A Room Of Her Own: Inside Amrita Pritam’s Lost Home of Art and Love

Amrita Pritam, the voice of Punjabi poetry and the fearless feminist, started writing poetry when she was just 12. Married by the age of 16, she received early recognition for her book Thandian Kirnan in 1935, which marked the beginning of an extraordinary literary journey. Over the next seven decades, she authored more than a hundred works, spanning poetry, fiction, essays, and autobiographies. Her writings were not only celebrated in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu but were also translated into multiple languages, including English, Russian, and French.

A towering figure in Indian literature , Amrita brought global recognition to Punjabi literature, becoming one of its most decorated writers. She was honoured with prestigious awards such as the Jnanpith, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Bulgarian Cyril and Methodius Award, and France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Both the Delhi government and the Punjabi Academy of Lahore hailed her as the "Poet of the Millennium", a rare acknowledgement that came from both sides of the border.

The Lost Memorial of Amrita Pritam 

Virginia Woolf once said, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write." Amrita had that room, and she turned it into a world. Her desk was often strewn with letters, books, and half-filled diaries. Her thoughts roamed freely, unhindered by patriarchal expectations. Her home was the physical embodiment of her feminist spirit.

The home was filled with memories, portraits of Amrita painted by Imroz, and her verses written on clocks, lampshades, and pen stands. The bougainvillaeas climbing through the windows, the harshingar tree the couple planted together, and a hand-painted dining table turned the house into a living museum.

Amrita was more than just a writer; she was a radiant personality, full of courage and deeply romantic at heart. Her life reflected a bold pursuit of freedom, both personal and creative. Trapped in an early arranged marriage, she eventually broke free to live life on her own terms. Her decades-long relationship with artist Imroz, with whom she shared a deep emotional and artistic bond, became a defining chapter of her life.

A Sanctuary of Love and Art

Just five years after her death in 2005, her family sold K-25. It was bulldozed, replaced by concrete flats. The house that had been her temple of creativity and intimacy was gone. Imroz, who still lived there, was devastated. He could only rescue the nameplate of "Amrita Imroz", a token of everything they had built.

There was no protest, no media uproar, and no memorial plaque. Compare this to how the world protects the homes of Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, or Frida Kahlo. In India, often, women's spaces, whether emotional, physical, or intellectual, are the first to be erased.

K-25: A Home of Her Own

The loss of K-25 is not just the loss of a building but the erasure of a woman's space, a lover's corner, an artist's canvas, and a poet's retreat. Amrita wanted it to remain as a memorial. But in a country that struggles to honour its writers, especially its women writers, even their last wishes can be swept away like dust.

Though she had wished that the first floor of the house be preserved as a memorial after her death, that dream was shattered when the house was sold and demolished soon after she passed away. Despite all it symbolised, K-25, the poetic soul of Amrita's life, was lost forever.

Yet, her words survive. Her soul lingers in her poetry, in every woman who dares to love unconventionally, to write fearlessly, and to build a room of her own, even if the world keeps tearing it down.