O Mian-Book of Poems
Published in 2010, is a compilation of poems written after mid-nineties to 2010. The book signals a new movement in Punjabi poetry from the local, stagnating concerns to cosmic unity and universal consciousness. These poems reach back to the mystic expression of the Punjabi poetry of the early 20th century, but express the quest for beyond from the contemporary vantage point. As this book crystallizes new trends in Punjabi poetry, two essays—the preface and the appendix—are manifesto of sorts for this new movement. In one of these essays, Shameel reinterprets the concept of ‘objective art’ as expounded by the famous Russian mystic Gurdjieff. He locates Gurdjieff’s idea in the contexts of the Indian literature. In the other essay, Shameelwrites about relevance of poetry in the contemporary world where speed and stress define our culture.
ਧੂਫ਼
ਧੂਫ਼ ਕਿਤਾਬ ਦੇ ਤਿੰਨ ਹਿੱਸੇ ਹਨ। ਪਹਿਲੇ ਹਿੱਸੇ 'ਟਰੇਨ ਕਵਿਤਾ' ਵਿਚ ਟਰੇਨ ਦੇ ਸਫ਼ਰ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਟਰੇਨ ਚੋਂ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੀਵਨ ਦੇ ਅਲੱਗ-ਅਲੱਗ ਅਹਿਸਾਸ ਅਤੇ ਖਿਆਲ ਪੇਸ਼ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਕਵਿਤਾਵਾਂ ਹਨ। ਦੂਜੇ ਹਿੱਸੇ 'ਪਿਓ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਵਿਤਾਵਾਂ' ਵਿਚ ਪਿਤਾ ਹੋਣ ਦੇ ਅਹਿਸਾਸ, ਪਿਓ ਦੇ ਰਿਸ਼ਤੇ, ਜਾਂ ਪਿਤਾਤਵ ਦੀ ਸੰਵੇਦਨਾ ਚੋਂ ਪੈਦਾ ਹੋਈਆਂ ਕਵਿਤਾਵਾਂ ਹਨ। ਤੀਜੇ ਹਿੱਸੇ 'ਧੂਫ਼' ਵਿਚ ਉਸ ਸੰਕਟ ਦੀਆ ਕਵਿਤਾਵਾਂ ਹਨ, ਜਿਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਭਿਅਤਾ ਦਾ ਸੰਕਟ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਨਸਾਨੀ ਸਭਿਅਤਾ ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਤਬਦੀਲੀਆਂ ਚੋਂ ਲੰਘ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਸੰਕਟ ਪੈਦਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ।
Siasat Da Rustme Hind
This biography of veteran Indian political leader late Harkishan Singh Surjeet was published in 2003. The book launched several controversies and debates in India as it was critical of the role communists played in the Indian politics. Shameel claimed in this book that the first thesis of a Sikh homeland presented by India’s communist party was originally drafted by Surjeet, when he was in jail during the British rule. Surjeet had also accepted this fact in a TV interview given to Shameel and Sidhu Damdami on TARA TV channel in 2001. Along with the life of Surjeet, the book charts the growth of democracy and the communist movement in India and how the two came into conflict time and again.