Conservationists demand restoration of Bhai Vir Singh’s well

AMRITSAR: Conservationists in Amritsar have asked the government to declare the well in the house of noted Punjabi author Bhai Vir Singh as a heritage structure. Born in Amritsar on December 5, 1872, a year before the beginning of Singh Sabha Movement, Bhai Vir Singh was an inspiration for masses as he devoted his life to the rejuvenation of the Sikh community through his novels, poetry and annotation of the sacred text.
Stating that the old buildings were a reflection of history depicting personalities who had contributed to the growth of the area or had contributed to social, economic and cultural spheres, said Professor Balvinder Singh, a conservation spatial planner and a member of Bhai Vir Singh Niwas Asthan. He said the ancestral house of Bhai Vir Singh in Katra Garbha Singh in the walled city of Amritsar had undergone drastic changes, the traditional well, which was the source of water supply to the poet and his neighbours was in dilapidated condition.
“It can be restored and can be the spirit of the place. Moreover it can be a symbol of the place’s identity,” he said. Prof Balvinder said declaring the well as a heritage memoir it would be a rich tribute to Bhai Vir Singh as it would remind the new generation of the great personality.
Bhai Vir Singh was among the principal promoters of Sikh institutions such as Chief Khalsa Diwan, Sikh Educational Society (1908) and the Punjab and Sind Bank (1908). He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955 and the Padma Bhushan in 1956.
‘Sundari’ was Bhai Vir Singh’s first novel in Punjabi. He had conceived the story and written at least a portion of it while in school. The novel was published in 1898, a year after Bhai Vir Singh launched a newspaper called ‘Khalsa Samachar.’