Interview by Sivasankari with Balbir Madhopuri
Balbir Madhopuri was born in 1955 in the small village of Madhopur (Jalandhar),Punjab. Despite having to work as an agricultural labourer on account of poverty, he managed to acquire a post graduate degree in Punjabi. His writing primarily focused on the problems of the oppressed classes. Apart from his original works, he also understood the importance of translation and took on the task of translating, into Punjabi, like Taslima Nasreen’s ‘Lajja’ and Catherine Cle’mnet’s ‘Edwina and Nehru’ among others. His works have earned him the Gurdas Ram Alam, Sant Ram Udasi awards, Dr Ambedkar Fellowship and Bhai Vir Singh Award of Punjab Govt and awards for poetry and translation of Dehli Govt.
We met at his house in Mahavir Vihar, an extension of Palam village, on the outskirts of Delhi. Balbir was thoughtful enough to ask a friend to wait for me at the market place to escort me to his residence. But for this, I would have certainly wasted my entire day looking for it! After we were done with the interview, he introduced me to his wife and children, offered me tea and refreshment, and gifted me a beautiful pen. Thereafter, he touched my feet and look my blessing saying. “You are like my brother and you have taken the trouble to come and meet me”. It was a very different experience indeed.
