‘Structure that symbolises crime was once an embodiment of bravery of patriots’

After months of hard work,the book was translated by city-based author Saaz Aggarwal and released at the hands of Meeran Borwankar,Additional Director of Police (ADG),(prisons department) at Poona Club on Saturday evening.

“It was only while I was working on the translation that I realised how well I could understand my mother tongue,Sindhi. I worked very closely with Rita. The day I sent her the last part of the translation,she was taken to hospital and never got to read it,” said Aggarwal. Rita passed away on September 15 this year.

After having read the book,Borwankar said she connected with it on various levels. Being in charge of Yerawada jail,she was surprised that the structure,which now symbolises crime,was once an embodiment of the bravery of our patriots. “I will consider putting up a memorial for all those people of Pune who fought for the freedom we take for granted. There are youngsters filled with criticism of the government,who don’t have any idea of our past or an agenda to make any kind of positive difference,” said Borwankar.

She said she was delighted to read about the various perspectives of family members,especially that of the mother. She added that Punjabis and Sindhis share the same strength in their soul,that even though they were forced to move out of the land they knew as home never to return,they made themselves an integral part of society wherever they settled. “I hardly get to read my mother tongue,which is Punjabi. So I don’t leave a chance to read the short phrases or words written in Punjabi at the back of trucks and other vehicles,which catch my eye. I urge everyone to return to their roots and start reading and learning their mother tongue.”