India, Nov. 15 -- 1What inspired you to start your literary journey? In college in Delhi, professor Baldev Singh taught us English literature. I was so fascinated by his brilliance that I almost fell in love with him. I was hardly 16 and he treated me like a child. To impress him, I wrote my first short story and presented it at an inter-collegiate event. I got hearty applause and was brought a piece of paper on which was written: "Brilliant story. Please give it to me to publish in the journal I edit, Naviyan Keemtan (New Values)". It was signed by professor Ram Singh, a great scholar in the Punjabi world. That was the beginning of my literary journey. There were many hurdles. I was married at 18. My husband forbade me from writing, as people would get to know me and want to meet me, which he did not want. I did not write for nine long years. Everything kept boiling within me. Ultimately, I broke out of my cage and the river flowed in full force. Friends advised me to get my stories published. They were already very popular. One day, the renowned Punjabi publisher Navyug's Bhapa Pritam Singh came to me and asked me to select 15 stories for a book. My first book, Gulbano, was published in 1960 and won awards. There was no time to look back after that. Many of the stories were translated into Hindi and published in the prestigious Hindi journal Dharamyug, by Dharamvir Bharti. 2What made you write about the 17 people in The Blue Potter? If you could include one more, who would it be? These 17 were close friends. We knew each other's lives at different levels. I wish I could have included Bhai Vir Singh, Nanak Singh and Bhagat Puran Singh (often called the Mother Teresa of Punjab), but they were separated by age and distance and I did not know them personally, though I had regular correspondence with Nanak Singh and Bhagat Puran Singh. VP Singh was very close to me emotionally and I admired his poetry and paintings and devotion to the poor and deprived, but he could not fit among the Punjabi stalwarts although I have written a sketch on him titled Raja Ya Fakir in the book's Hindi edition, Neela Kumhaar. 3Which character sketch was the most difficult to write? Amrita Pritam was a difficult sketch because I had admired her since I was a little girl. Her father, Hitkariji, taught me Gurmukhi. But when Emergency was declared, she wanted me to sign in its favour, which I refused. She was also strangely silent about Bluestar and the 1984 killing of Sikhs. Later, she got into a conflict with Krishna Sobti over the title of the latter's book, Zindaginama, and tried to involve me in that conflict after Krishna went to court. It was also a difficult account to write because of her treatment of her husband Pritam Singh, who was a very noble and gentle soul who loved her and financially supported her until his lonely death....