Amrita Pritam’s personal life was tumultuous, but it was Imroz who brought calm to her chaos. At 16, Amrita was married to Pritam Singh, one of her admirers, with whom she had a son named Navraj and a daughter named Kandlla. However, their marriage didn’t last and it was her love for poet Sahir Ludhianvi which later became her obsession. But, Sahir and Amrita’s relationship too was not meant to last. It was Imroz, who then became her anchor and support in life as years unfolded.
Post India’s partition when Amrita moved from Lahore to Delhi, she took up a job at the All India Radio (AIR) as an announcer. Imroz, who was earlier named Inderjeet Singh, was born in undivided Punjab on January 26, 1927, and it was at AIR where he met Amrita– who was 10 years older than him. Slowly but steadily, the duo fell in love with each other– a love that became timeless and an inspiration to many.
At a time when live-in relationships in India were unacceptable, Amrita and Imroz moved into their Hauz Khas home in Delhi. Together, their love, companionship, and work flourished which was quite public. The couple worked on the magazine ‘Nagmani’, which Amrita edited and Imroz worked on as an illustrator and designer for over three decades.
Over the years, many people questioned or pondered over Amrita and Imroz’s relationship. How did Imroz love Amrita so much, knowing that she was married earlier and also deeply loved Sahir Ludhianvi? “When you love someone and you are sure of your love, you do not count the obstacles in the way,” Imroz once said, author Uma Trilok wrote in her book ‘Amrita -Imroz: A Love Story’ which was published by Penguin in 2006.
Amrita and Imroz lived together as a couple without getting married for 40 years. And their love did not end even when Amrita passed away on October 31, 2005. In fact, in one of her last poems, she wrote for Imroz:
“मैं तैनू फ़िर मिलांगी
कित्थे ? किस तरह पता नई “
(‘I will meet you yet again, I know not how and where… but I will meet you for sure.’)
After Amrita died in 2005, Imroz became a poet himself and wrote poems about Amrita and his undying love for her. He always spoke of Amrita as if she was still alive and very much with him, as per reports. In the last days of his life, Imroz lived in Mumbai with Alka Kwatra, Amrita’s daughter-in-law as Amrita’s son Navraj also passed away.
Amrita and Imroz’s enduring love and companionship is a testament that true love is meant to last, no matter what.
Unusual love story of Amrita Pritam and Sahir Ludhiyanvi
