Google has paid tribute to Punjabi writer and poet Amrita Pritam with a Google Doodle on what would have been her 100th birthday.
Ms Pritam, who was born in Gujranwala, British India, is best remembered for her poem “Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu,” which lamented the traumatic partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.
Widely considered to be the Punjabi poet of the 20th-century, Pritam published her first collection of verse at 16. She died in 2005.
She published 28 novels over her life, including Pinjar, a dramatic tale set during the time of partition which was adapted into a film in 2002.
Although known for her mastery of the Punjabi language, she lived in Pakistan after partition and wrote many books in Hindi and Urdu.
Pritam’s autobiography, Kala Gulab (Black Rose), shared details of her personal life and encouraged other women to speak more openly about their experiences in love and marriage.
The Google Doodle artwork references her biography with of black roses.
Pritam also worked for All-India Radio and edited the literary journal Nagmani.
In 1986, she was nominated to the Indian parliament.
Throughout Pritam’s six-decade career, she received many prestigious awards, including the Bharatiya Jnanpith literary award in 1981 and one of India’s highest civilian awards, the Padma Vibushan, in 2005.
