She put Punjabi literature on the world map. No other writer is as synonymous with Punjabi literature as Amrita Pritam (1919-2005), a familiar name even for those not acquainted with Punjabi. She cocked a snook at convention and defied social norms. There was no split between life and literature for Amrita because literature was her life. Gulzar Singh Sandhu on the Grand Dame of Punjabi letters.

Gurmeet Singh was 9 when a wall of ocean wave crashed down on his life in the Nicobar Islands. He watched as his sisters, 3 and 5, were washed away by the engulfing water. He watched as his parents lost their struggle against the powerful sea.