Watchmaker, The

The first-ever English translation of the Punjabi classic by Nanak Singh Kedar, orphaned and penniless, comes to Rawalpindi in search of a job. He finds employment as a watchmaker, but discovers, to his horror, that he has taken away Panna Lal’s job, whose debts are mounting by the day. Along with the job—the only source of sustenance for his family—Panna Lal loses all hope of marrying his daughter off and settling his debts. He writes a letter to Kedar blaming him for his misfortune and goes missing thereafter. Kedar’s attempts to find him fail. Plagued by guilt, he decides to shoulder every responsibility of Panna Lal’s family. He assures them that Panna Lal is safe and away on business in Bombay. Soon Kedar finds that he has fallen in love with Veena, Panna Lal’s daughter. But his guilt-ridden conscience compels him to suppress his love. In a strange twist of fate, Kedar is confronted with a difficult choice—of saving Panna Lal’s family from homelessness or single-mindedly pursuing Veena. The Watchmaker—a nuanced and poetic translation by Navdeep Suri of Nanak Singh’s 1942 classic Pavitra Paapi—brings alive a tragic tale of unrequited love.