Every writer’s poetry contains his personal self hidden within it. A writer writes both his own personal experiences and those of the world around him. All kinds of artists — whether a poet, a singer, an actor, or a painter — those people in whom God has placed the gift of art, who are called artists, many of them in the later days of their lives prefer to write their autobiography, so that their well-wishers and admirers can also know about their personal lives. So that people can see them beyond just being an artist. Audiences also have a heartfelt desire to know about their favourite artist’s personal life, personal journey, and struggles. That is why many artists record the days of their lives — whether it is life behind the curtain or on stage — in their autobiography. “The Artist” is the autobiography of one such artist, one such actor.

        The author of “The Artist,””Deep Datewas,” appears to be a man of very deep thought. Reading his novel, it feels as if he either reads English novels or watches English films. His novel reads like the story of a Hollywood film. Reading the novel, one can sense that a film could be made on it. How many characters he has in the novel — all of them — he keeps dancing on his fingertips, just like puppets are made to dance. How carefully he has preserved and used all the characters, like one who keeps arrows safely in a quiver and aims them at the right moment when the time comes.

“The Artist” is the autobiography of a failed actor who, while journeying, becomes the journey itself. His life is filled with extreme sorrow and hardship, but he keeps bearing those sorrows with the hope that someday good times will come — but that time never arrives. And in old age, how he longs to go back to his childhood, where every day was carefree. But childhood, once gone, is never found again. “The Artist” is the story of a son sent out as a warrior by his mother — who believes her son will return as Alexander the Great, who conquered the world — but her son, beaten by circumstances, sells himself at every turn. This is the story of a famous actress of the stage who has to murder her own husband, and who sacrifices everything to make her son an actor. This is the story of a beloved’s patience — a patience that remained only patience, and the waiting grew like an immortal vine. This is the story of women forced into prostitution, for whom no one came to take their hand and lead them out of this hell.

        Author “Deep Datewas” has beautifully portrayed the characters in the novel. There are some things that recur repeatedly in the novel and perhaps unnecessarily lengthen it. But even so, given that this is his first attempt, a few shortcomings can be overlooked. His effort is commendable. He has a beautiful writing style. I would like to see him include stories akin to characters from the villages of old and present-day Punjab — stories resembling our Punjabi culture — in his novels too. Let him read the old Punjabi novels and beautifully portray such narratives as well. Reading his novel, I feel he is capable of doing this. I hope for this from him in the future. May he succeed with his novel — I congratulate him on his debut novel.

Best Wishes,

Sukhwinder Raj Singh

District Mansa

(In the first edition of this book, my name was K. Deep.)