Collage Photos: Book by Khalid Mahmood, Bulleh Shah image originally by Tahirakram via Wikimedia Commons
Academy of the Punjab in North America has posted a series of new e-Books and magazines on its website, popular among Punjabi speaking communities.
Readers can download many of the 20 ebooks and 13 magazines as pdf files from the website (http://apnaorg.com).
“If you would like to add any Punjabi or Punjab related book to APNA Web’s book section, please send us a soft copy with the image of book title. Please also send us any Research Papers to publish on APNA web,” Safir Rammah, Coordinator APNA, says.
The academy posts books written in Shahmukhi (a script in Perso-Arabic alphabet used in Pakistan) as well as Gurmukhi ( used mainly by the Sikhs and derived largely from Brahmic script). The works including literary magazines and novels have been written by diverse Pakistani and Indian writers.
According to Safir, the books are added regularly and APNA’s online library now has more than 1000 books.
In addition, the APNA also has a collection of research papers in English, Punjabi and Urdu languages, and some of the most popular Sufi, folk and “Bhangra” music numbers.
Punjabi is a major language in Pakistan with a variety of dialects. Urdu, the national language, Pashto, Sindhi, Barohi are some other languages spoken in Pakistan.
In India, the language is widely spoken in the Indian Punjab and Jammu and is also the medium of education. Spoken by over 100 million people, Punjabi is the tenth largest language in the world and has seen an upsurge in literary output in recent years. The Punjabi Sufi poetry is particularly popular among masses and intellectuals, and its rendition by some of the finest singers has always remained a huge attraction in the film and music industries and its message of love for humanity has been a source of inspiration for generations in South Asia.
Pakistani Americans have formed several organizations to promote Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto and other languages, enriching the American literary landscape with works in diverse perspectives.
