Book on love for Lahore launched in Dubai

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Popular Indian Punjabi writer and singer Gurwinder Singh Gill Raunta has launched his first book in Dubai “Hello! Main Lahore Ton Boldan” to show his profound love for Lahore.

The book “Hello! Main Lahore Ton Boldan” (Hello, I’m speaking from Lahore) written in Punjabi, narrates the writer’s recent visit to Lahore in Pakistan.

The event to release the book in Dubai was attended by a large number of expats from India and Pakistan.

People in love with Punjab, Punjabi (language) and Punjabiyat (culture) also shared their love in a series of dialogue organised by Folk Studios Events at the Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai.

The participants included writer Raunta, Nasir Dhillon, Harf Cheema, VP Singh Gill, Manpreet Kaur Sidhu, Kuldeep Chirag and Ravi Multani. Talking to the audience, Raunta said, “It was my first phone call from Lahore when I went there in 2022. I phoned my mother and somehow instinctively said to her, ‘Hello! Main Lahore Ton Boldan.’ These five words have ever since stuck with me and forced me to write the book, which is basically about how similar the people on both sides of the border are.”

This book by Raunta, published by Print Well, is gaining fame at the international level.

So far four editions have been published within 15 days of its release and a record 10,000 copies have been sold.

Saby Sanjh, organiser of the event said, “This book speaks to the hearts of the people living in Indian and Pakistani Punjab. The author has not used heavy or difficult words anywhere, but has won the hearts of the readers in the language of common speech.” He said that this is the first event of its kind held in Dubai, in which successful efforts were made to bring Punjabi books on international fame. During the event, a dialogue was also held with Raunta and the guests asked him questions about his life and the process of creating this great book. Responding to a question, he said, “Soon this book will be translated to Hindi for a wider audience and also will be published in Pakistan in Punjabi.”