“मैं तैनू फ़िर मिलांगी
– Amrita Pritam
कित्थे ? किस तरह पता नई
शायद तेरे ताखियल दी चिंगारी बण के
तेरे केनवास ते उतरांगी
जा खोरे तेरे केनवास दे उत्ते
इक रह्स्म्यी लकीर बण के
खामोश तैनू तक्दी रवांगी”
Love is integral to society. We come across its stories now and then. We hold them with us for a lifetime and cherish them. One of the favourite authors of India lived a life full of love that brings comfort just the same way. This Valentine’s Day, let’s recall the famous love shared between the author /poet Amrita Pritam and poet /artist Inderjeet Imroz.
Early Lives of Amrita Pritam and Inderjeet Imroz
Amrita Pritam, the renowned Punjabi poet and author, gained success and much fame in her life. However, her romantic life was conventionally not successful. She married young in 1935 to Pritam Singh but soon parted ways with him. After her first marriage, she met Sahir and fell in love. While Amrita loved Sahir, Sahir was already in love with someone else.
During this time, Amrita wrote a lot, and many of her works are dedicated to Sahir. When she was 40 years old, she met Imroz for the first time at her workplace, All India Radio, Delhi, where they soon became friends. Eventually, Imroz bought a scooter just to drive Amrita to work every day and share the littlest moments of his life with her. What could have been the greatest love of Amrita’s life is more often reduced to being called incomplete. Amrita called herself loyal to Sahir and distanced herself from more in the same life.
Imroz, who was a budding artist at that time and still looking for success, moved in with Amrita in Hauz Khas, Delhi. This sparked a lot of conversations in the town regarding their relationship, but what they shared was unconventional and unconditional. Their time shared together is commonly referred to as spiritual love. A kind of love that was not defined by social conventions and did not demand anything in return.
Amrita Imroz: A Love Story
The love of Amrita-Imroz was revived by Uma Trilok’s book, Amrita-Imroz: A Love Story, a collection of letters exchanged between Amrita and Imroz. Amrita’s poetry expresses the sadness that she faced in her love life. However, at the same time, her poetry and letters also convey that their love would’ve been more successful if Imroz had come earlier in her life. Amrita had already named this life after Sahir.
Their time together lasted more than 40 years until she died at 86 in the companionship of Imroz. Amrita’s famous poem, “Mai tenu phir milangi”, a beautiful masterpiece to read on Valentine’s Day, portrays her deep desire to be with Imroz. To share irrevocable and unconditional love with him in her next life. After Amrita’s death, Imroz said in his interviews that his art, whose muse is Amrita, is meditation for him. He remembered her in the present tense as a companion who was always with him.
The love of Amrita-Imroz was not simply profound and shared between two famous personalities. Their poetry, art, letters and passionate love define the culture that humans share inherently. This culture goes beyond social expectations, impositions, demands and conventions. They are to be remembered for generations to come in the hope of another life for Amrita-Imroz. This Valentine’s Day let us remember the unparalleled story of the poet and artist, Amirta-Imroz.
