In the captivating, rainbow-like hues of old Lahore, countless faces shimmer before the eyes, among them the radiant face of Rajinder Singh Bedi, who introduced the Urdu short story to new artistic heights. Bedi’s parents were from Sialkot, where their ancestral home was located. His mother, Sewa Devi, was a Brahmin. In contrast, Bedi’s father, Hira Singh, was a Sikh. Thus, within the home, Bedi found an atmosphere of reconciliation, which is also visible in his short stories.
In search of a livelihood, Bedi’s parents came to Lahore, where Hira Singh found employment at the post office in Sadar Bazaar. Two children were born to Hira Singh and Sewa Devi, but they did not survive long. Then a son was born, named Rajinder Singh Bedi. That very Bedi was to shine like the sun in the sky of the Urdu short story. After Rajinder Singh Bedi, two sons and a daughter were born to Hira Singh and Sewa Devi. Hira Singh worked day and night for his children and wife. With the limited income from the post office, household expenses were met with great difficulty.
When Bedi grew a little older, he was enrolled in a school in Lahore Cantonment, from where he passed four classes, and then he went to Khalsa School, from which he passed the matriculation examination in 1931. After matriculation, he began his intermediate education at D.A.V. College. During this period, his mother, Sewa Devi, fell seriously ill and, due to paralysis, became bedridden. Bedi’s father, Hira Singh, loved his wife deeply. He devoted himself day and night to her care. During this time, he resigned from his post office job. On the other hand, Rajinder Singh Bedi, seeing the delicacy of the situation, left his education incomplete and took up employment at the post office in place of his father.
In those days, marriages were arranged at a young age. In 1934, Rajinder Singh was married to Satwant Kaur. At that time, Bedi was only nineteen years old. The post office job had long working hours. Even so, whenever he found time during work, Rajinder Singh continued to write stories to fulfil his passion. Stories scattered all around him—stories of ordinary people, stories of their deprivations, stories of the layered nature of human relationships.
During this period, he wrote some memorable stories. It was here that, in 1940, his first collection of stories, Dana-o-Daam, was published, which included his famous short story Garam Coat, counted among his representative works. But the truth was that the atmosphere of the post office suffocated him. From morning till evening, it was the same kind of work. By now, several years had passed while working there. Every day, he thought about when he would be released from this place.
Rajinder Singh Bedi’s restless soul never found peace. He was never satisfied with any single colour of life. Few people know that he began his artistic life with poetry and wrote verses under the name Mohsin Lahori, but soon he realised that poetry was not his field and that he should travel another lane
Then one day, the door of his cage opened, and Bedi breathed the air of freedom after a long time. He was now offered a job in the Urdu section of All India Radio. This was the era when music dominated the radio, where famous musicians and singers of the time came. Female singers also appeared on the radio. When Rajinder Singh’s wife, Satwant Kaur, learned that her husband had secured a job at the radio, she began to cry loudly. She said that courtesans sing on the radio. She was worried about her husband. Rajinder Singh Bedi himself narrated this interesting incident in an interview.
On the radio, the essence of Bedi’s art fully unfolded. In 1942, his collection of short stories Girahen was published, and in 1943, another collection, Be-Jaan Cheezen. This was the time when the renowned humourist Patras Bokhari was also associated with radio. He appreciated Rajinder Singh Bedi’s art and placed him in a senior position. It was an important post, but the artist within Bedi was restless to do something new. In search of this novelty, he left the radio in 1943 and joined Maheshwari Studio, but this period lasted only a year and a half. Eventually, the attraction of radio pulled him back.
By now, Bedi had made a name for himself in the world of short stories, yet the artist within him wanted to do something new. In 1946, his collection of plays Saat Khel was published. These were the plays Bedi had written for radio. After short stories and plays, the mercury-like artist within Bedi wanted to test his mettle in the art of publishing. His dream was to establish a publishing house from which distinctive books would be published. To fulfil this dream, in 1946, he launched a publishing house in Lahore named Sangam Publications Limited.
Although at that time the political atmosphere of India was filled with restlessness and uncertainty, and riots had begun, it never crossed Bedi’s mind that one day he would have to part from Lahore. Then suddenly, the fire of riots flared with full intensity. Human beings became strangers to one another. One day, from the window of his house, he saw a Sikh and a Muslim being killed. It was a heart-rending scene. He was an artist and, like every artist, possessed a sensitive heart. This terrifying sight overwhelmed his senses, and for several days, his power of speech deserted him. He wanted to speak but could not. Later, the horrors of the riots found their way into his short stories.
His publishing house also fell victim to the riots—the very institution into which he had invested his life’s earnings. Leaving behind the beloved city of Lahore with his family, he went to Delhi, where he had to begin life anew. By then, he had already become a well-known name in the world of short stories. Around that time, he happened to travel to Jammu with a delegation, where he was offered the post of Director at Jammu Radio, which he accepted. This was in 1948. Bedi worked there with great dedication. Through his efforts, Srinagar Radio came into existence.
In 1949, his new collection of short stories Kokh Jali was published, but Bedi’s creative abundance did not let him stay in one place. In search of something new, he came from Jammu to Delhi, and from there to Bombay, the centre of films, where he decided to display his artistic talent in Bollywood. In films, his stories startled everyone from the very beginning. His first film was Badi Behen, but it was the film Daag whose story gave wings to his fame. Films like Abhiman, Anupama, and Satyakam also played an important role in his popularity.
