Pandit Ram Saran Das Ji was a famous lawyer living in Lahore during the pre-independence era. He was an advocate of the revolutionaries during the freedom struggle. He used to write and recite patriotic and revolutionary poems in ‘Kavi Darbars’ organised in Lahore and other areas. Pandit Ram Saran Ji was my maternal grandfather. Following is a brief introduction of Pandit Ram Saran Advocate.
Pandit Ram Saran – Noted Poet and Writer
Pandit Ram Saran Advocate/Pandit Ram Saran Das was a prominent figure in the legal and literary circles of Lahore. According to Maula Baksh Khusta’s book ‘Punjabi Shairyon ka Tazkra,’ Pandit Ram Saran Ji started writing verses in Urdu and Hindi by 1918. After reading ‘Heer’ by Vaarish Shah, which he had memorised after reading three times. Later he started writing in his mother tongue, Punjabi.
After observing that the Punjabi language was on a decline, Pandit Ram Saran Ji was instrumental in setting up a ‘Punjabi Literary League’ in Lahore to promote the Punjabi Language. He was also the Vice-President of the ‘Punjabi Sabha’ Punjab.
Pandit Ram Saran Ji also participated in ‘Kavi Darbars’ organised by radio. I learnt this from ‘The Indian Listener’ published on June 7, 1944, detailing the programmes from June 16-30, 1944. He was one of the prominent poets who took part in a ‘Kavi Darbar’ on June 24, 1944.
Following are some literary works of Pandit Ram Saran Ji:
- Shrimad Bhagavad Gita (1935) – Pandit Ram Saran Ji translated Shrimad Bhagwat Gita in verses in Punjabi Language and published in both Devanagari and Gurmukhi scripts. I and my cousin have published it again in 2020 so that people get a chance to read this masterpiece and popular work. A copy of the translation and manuscript of Panditji’s Srimad Bhagavad Gita was available with his daughter Mrs Krishna which is now with her daughter Dr Neera Sharma.
- Punjab De Geet (1931) – Pandit Ram Saran Ji made a valuable contribution to Punjabi literature by collecting and publishing a collection of Punjabi folk songs, ‘Punjab De Geet’ (1931) in Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi in Lahore.
- Vedic Sandhya – Pandit Ram Saran Ji translated ‘Vedic Sandhya’ into simple Hindi (poetry).
- Shara Baint Shah Muhamad – A research publication that was appreciated by the people.
- Sapt Padi – Pandit Ram Saran Ji translated ‘Sapt Padi’ into simple Hindi verses.
- Poems – Many poems written by Pandit Ji were published in the magazines like ‘Preet Ladi’ and ‘Phulwari’. Some poems I could find include – ‘Qurbani da Aakhri Din’, ‘Raat’, ‘Teri-Meri Preet Purani’ and ‘Haq Nu Khalkat Bhool Gayi Ai’.
Some Memoirs – Poet Pandit Ram Saran Advocate
Recently I got in touch with Shri Subhash Sharma Ji, who is the grandson of Ustad Shayar Pandit Barkat Ram ‘Yuman’ Ji and is a resident of New Delhi. He shared some memories which are as follows:
Shri Subhash Sharma Ji told me that Pandit Ram Saran Ji, was his grandfather, Pandit Barkat Ram ‘Yuman’ ji’s poetic guru. There was a lot of affection between the two. Both, along with other poets, used to write and read poems against the British during the freedom movement.
He also told me that Pandit Barkat Ram ‘Yuman’ Ji was with Pandit Ram Saran Ji on the day Pandit Ji died on September 12, 1946. On that day it was raining very heavily and riots had also begun in Lahore. Pandit Ji’s last rites were performed in very difficult circumstances.
Shri Subhash Sharma informed me about his aunt ‘bua’ Smt. Prakash Vati Ji (daughter of Shri Barkat Ram ‘Yuman’), a ninety-year-old lady living in Batala city, was 16 years old in 1947. She had seen Pandit Ram Saran Advocate Ji many times in the ‘Kavi Darbars’ organized in the hall of ‘Amritdhara’, a historical building in the Gwalmandi locality of Lahore. Mrs Prakash Vati Ji further told that he was a very learned and patriotic person. He was fair in complexion and wore glasses. He used to wear silk kurta and dhoti like Hindu scholars.
Pandit Ram Saran – A well-known lawyer
After obtaining a degree in law from Lahore Pandit Ram Saran Ji started practising in the Lahore High Court. He had a mansion – ‘haveli’ in the famous Anarkali Bazar of Lahore. We have heard that he along with some other lawyers had formed ‘Gainti Fauj’, which covertly took part in the freedom struggle.
