I was born in Punjab and first came to England as a young child. In 1969, my family returned to our village, where I spent the next few years surrounded by farms, fields, animals and the changing seasons. There was no television and, in our village, no electricity. In the evenings, stories became part of our entertainment. Many were told by my mother, while others came from relatives and people around us.
I returned to England in 1972, but those years in Punjab never really left me. The stories stayed somewhere in my memory while life moved on. More than fifty years later, I began writing them down — sometimes discovering how clearly I could still remember the people, places and little details surrounding them. What began as childhood memories has gradually become Stories from My Punjab Childhood.
“These stories were given to me as a child. More than fifty years later, I am passing them on.”
— Lakhvinder S. Madahar
Share the Stories
Lakhvinder is available for school visits, storytelling sessions, libraries and community events, sharing both the children's stories and the memories of rural Punjab behind them.