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Updated: Aug 31, 2019 04:53 IST

Google doodle has honoured Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam with a doodle, marking her 100th birthday. A renowned poetess, Amrita was born on 31 August 1919 in Gujranwala, Punjab of British India, which now fall in Pakistan.

Amrita is considered a path-breaking woman, who rose to fame with her literary works like Pinjar, Suneray and Nagmani that brought to the fore the grim reality of atrocities being perpetrated on women across borders.

Not only did the Punjabi poetess wrote more than 100 books, both on poetry and fiction, she went on to become the first woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1956.

In commemoration of 100th birth anniversary of celebrated Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam, a two-day symposium dedicated to the maverick novelist — who lived and wrote ahead of her times — begun at the Punjabi Bhawan on Friday.

“It was an evening in 1982. Didi and I were travelling from Mumbai to Patiala with Imroz driving the car. That was then when she asked me, Ravinder, why don’t you get married? Don’t you have any interest in drowning your heart in the boundless sea,” recalled Ravinder Bhathal, president of Punjabi Sahit Akademi.

Also read: ‘A pioneer, Amrita Pritam paved way to modern day feminism’

In the 100th birth year of the writer, who did her language proud, celebrations of her life and writings have been going on spontaneously in different parts of the country and not just Punjab.

She occupied the pride of place with Bangla poet Subhash Mukhopadhay and Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi at a national seminar at Calcutta University in celebration of the three major poets born in 1919. While the Jaipur Literature Festival had done a phenomenal ‘Hamari Amrita’ session some years ago, last year saw Khushwant Singh Literary Festival at Kasauli and the Majha House at Amritsar curating memorable sessions on the inimitable poet.

Also read | Down the 100-mile road: The legend of Amrita Pritam lives on