Learning and writing in Punjab
Amarjit Chandan’s 2014 interview with Anne Murphy traces a literary education across several places. Born in Nairobi, he recalls attending Arya School in Nakodar, Lyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar and postgraduate English study at Panjab University. He describes copying his father’s poems for submission to newspapers and magazines, a task that led towards poems of his own. A poem in Preet Lari marked his entry into print. The interview also records his resistance to a fixed label for the poetry: emotional quiet, sorrow and joy deserved room alongside political commitment. His account connects writing with education, practical copying and reflection on what poetry could express.[1]
Editing, language and archives
Vivek Gupta’s 2011 report recalls Chandan’s editorship of the underground Punjabi journal Dastavez. Writing and editing remained connected to language after his move to Britain. Chandan defended the older Punjabi expressions in his poetry by locating its resources in folklore, Gurbani and Sufi verse. He was also concerned about how younger generations would inherit that language. His proposal was concrete: archives should preserve photographs, sounds and artefacts for future readers. The report places this concern within a Chandigarh visit, bringing a writer established in London back into conversation about Punjab’s literary and cultural resources.[2]
A poet meets a painter
Aditya Bahl’s 2025 review describes another form of literary work: Chandan’s conversation with painter Sohan Qadri in Copenhagen in 1991. Its Punjabi transcript appeared as Hun-Khin in 2001; Rajesh Sharma later translated it into English as The Now Moment. Bahl presents the dialogue as an exchange that moves among artistic, political and spiritual ideas. He also notices Chandan questioning Qadri’s convictions and recalling the painter’s earlier political engagements. The reviewed book therefore records disagreement as well as shared experience, giving the poet a role as an interlocutor who keeps returning artistic reflection to its historical setting.[3]
Sources & notes
Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.
- Amarjit Chandan; Anne Murphy; Varan Mann; Mandeep Kaur Tatla. Amarjit Chandan interview transcript ↗Oral history · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Transcript pp. 1–3; opening date and project’s UK interview listing. Accessed 2026-11-05.The transcript opens with 23 June 2014, while Anne Murphy’s UK interview listing says May 2014. Both identify the same interview; the article uses only the shared year. The translated transcript and project credits were checked, not the original recording or an independent chronology.Return to Learning and writing in Punjab, paragraph 1 ↑
- Vivek Gupta. A Poet For All Seasons: Amarjit Singh Chandan ↗Reported interview · Source date: 2011-11-12 · Locator: Main report; archives passage. Accessed 2026-11-02.Edited Hindustan Times report inspected; external criticism excluded.Return to Editing, language and archives, paragraph 1 ↑
- Aditya Bahl. The Now Moment: Conversations with Sohan Qadri (review) ↗Book review · Source date: 2025-04-27 (update) · Locator: Main review. Accessed 2026-11-02.Review inspected; full conversation book unread.Return to A poet meets a painter, paragraph 1 ↑
Record PH-PEO-0114 · English edition · human review not performed