Chaman Lal Nahal, the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award was born in 1927 in Sialkot, which is now in Pakistan. He received his M.A. from the University of Delhi and Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham. His writing is a kind of mixed flavour of history of India and fiction. Sometimes he is very serious in his appeal and sometimes he used the comic tone to depict the problems of India.
WORKS
My True Faces was published in 1973, which deals with the extreme mental and physical pain of a young man after losing his wife and son. Actually, the wife and son are missing and all the things revolve around this. Later the protagonist realizes that all the happenings are nothing but the faces of Krishna, the true faces.
Azadi is a historical fiction, which is set against the backdrop of the partition of India. It was published in 1977. The setting
of the novel is Sialkot. Before the partition the Hindus and Muslims used to live happily, even they were not aware of the
partition of India. The suitability of the relationship has been presented by the three major characters belong to the three
different communities-Lala Kanshi Ram, Chaudhari Barkat and Teja Singh. But this peace has been violated after the
partition of India.
Chaman Lal Nahal won the Sahitya Akademi award for this novel.
The English Queens is a kind of attack and a satire to those Indians who think that it is better to neglect own culture and
adapt the western culture, language etc. It was published in 1979. Here we see the mixing flavour of historical character and the fictional character. Nahal takes Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy to unfold his story. Before living, India Mountbatten wanted to propagate and spread the English language and that is why he appoints six women in New Delhi.
Rekha, the daughter of one of these women shocked them by marrying a young poor man, who is very much Indian in his appearance and attitude. The shocking points come to the reader when they reveal that this young poor man is none other than Vishnu, who has come to destroy the second-hand language. However, unfortunately, he even fails to destroy it.
SELECTED WORKS
Novels
- My True Faces (1973)
- Into Another Daun (1977)
- The English Queens (1979)
- Sunrise in Fiji (1988)
- Azadi (1977)
- The Crown and the Loincloth (1981)
- The Salt of Life (1990)
- The Triumph of the Tricolour (1993)
- The Gandhi Quartet (1993)
Award
1977 Sahitya Akademi Award for his Azi