India, Jan. 11 -- Hope, resilience and love for the written word marked the release of a collection of 89 short stories, titled 'Bahar Aun Tak' by the much-revered short-story writer Navtej Singh (1925-1981) to mark 100 years of the writer who contributed greatly to the remarkable journey of the Punjabi literary and legendary magazine Preetlari (Chain of Love). The release of the book, which includes 89 short stories by the author, took place in the Capital at the India International Centre on January 6. Literature lovers across languages braved the winter and rough weather to share the literary, inclusive and inspiring discourse that took forward the tradition of togetherness. Releasing the book, a second edition to short stories S Trilochan Singh, former chairperson, Minorities Commission of India, lauded the writing of the great storyteller and the long literary tradition that the journal of Preetlari stood against many odds and loss. The story of Preetnagar began with Sialkot-born Gurbaksh Singh Preetlari (1895-1977). An engineer who graduated from Thomas Engineering College, the present-day IIT Roorkee. He went on to study civil engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. A man of vision and foresight, he chose to apply his experience to harness dreams larger than just following a career in engineering. He set up a literary commune named 'Preet Nagar' amidst old fields and forgotten monuments in greens of Punjab which was equidistant from between Amritsar and Lahore. His personal charisma and dreams were such that he found leading names of artists and writers joining him in this visionary endeavour. Writers, artists and activists like Nanak Singh, Balraj Sahni, Diwan Singh and others joined him in this new journey. Then it soon became the cherished spot for literary and artistic endeavours with the leading names of the times joining this fresh endeavour, including Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sahir Ludhianvi, Upendra Nath Ashq, Kartar Singh Duggal, Balwant Gargi, Mohan Singh and Amrita Pritam associating with this new league. It was indeed an instance of "Log aate gaye aur karwan banta gaya" ( people kept joining and a caravan started). The north had found its Santiniketan of sorts which was the dreamchild of Rabindra Nath Tagore in Bengal). It was in 1933, that Gurbaksh Singh established the Preetlari magazine, first in Punjabi and later also in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. Interestingly, the name of the magazine was tagged onto Gurbaksh Singh's name in this very interesting tradition of the Punjabis who like to remember their writers along with the title of their most famous popular literary endeavour in fiction or poetry. This charming practice continues colloquially till date in the Punjabi literary circles, signifying perhaps that the title of a well-loved literary creation is as significant as its creator's name. This title later followed the name of the storyteller Navtej Singh, the elder son of Gurbaksh Singh, who was to succeed his father as the editor of the magazine. Poonam Singh, the present editor of the magazine, recalls an emotional memory of Navtej Singh, her father-in-law. His greatest desire was for Preetlari to keep serving his people. His genuineness earned him great loyalty! He was in Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, getting treatment for cancer. He was in denial about the seriousness and was positive about a good outcome. I was to prepare the July 1981 issue of Preetlari. I wrote a letter to him saying (a little dramatically!) that I would keep his 'sandals' on the throne and work till his return (a reference to what Bharata said to Rama), reading which I got to know he burst into tears. but wrote back -- you shall be a full member of our team. Till then I had worked as a translator, proof reader etc, and had left National School of Drama in Delhi to help with Preetlari, although I had expressed doubts about his survival and that of our new generation editorship being accepted...(but it was some petty minded rivals of their family who went on by themselves to declare to the press at his funeral that Preetlari would now stop publication...an impression that many otherwise loyal readers still have). But Poonam and her husband Sumit Singh together kept the tradition alive as there were more sorrows yet to come. The young promising editor of Preetlari, Sumit, was shot dead in a nearby village when he was pillion riding on his younger brother's bike on February 22, 1984, as he had short hair and no turban. Those were days of terrorism in Punjab. The family was left deserted and many thought it to be the last blow on Preetlari that stood for love and togetherness! It was then that Poonam Singh, editor, Preetlari cried out publically against terror of any kind and said that it was not the end. She and Sumit's younger brother, Ratikant Singh, became a key figure in continuing the family legacy as manager and promoter while the brave, Poonam, trained in theatre, turned to the task of editing it. The two later married as per tradition and the journey continues. The recent book release and the large audience it attracted at the haze aad cold of Delhi was a firm assertion that it is not easy to break the chain of love. Not just that, the generation next added to it with Ratika Singh screening a short film on her grandfather's short story titled 'Basheera'. And the legend lives on....