Dalbir Chetan

Dalbir Chetan Biography

Dalbir Chetan was a popular short story writer associated with Punjabi language, who has formerly served in Indian Air Force. Many of his works have been widely translated to other languages. His thought provoking short story collections - Rishteyian De Aar Paar, Raat Baraate, Khara Badal and Mehndi Bazaar are very popular. The short story - Mehndi Bazaar from the book Mehndi Bazaar is among his most popular works and has been translated to many Indian and foreign languages, which was selected in Twenty Stories from South Asia. Many of his short stories have been adapted to television plays and serials. "Asi Javaab Dinde Haan" – is his edited work, for which he gained appreciation.  

His real name is Dalbir Singh Jhand and he was fondly called Dalbir Chetan. He was born in 5 April 1944 in Taragarh Talawa, Amritsar into a rich family. His education was completed at Amritsar and Patiala. He joined Indian Air Force and served the nation for long 15 years. He was active in his literal career during this period, and once retired he started a school at his native place. He worked with Excise and Taxation Department and died two years after his retirement in 2005, aged 60. He continued with writing after retirement.

Though not a prolific writer, his works were thought provoking and he dealt with core social issues, including corruption, crime and terrorism, apart from the complexity of human relations. His stories were day-to-day happenings. The great writer Amrita Pritam has once commended that "Dalbir Singh Chetan has such a power in his writings that his personified characters actually stir up the sentiments of the reader”, which itself is a great recognition of his talents.

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Updated: January 28, 2016