Now he had established his name in the worlds of short stories, drama, screenplay, and dialogue writing. His creative abundance sought a new realm. This new realm was film direction. His friends knew that whatever he resolved to achieve, he attained. Would he succeed in this field as well?
Rajinder Singh Bedi’s restless soul never found peace. He was never satisfied with any single colour of life. Few people know that he began his artistic life with poetry and wrote verses under the name Mohsin Lahori, but soon he realised that poetry was not his field and that he should travel another lane. He then began writing stories and astonished serious readers of literature. He felt that he was born to write stories. During this period, he also wrote plays for radio, but his creative abundance searched for novelty. This search took him to the world of cinema, where he wrote stories, dialogues, and screenplays for films. But he wanted to do something more than that. Now he turned towards the lane of film direction and proved his mastery in this field as well.
The first film directed by Bedi was Dastak, made in 1970, starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan, with music composed by Madan Mohan. After that, Bedi directed three more films, including Phagun (1973), Nawab Sahib (1978), and Aankhen Dekhi (1978). On his novel Ek Chadar Maili Si, Sangeeta made a film in Pakistan in 1978 titled Muthi Bhar Chawal, which was a popular film. In India, too, a film based on this novel was made in 1986 under the title Ek Chadar Maili Si. On Bedi’s short story Lajwanti, Ila Bedi Dutta also made a television series in 2006.
Bedi was honoured with several awards in recognition of his art. For the film Garam Coat, whose story was based on his short story Garam Coat, Bedi received the Filmfare Award. Similarly, for the dialogues he wrote in Madhumati and Satyakam, Bedi was awarded the Filmfare Award. For his novella Ek Chadar Maili Si, he received the Sahitya Award.
While on one hand Bedi was gathering successes in the dazzling world of films, on the other hand, the successful journey of his short stories continued. In 1962, his novella Ek Chadar Maili Si was published. In 1965, the short story collection Apne Dukh Mujhe De Do; in 1974, Haath Hamare Qalam Hue; and in 1982, the collection of short stories and sketches Mukti Bodh were published.
In the presence of Krishan Chander, Ismat Chughtai, and Manto, Rajinder Singh Bedi was a distinctive short story writer. One reason for this was his craft. He worked extremely hard on the selection of themes, the chiselling of words, and their usage, and this style became his identity. In this context, it would not be out of place to mention an interesting incident. Bedi and Manto shared informality. One day, he received a letter from Manto in which Manto wrote, “Bedi, your problem is that you think too much. You think before writing, you think while writing, and you think after writing.
Whenever Lahore was mentioned, a pang arose in his heart. Once, during a television interview, while speaking of Lahore, he began to cry like a child
There is less story and more labour.” In his reply, Bedi wrote to Manto, “Manto, there is one bad thing in you, and that is that you do not think before writing, you do not think while writing, and you do not think after writing.” This was a contemporaneous sparring between two friends, but Manto’s opinion was correct to the extent that Bedi spent a great deal of time on the doors and windows of his stories, and this became the hallmark of his style.
Bedi’s stories have their own atmosphere. There is diversity in his themes. The central characters of his stories are ordinary people. The layered nature of human relationships is his special subject. Bedi enters the minds of his characters and depicts the inner turbulence. Regarding Bedi’s female characters, one objection is raised that they are stereotypical women who endure male oppression but do not raise a voice of protest. Here, it is important to understand that Bedi’s style is not high-pitched like Manto’s. He presents injustice towards female characters in such a way that the reader not only feels the injustice but also develops an intense desire to change the unjust society.
In Bedi’s stories, there is a reflection of the villages of Punjab. The social and religious traditions of Punjab appear to peek through his stories. Bedi’s observant eye notices things we tend to overlook. When these observations become part of his stories with complete detail, the picture of society becomes whole with all its colours. In Bedi’s choice and use of language, alongside Urdu, the occasional use of Punjabi words and expressions makes him distinct from others, and his images are also drawn from his surroundings.
Although Bedi had established his name in fiction and film, there was a deep void in his personal life. The very wife with whom he had claimed love in the early years had now become a burden for him. In the world of film, there were many actresses with whom Bedi had friendships. Added to this was Bedi’s drinking. All of this was unbearable for his wife. Perhaps this is why her health began to deteriorate. Circumstances gradually moved towards decline.
In such a situation, Bedi decided to make a film with his own capital. The name of that film was Aankhen Dekhi. For the central role, actress Suman was selected. The main reason for this selection was that Bedi had become a prisoner of her love. Although he had friendships with many actresses in the film world, his association with Suman isolated him from the world around him. This very affliction consumed his wife, and after remaining ill for some time, she passed away. On one side, Bedi’s film Aankhen Dekhi was completed, and on the other side, actress Suman turned away.
For Bedi, there was now no refuge. His health began to deteriorate. The film, into which he had invested the savings of his life, never ran in cinemas. It was a devastating blow. Bedi suffered a paralytic attack and became bedridden. After enduring the agony of illness for many years, he finally passed away in 1984 at the age of sixty-nine.
A man who had gathered wealth, honour, and fame in his life went into eternal sleep carrying countless deprivations in his heart. Among these deprivations was the longing to see Lahore, whose lanes and bylanes had pulsed with so many days and nights of his life. Whenever Lahore was mentioned, a pang arose in his heart. Once, during a television interview, while speaking of Lahore, he began to cry like a child. Tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes. In those tears shimmered the image of his home in Shyam Gali of Sant Nagar, Lahore.