PNN

The foreword of the book titled ‘Jaagte Raho’ has been written by Prof. (Dr.) Sunil, Dean, Faculty of Languages ​​and Head, Department of Hindi, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. According to him, ‘Jaagte Raho’ is one such collection of short stories that reveals many aspects of life and society that a human being has to deal with all the time. The author’s stories have been written in such a way that it forces the readers to think and ponder. Some of the short stories in this collection are timeless. In this collection, every aspect of life and society has been observed and examined very closely. These short stories introduce the reader to the contradictions of life and society and confront them with the bitter reality of life. The book sums up how offenses like fraud in the name of religion, political corruption, conspiracy to spread popular madness, deception in the name of social reforms or personal injuries in the name of relationships hurt a simple and sensitive human being at every turn. This pain is felt in all the short stories in this collection and the scope of these short stories is very large.

Furthermore, Prof. (Dr.) Sunil writes, “Some of Manoj Dhiman’s short stories attempt to capture the character of contemporary politics. The stories show that contemporary politics has nothing to do with the concept of a welfare state. Manoj Dhiman has vast life experiences and these, coupled with his writing talent, help him to express many bitter truths in literature.”

The foreword of the Hindi novel titled ‘Birju Naai Ki Dukan’ has been written by Dr. Ajay Sharma, the well-known Hindi novelist from Punjab, who has received many awards including Shiromani Hindi Sahityakar Award from the Government of Punjab, Central Hindi Directorate Award and Sauhardya Puraskaar from the Government of Uttar Pradesh. In the foreword, Dr. Ajay Sharma writes, “India is a land of diversity and unity in diversity is its identity. Moreover, it is a land of faiths. In this country, traditions and faith are closely intertwined and there are many bad practices too. Many times such things also become a means of livelihood in this country. Nevertheless, faith is a part of the culture of this country. However, faith can turn into superstition, creating many types of distortions. Manoj Dhiman has broken new ground with his novel and forced the readers to think.”

Furthermore, Dr. Ajay Sharma writes that in Dhiman’s novel, superstitious incidents appear right from the first page. There is a thin line between faith and superstition and the novel exposes the difference of this line. The novel also exposes the hypocrisy of people. Dhiman is concerned about the evils happening in the society. His novel also talks about women in the context of their so-called empowerment and writes about how despite big claims about gender equality, they are still not sufficiently empowered. He further writes that Dhiman has successfully raised many questions in front of the readers.

Tarsem Gujral, the well-known Hindi writer from Punjab who has won many literary awards including the Central Hindi Directorate Award for the year 1993-94, reacted to Dhiman’s books and said that the short stories in the book titled ‘Jaagte Raho’ take up poignant incidents from life. He added that Dhiman’s debut story collection ‘Late Night Party’ is a must-read and his latest novel ‘Birju Naai Ki Dukan’ is an excellent literary work. The connect with the common people is profound in both the books.

The two books, Birju Naai Ki Dukan and Jaagte Raho, were published by New World Publication, Delhi. Dhiman has dedicated both the books to his father, late HR Dhiman, a veteran journalist from Ferozepur (Punjab). “I get ideas for my creative work from my surroundings, experiences and from people from different sections of the society,” said Dhiman, adding that he pens down his views whenever he sees something hurtful happening around him. He also said that he has a strong feeling that there is a “force” that helps him in carrying out his creative work. He said he started writing for Hindi dailies and magazines in his childhood and that his readers gave him strength and motivation to continue writing.

Dhiman has also written books earlier. These are ‘Late Night Party’, a collection of short stories (2007); ‘Baarish Ki Boondein’, a collection of poems (2009); ‘Shoonya Ki Ore’, a novel (2012); ‘Yeh Makaan Bikau Hai’, a collection of short stories (2021) and ‘Khol Kar Dekho’, a collection of short stories (2022). The English translation of ‘Late Night Party’ has also been published and the translation was done by Prof. Shaheena Khan. His first book ‘Late Night Party’ was published in Ludhiana in 2007 by former CBI Director Joginder Singh.

Recently, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, inducted Dhiman into the Board of Studies (PG) for Hindi, which will last from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026.

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