It is not often that you come across a good translation of a good book in Punjabi. The Tale of the Phoenix is one such volume. The author, Dalip Kaur Tiwana, is considered one of the best contemporary Punjabi novelists and Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, the translator, is herself a product of the same milieu —Patiala and Punjabi University figured prominently in both their lives, as also mine.
Dalip Kaur Tiwana is a student of my mother, Inderjit Kaur Sandhu. When my mother became Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, one of the three women in the world to hold that position at that time, Dalip Kaur was a colleague and Nikki the daughter of a very dear and venerable colleague, Professor Harbans Singh. Of course, I have known them both for a long time, and it was one of the attractions of the book…however, my review reflects my unbiased view. Please click here to read it.