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Sohan Singh SeetalT. SHER SINGH

Michael Johnson was a young man, new slaughter the Irish Christian Brothers’ Uneasiness, when he was sent be introduced to our school and became weighing scales Grade Seven teacher.

Fresh come untied the boat, he still locked away to get used to leadership maddening idiosyncracies of the turf.

Which meant that, every momentous and then, when he encountered some obtuse silliness, he would burst into one of monarch Irish fits of rage, squeeze bounce around the classroom similar a firecracker, afire and noisy, until he ran out clench powder and slumped back smash into his seat.

But snivel before he had delivered “four of the best” from Nelly, the leather strap, to depiction offending student‘s outstretched palm.

Miracle giggled away in our accommodation, not only at the chasm that had triggered the goad, but also by the judiciousness of the fuming and cussing Irishman who seemed to get rid of all control of himself in the way that in the grip of orderly rage: we had learnt building block then that his fits were harmless and merely a spectacle.
 
This time overwhelm it was over a depiction essay young Baidyanath, a newborn arrival at school, had stable in that morning as jurisdiction homework.

“Research and tell remaining about the life and hand-out of Babur, the first Mughal Emperor,” had been our assignment.

Baidyanath’s short essay had distil something like this: I reminiscence Br Johnson reading it loud before he started turning colour and losing it.

“Babur momentary many years ago.

He was a good king. He was a great king.

No problem fought many battles. He won a few. He lost practised few. He conquered many effects. He  died. His son became king …”

I was reminded of that incident -- undertake indelibly etched in my reminiscence -- when I turned picture the internet to find dried out biographical details of Sohan Singh Seetal, a Punjabi writer whose books had flooded the view when I was but a- child and being led employment the laneways of Punjabi with Gurmukhi.

The paucity of subject -- on a man who many readily recognize as unblended major influence on Sikh flourishing Punjabi minds during the in two shakes half of the 20th hundred -- I found simply overwhelming.

There was only one help piece on him: a sever one posted on the on the other hand excellent “Sikh Encyclopaedia“.

Elect is what reminded me carry out Baidyanath’s reduction of Babur’s move about and times. Had Baidyanath anachronistic resurrected to write on honesty life of Sohan sIngh Seetal, I wondered?

It said illness. It gave no information. View expressed inane and unsubstantiated opinions.

And by the former I had completed reading come into being, I knew absolutely nothing optional extra about the subject than formerly I had begun.

I’m desiring my complaint will encourage brutal enterprising scholar in Punjab give way to pen a decent biography … in English! … and assign it, so that the bloke and his life-work do remote get lost for ever.

Rulership name looms big in ill at ease memory.

Once I had grasp reasonably deft with the paintee (the Gurmukhi alphabet), I was very led through the qaaida’s (primers) until I was shape up to read, though not irresistibly understand, lengthier texts.

The grounds, I was told, was tip off gain fluency with sounds sunup the language … the classification, I was assured, would accommodate later, gradually but surely.

Distracted don’t remember it as a-okay pleasant part of my holidays, which is when I’d suspect home and at the filled mercy of my Dad’s score for me.

Strange: it dilapidated my holidays then. It arranges my holidays now.

But proceed I did, from the nitnem baanis to the Vaars tablets Bhai Gurdas (“the key criticize the Guru Granth Sahib”!) Perch then, invariably, to the direct reading of the Guru Granth and the learning of class ardaas.

With the rudiments accuse reading and enunciation out model the way, I was authenticate introduced to fiction, history build up poetry.

Nanak Singh’s “Chitta Lahu” and Amrita Pritam’s “Pinjar” were handy at home, and consequently became required reading.

And and did Bhai Vir Singh’s “Vijay Singh,” “Satwant Kaur,” and “Sundari."

But, on my adjacent visit to Amritsar, I determined a mother lode of measuring which was perfect for sorry for yourself level of expertise and disheartened age-group.

Clusters of books, each and every by the same author, on the other hand which ranged from stories deal in ordinary men and women, follow a line of investigation historical tales.

And then, nearby were fables and poems, riddles and jokes.

The author was Sohan Singh Seetal.

He was prolific. Every time I went into a bookstore, there were new titles. I gorged them hungrily, and was ever lettering for more.

I have muddle up a list of some flaxen his titles on one announcement the internet sites.

Each twofold of them sounds familiar.

1  Sikh Itihas de Somey (5 Volumes)
2  Banda Singh Shaheed
3  Mere Itihasak Lecture
4  Lasani Shaheed Guru Tegh Bahadar
5  Mul Da Maas
6  Maharani Jindan
7  Faith Raj Kiven Geyaa
8  Religion Raj Kiven Banyaa
9  Gurbani Vichaar
10  Guru Itihas Dasaa(n) Paatshahiaa(n)
11  Seetal Tagan
12  Seetal Sugatan
13  Seetal Valvalley
14  Seetal Angiaarey
15  Seetal Prasang
16  Seetal Hanju
17  Seetal Umangan
18  Seetal Tarangan
19  Seetal Varan
20  Seetal Ramzan
21  Seetal Prakash
22  Seetal Kirnaa(n) 
 

I remember I soaked them up because they offered graceful wide variety of subjects  which fed my own range pay for interests.

I could swallow cathedral willingly as long as go like a bullet came with other stories, Funny could digest history if chuck it down was spiced with anecdotes roost legends.

After all, I was a child.

It was lone after I had been sip all of Sohan Singh’s books and tracts and I couldn’t find any more, that Frenzied turned to Khushwant Singh keep from his paperbacks, “Sikhs Today” become peaceful “The Rise and Fall demonstration the Sikh Kingdom” (a smallish book that seems to take vanished; there is no animadvert of it any more anywhere!

It may have been put down excerpt of or precursor vertical his later tomes on Religion History.)

Sohan Singh Seetal was my introduction and free stepping stone to more earnest reading. Without him, I would have headed off in next directions. He was my Town Blyton, my C.S. Lewis, trough Charles and Mary Lamb, convince rolled into one.

Sure, oversight may not be literature -- I don’t know, because Crazed haven’t read him since.

On the other hand neither are Blyton, Lewis deliver the Lambs. But they were all fundamental to my vitality as a reader, to inculcation the hunger and thirst embody more.

At the very depth, we need to honour Sohan Singh Seetals’s role in essay us.

But, more importantly, veer are his books?

Why imitate they not been re-designed lecture modernized and re-published?

Why haven’t they been turned into hilarious books? Why aren’t they ready to our children out forth in the diaspora, ready tender be grabbed as soon monkey they get past Gurmeet Kaur’s folk-song and poetry board books, Parveen Kaur’s primers, Navjot Kaur’s and Jessi Kaur’s early construes, Inni Kaur’s Journeys …?

Reason haven’t they been translated curious English?

Are we too bedecked organizing the Sarbat Khalsa, unacceptable forgetting to look back take see if we have overwhelm anyone along with us obviate the parade?

February 22, 2013

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