FORGING AHEAD (Creation In Letters) Words are promises, words are testimony, words are emotions, words are love, words are hatred, words are life and they are sediments of flowing life too When one unlocks the doors of the past and wants to show the sediments to others which were neither shown before nor there was any intention of showing it, they are expressed in words, crafted into letters and merged into a book. These letters themselves become the postman and they unstitch the tangled loops of her life. And suddenly, many a folds of Urmil Satyabhushan's life begin to open their eyes And through them peeps the history of her time, those social economic and political environment which has woven her personality and knitted her psyche. This creation has become a wonderful documentation of Urmil's time, expression and her love for life.
Pravesh Dhawan is a well known writer and translater. She writes in Hindi, Punjabi, and English. Her tranlation work "Forging Ahead" (English translation of "Hamare Patra Padhna") an Autobiography of Urmil Satyabhushan is marked with a sense of responsibility. She successfully depicted the life of the auther. Her works are: Sagar, Lehren aur Bhanwar (2007) - Poetry, Vakt Ka Behta Darya (2009)-Poetry, Pani Ke Bulbule (2011) Stories 'Dhalta Suraj, Chharta Chand Sher-o-Shairi (Under Publication) She got many awards like Honoured by Sm Vimla Sharma, the First Lady of India in 1996. Appreciation Letter of Akshram Mahadevi Verma - in 2008 Honoured by Narayani Sahitya Academy in 2011.
My memory was considered to be quite sharp s ince my childhood. I could recollect things, events and scenes as such, synchronize them and describe them as if they were happening before my eyes. As I grew up, all the events kept heart's fill. Everything kept on being recorded systematically in this box as in a photo reel. Sometimes that box would suddenly open up with a jerk and the reel would start playing instantly in my mind taking the shape of reality. I would close it immediately lest it pulls me back and hinder my present forward motion, lest it deprived me to expand the panorama of the struggle of my life. I knew that the reel contains burning red color of gulmohar tree along with some sweet soothing fragrance from the jungles of sandalwood. Where it contains the arrows of poison, it also has glorious drizzling of nectar. But I had to make my way forward through jungles, mountains, rivers, canals and barren lands of my life ignorant of other delights of nature. I had no time to stop and knock at the door of past recollections but had to hurry up to face the ever coming challenges.
I continued to fight the battle of life all alone, oblivious of the victory or defeat and accomplished my journey. And a time came when I felt that I had finished all my worldly duties. The wars of life were over and I was there standing all alone, a solitary figure.... wondering what to do next. Now I was at a leisure to open that pandora of past experiences. With a very little effort, all the doors, windows, etc. appeared before my eyes. There lay a long tunnel of darkness with intermittent rays of magnificent light of various colors and shades: Very many galleries, streets, lanes were flashing from one side to the other in front of my eyes. As if in a trance I started roaming there freely without any cares and worries of the olden times. The galleries of reminiscences were not in proper pattern but there was a peculiar orientation in this disorientation. I started marching ahead probing the past happenings or events from every angle. There was nothing which could escape from my observation, This was what I had witnessed and undergone in my past. My feet had gone sour with boils but unmindful of all these, I kept on leaping and somersaulting like a antelope. I was totally focused to discover the ultimate goal of my life. Besides it was the search for my own self. And it was also the analysis of my past perceptions and philosophy. I wished to share all this with my fellow -passengers of life train. I wished to show them the moments of my ecstacy over my achievements. That is why I transcribed the pictures of my life's photo reel in the form of words on the papers. This journey is to attain the musk from the musk of musk deer. Here there are many turning points with blind endings and obstacles in the wilderness of the galleries besides some green patches of tranquility which refreshes and recharges the life to move on. I wish to take you along through these shady and obscure paths interwoven with illuminated soul touching heavenly pastures of my life. Will you come along? I spent seven long years to accomplish this. However, how long the journey will go on, I cannot say? The voyage is not yet over, it is continuing. New experiences are being added on. The lamp is still burning. Let it lighten the dark areas to facilitate the movements of the passengers coming from behind. With the ardent desire that my comrades will keep the torch kindling and not let it extinguish when I take the final plunge, I wish them all the best. Thanks to Pravesh Dhawan who translated my work in English with sincere efforts, she depicted the emotions and turmoil of the life of an auther in lucid style. I wish her great success in life.
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