My name is Roopinder and I am a lucky person. I get to do what I love for a living. Workaholic has no negative connotation for me. OK, I admit that working is not always fun, actually no routine is, but I am gainfully and enjoyably employed as a journalist.
Being a journalist has a natural extension in being a photographer. No self-respecting journalist would like to admit that he is not a photographer. Well, I started with a camera that cost Rs 50, an Agfa Click III when I was a fifth grade student and sheer persistence made sure that I achieved some competence and recognition.
I also love motoring, and whenever I can, I go for rallies to the Himalayas with my friends.
Here I am sharing my writing and my photographs with you. Much of what you see here has been published before, but I believe that it still might pull in those of you who have an interest in the subjects I write on, and what I photograph.
I work for The Tribune, the leading newspaper in Chandigarh, India, where they keep me busy enough. I have written two books, co-edited one, and am the co-author of yet another book, which makes me a journalist-cum-author.
The first book was on Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Arjan Singh, DFC, a war hero who was Chief of the Air Staff the Indian Air Force. After retirement, he handled diplomatic and administrative assignments with particular elan. The book was released by the then Defence Minister George Fernandes at the FICCI auditorium in New Delhi on August 14, 2002.
My second book is on the founder of the Sikh religion. Titled Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings. It was published in 2004 has been received well. A second English edition has been printed and it is also available in a Hindi translation, both in hardcover and paper back. It was released in Chandigarh by Gen. (Retd) S. F. Rodrigues, Governor of Punjab, on April 12, 2007.
Giani Gurdit Singh: 1923-2007, a festschrift on my father, a famous Punjabi author, was co-edited by my mother, Mrs Inderjit Kaur, and me. We released this bi-lingual (Punjabi and English) book on February 24, 2008, at the Punjab Kala Bhavan in Chandigarh.
Woman: Many hues many shades, was released in Ludhiana by Harsimrat Badal, Member of Parliament, on August 31, 2009. This book is a compendium, in which many acclaimed writers like Khushwant Singh, the late Patwant Singh, Taslima Nasreen have contributed.
My essay, A Liberating Journey, is on my mother, Inderjit Kaur, the only woman Vice-Chancellor of a university in North India and the only woman chairperson of the Staff Selection Commission, New Delhi.
As for personal details, I studied in three schools: St John’s High School, Chandigarh; St Francis School, Amritsar and Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, from where I earned my Senior Cambridge ‘O’ level certificate.
Later, I studied philosophy at St Stephen’s College, Delhi (BA Honours and MA). I was also Secretary of the Philosophical Society for two years, and Punjabi Society for a year.
In 1984, I went to New York, where I was initiated into journalism, working for a newspaper owned by non-resident Indians.
My time in Manhattan is a splendid memory. I lived in the East Village, attended a journalism course at NYU and worked off Broadway and 24th. What a fun-filled time it was. The past always is!
In 1990 I moved to Chandigarh, The City Beautiful, as it is known. It has been my home since.