Dalip Kaur Tiwana (4 May 1935 – 31 January 2020) was one of the foremost novelists and short-story writers of contemporary Punjabi literature. She won awards, both regional and national, and was a widely translated author. She retired as Professor of Punjabi, and Dean, from Punjabi University, Patiala. She is widely credited as a tour-de-force in the creation of the contemporary literature in the Punjabi language.
Biography
Dalip Kaur Tiwana was born on 4 May 1935 in the village of Rabbon in the Ludhiana district of Punjab in a well-to-do land-owning family in British India. She was educated at Patiala, where her uncle, Sardar Sahib Tara Singh Sidhu was Inspector General of Prisons. She had a distinguished academic career. She earned first class honors in the pursuit of her M.A., and then received a PhD degree from the Panjab University, Chandigarh.[1]
In 1963, she joined the Punjabi University, Patiala as a lecturer and then went on to become professor[2] and head of the department of Punjabi, and dean, faculty of languages. She was also a UGC National Lecturer for a year. She often lectured in England, United States, and Canada where she also received awards for her contributions to the literature.
She was married to sociologist and poet and professor Bhupinder Singh and has a son Dr Simranjit Singh, who is an assistant professor of electronics engineering at Punjabi University. Dr. Tiwana lived with her family on the campus of Punjabi University, Patiala, where she was life fellow and writer-in-residence.
On 14 October 2015, she renounced her Padma Shri award (the highest honor for an Indian writer bestowed by the country) against increasing 'intolerance' in the country. She received this award in 2004 for her contribution to literature and education.[3]
Who Am I? (trans. Dr. Rajinder Singh) Who am I is the story of a young and educated married woman, who feels suffocated in her monotonous life and chooses to renounce the world for self-realization. She follows a group of sadhus and sadhvis to Hardwar, but from there moves on alone in her quest for truth.
The characters in Tiwana's novels and short-stories are the downtrodden and the innocent rural folk with suppressed desires and passions. Tragedy and irony mark the main elements of her fiction. Complex inner duality of the female psyche is the chief theme of Tiwana.[citation needed] Besides her achievement in fiction, Tiwana has also written two books on literary criticism.
Awards
Academic
Honored with UGC National Lecturership.
Literary
Govt. of Punjab Award for Sadhana as the best book of short stories, 1960–61.
Woman of the year - American biographical institute, USA, 1955
Ministry of Education and Social Welfare Award for Punjaan Vich Parmeshar in 1975
Nanak Singh Puruskar (Languages Department, Govt. of Punjab) for the novel Peele Patian Di Dastan
Gurmukh Singh Musafir Award (Languages Department, Govt. of Punjab) for the autobiography Nange Pairan Da Safar in 1982
Canadian International Association of Punjabi Authors and Artists Award, 1985.
Shiromani Sahitkar Award, Languages Department, Govt. of Punjab, 1987.
Pramaan Pattar from Punjab Govt. 1989.
Dhaliwal Award from Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana, 1991.
Best Novelist of the Decade (1980–90), Punjabi Academy, Delhi, 1993.
Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba Award for the novel Katha Kuknus Di, Karnataka, 1994
Vagdevi Award for the novel Duni Suhava Bagh from Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta, 1998
Honored with Mata Sahib Kaur Award during the tercentenary celebrations of the Birth of the Khalsa for outstanding contribution in the field of language, art and literature at Anandpur Sahib on 11 April 1999.
Kartar Singh Dhaliwal Award (Lifetime achievement) from Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana, 2000