Pandit Ram Saran Das Ji was a lawyer in the ‘Lahore Conspiracy Case’, Famous Punjabi novelist Nanak Singh, has mentioned this in his novel ‘Ik Miyan Do Talwarein’ wherein he mentioned (page 212) that “… the leading counsel for the accused, Pandit Ram Saran Das, met legal member Sir Ali Imam and convinced him from the legal side that the judges who gave the death sentence actually acted with partiality and fanaticism. In the end, the Viceroy was convinced and he agreed to revisit the case and passed an order that the guilty should not be hanged until this task was completed”.
Pandit Ram Saran Ji was also a lawyer in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh case. Pandit Ji’s eldest daughter late Savitri Devi’s told her daughter Veena Sharma, that Bhagat Singh Ji’s mother used to come to meet Pandit Ji at his house in Lahore. A few days before the martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji, Pandit Ji had taken Savitri Devi, to jail to meet Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji. At that time, Savitri Devi was very young and she was dressed in white clothes. Pandit Ji asked Savitri Ji to bow down to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji and seek his blessings. Veena Ji was also informed by her mother Savitri Devi Ji that when Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji was hanged, his parents were in Pandit Ji’s house at that time.
Family
Panditji’s ancestors were Kashmiri Pandits and used to trade in wooden logs in Kashmir. During the rule of the Mughals, his family had come to Baba Bakala with the ‘Sangat of the gurus from Kashmir. From there the family members settled in Lahore and Amritsar. Pandit Ji’s younger brother Late Shri Bishan Das Sharma Ji lived in Jalandhar and was a well-known educationist there.
Pandit Ram Saran Ji, son of Shri Mohan Lal Ji, was born March 1, 1895, and left for his heavenly abode on September 12, 1946, at Lahore. He had two sons (Ved Prakash and Om Prakash) and four daughters (Savitri Devi, Krishna, Swaraj and Sharda), who are no longer in this mortal world. His son Ved Prakash served in the Indian Army (Artillery) and Om Prakash in the private sector in Delhi. Among the daughters, Savitri Devi lived in Amritsar and Krishna, Swaraj and Sharda lived in Chandigarh.
Pandit Ram Saran Das Ji’s family now consists of his grandsons, great-grand-sons, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. I am Vibha Sharma (Daughter of Late Swaraj) his granddaughter.
Some incidents related to the life of Pandit Ram Saran Das Ji
We have heard some incidents related to the life of Pandit Ram Saran Das Ji from our respective mothers. Following are some such incidents.
Mrs Veena Ji told that her mother late Savitri Devi informed her that Pandit Ji had participated in the demonstration against the Simon Commission along with Lala Lajpat Rai Ji. He and two other students were suspended from the college for one session for taking part in the demonstration. He was present at the Jallianwala Bagh protest on April 13, 1919, at Amritsar as a part of a ‘jatha’ from Lahore. Just before the massacre Pandit Ji and some other people had left for langar. They came to know about the massacre at the langar site.
Late Savitri Devi Ji also told Mrs Veena that a person ‘Khan Chacha’ came to Pandit Ram Saran Ji’s house early one morning and said ‘work is done’. At first, when everyone asked Panditji, he did not tell anything, later he informed that ‘Khan Chacha’ was giving the news of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s arrival in Kabul. Savitri Devi Ji had sung some part of the translation of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita in front of ‘Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Ji when Gurudev had come to Lahore and stayed at Lala Dhani Ram Ji Bhalla’s Kothi. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Ji liked translation and recitation very much.
His second daughter, Mrs Krishna Ji’s daughter, Dr Neera Sharma, says that when her mother (Mrs Krishna) was young, she met Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ji’s mother at her home in Lahore. Pandit Ji had introduced her and she bowed down to Bhagat Singh’s mother.
My (Vibha Sharma) mother late Swaraj Sharma told me that my maternal grandfather (late Ram Saran Das) had named my mother after the ‘Swaraj Party’ associated with the freedom movement. She also said that he used to write revolutionary poems. Some of these poems were written by Pandit Ji under his adopted name.
Grand-daughter of Pandit Ram Saran Advocate Dr Vibha Sharma Associate Professor & Head Department of Public Administration Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, Chandigarh E-Mail - vibhasharma9@gmail.com
In case anyone knows anything about Pandit Ram Saran Das/Pandit Ram Saran Advocate (March 1895-September 1946, Lahore, Un-divided India) please contact me at the given email. Thanks
My Space - Dr. Vibha Sharma 