of his life, then teaching English literature in Khalsa College, Amritsar, the premier institution of learning in Punjab, employed the English idiom to compose a realistic writing that, when subsequently published in translated form, earned him great appreciation. Only then, inkling can be gathered what in its description and narration is there that imparted vigor to the realistic mode of writing, till then lying dormant in Punjabi fiction.
Blood and Soil is set in the rural Punjab of the first quarter of the 20th century. Rather than of the generic, the rural setting is of the social sort, marked by geographical specificity and historical particularity. It begins in 1901 when a newly-wedded couple, Baij Singh and Daya Kaur, migrated from their village in the eastern Punjab, now in India to the western Punjab, become a part of Pakistan after the Partition of 1947. They migrated to a chak (hamlet), set up by the colonial administration, to make the newly-dug canal system a success. The historical moment and domestic occasion are fully evoked through narration and description.
The historical moment arises from the emergence of colonies in the western Punjab. So far, it is a vastly sprawling area fit for rearing and grazing of animals. Nomadic tribes termed janglis in the prevalent dialect have so far trudged across it without raising homes for permanent habitation. With the advent of the canal system, raising of homes for settled living has become imperative. For this purpose, the colonial administration import families from the eastern Punjab, where land has got scarce, and starvation and epidemic have become quite common. Though not overt, covert care is taken that families, being granted land, should have supported the British during the Anglo-Sikh wars. It is better if they opposed the Sikh armies then.
As is evident from the initial chapters, 'Husband and Wife' and 'The Birth of Hope', people from the eastern Punjab are eager to migrate to the new pastures. The memory of the Anglo-Sikh wars has faded into the mist of the past. Endemic poverty has made them eager to avail this opportunity, that came as a boon, five decades after the advent of the colonial rule.
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist