Amia Kunwar’s Punjabi book Imroznama is a peep into a surreal world that Imroz and Amrita Pritam inhabited

Amrita to sadiyon baad paida hoti hai, Imroz to kabhi hoga hi nahi, says Amia Kunwar, in Chandigarh to promote her book Imroznama, which is her tribute to Imroz on his first death anniversary. While Amia has translated numerous books of Amrita Pritam and has also written about her, she had also penned some articles on Imroz earlier..

Exactly one year back, when she travelled to Delhi from Mumbai, after his last rites, she was troubled by what was being said about him. “People had no idea about who he was and were writing such things that I decided to bring the real Imroz, the artist, to light. Thus, began the journey of Imroznama.” The 280-page book took about nine months to write.

Written in Punjabi, Amia is translating it into Hindi and its English translation would be done by journalist-author Nirupama Dutt. Is the book about Imroz or is it another Amrita-Imroz love story? “I tried making it about Imroz but when Imroz is there, Amrita to aa hi jaati hai. The book has poems written by him about Amrita.” Remembering him as a darvish, Amia says, “He was an easy, honest, caring man. I seldom saw him angry. A man with limited means, he lived like a fakir.”

She recalls an incident when Imroz got Rs 21,000 as an award for his first book. “He bought flowers for Rs 5,000, three kurtas and gave the rest for kitchen expenses. I asked him, ‘Couldn’t you have saved some’, and he said, ‘pholon ki khushboo aa rahi hai na’.”

Understanding Amrita-Imroz love is not for the lesser mortals. Amia calls it do jism, ek rooh. “Amrita has had her share of troubled life, but when Imroz came to her life he shielded her from unwanted people and attention.” Amia also mentions how Imroz took care of Amrita during her last days. “For about two years, his sheets were blank, colours went dry as he devoted all his time to tend her.”

Amia recalls how she got her name from Amrita. “On the accidental discovery that my friends and husband call me Amia, Amrita was like ‘There are 20 Amarjits; Amia is such a beautiful name. But Kaur doesn’t go with it, so let’s go with Amia Kunwar.”

In Amrita, Amia sees a maa, an elder sister, a companion beyond the bonds that are defined. She recalls how once that she was bedridden and Imroz landed up with 150 books to her house. “Maa (Amrita) ne bhaijiyan hain,” he said.

“My book is about a man who loved unconditionally. As people waited for him to leave Amrita, he continued to love her, even beyond her death. Imzronama is a peep into a surreal world they inhabited,” she signs off.