Pinjar (novel)

This article is about the book. For its film adaptation, see Pinjar (film).

For other uses, see Pinjar.

Pinjar (Punjabi: ਪਿੰਜਰ; English/Translation: The Skeleton) is a 1950 Punjabi-language novel written by notable Indian poet and novelist Amrita Pritam.In 2009, Pinjar was translated by Khushwant Singh in English. The novel depicts the conditions and nature of the Indian society during the partition of India in 1947. Amrita Pritam has poured her own experiences in the novel. She portrayed the women life in the partition period^[1] It is the story of a Hindu girl, Puro, abducted by a Muslim man, Rashid;^[2] Puro's parents refuse to accept the defiled girl when she manages to escape from Rashid's home. Pinjar is widely considered one of the outstanding works of Indian fiction set during the period of the Partition of India.

Pinjar

Author	Amrita Pritam
Original title	ਪਿੰਜਰ
Translator	Khushwant Singh (in English) Denis Matringe (in French)
Language	Punjabi
Genre	Social
Publisher	Tara Press (reprint)
Publication date	2009 (reprint)
Publication place	India
Media type	Print
ISBN	978-81-83860-97-0

Main characters

• Puro (later, Hamida)-main protagonist
• Rashid- Muslim boy who kidnapped puro
• Ramchand -fiance of puro
• Lajo - sister of ramchand & wife of trilok
• Trilok - brother of puro
• Rajjo - younger sister of puro
• Tara (Puro's Mother)
• Mohanlal (Puro's Father)
• Shyamlal (Ramchand's Father)
• Pagali
• Javed

Adaptation

The novel was adapted in the 2003 Hindi film of the same title (Pinjar), starring Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpai and Sanjay Suri in the lead roles. After receiving critical acclaim, the film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.^[3] A Pakistani television series based on the novel titled Ghughi premiered on 25 January 2018 on TVOne Pakistan.^[4]