Bits and bytes in Punjabi

Rubinder Gill meets Jaiteg Singh, who has authored a book in Punjabi on the working of computers

TWIN loves — for his mother tongue and students — made the young and eager Jaiteg Singh do pioneering work on computer literature in Punjabi. This 25-year-old from Patiala has penned Computer Sarachna ate Vivharikak Varton, a first of its kind, comprehensive book in Punjabi on the subject.

"I thought it was my moral responsibility to promote my language as the world and technology advance at a break-neck speed," he says simply.

The achievement sits lightly on the broad shoulders of the debutant author. Jaiteg was helped in his pursuit by his father, Dr Bhupinder Singh Khaira, Professor of Punjabi linguistics at Punjabi University, Patiala. Dr Khaira motivated his son in his endeavour and the two also enriched the language by coining new words in Punjabi for computer terminology. Parnali tantar in Punjabi is equivalent of ‘operating system’ in English.

Jaiteg, currently a student of M.Phil course in computer application and sciences from Madurai Kamraj University, worked on the topic Analysing Issues in Object Oriented Testing for his dissertation. The two, the book and the dissertation, facilitated each other as they covered common ground.

In an age when youngsters hope to make a beeline for foreign shores, the author prefers to stay put in the land of his forefathers. When an opportunity to go abroad presented itself, Jaiteg decided to stay here and carry on his research. "My mother Nirvair Kaur Khaira taught at Government Senior Secondary School, Bahadurgarh. My sister Santripat has also a got a Ph.D in Punjabi. So, in a way all of us have an academic bent of mind."

After completing Master’s in computer application with distinction from Punjabi University, Patiala, Jaiteg went to teach undergraduates at Layallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar. The college had about 10,000 students and the Department of Computer Science itself had more than 3,500 students. There he found that advancement of some outstanding students suffered as the medium of instruction was English.

"While teaching there, I realised that many students found it difficult to follow instructions in English as their medium of early education was in Punjabi. So, to make things easier for such students, the idea of this book took form."

"I wanted to write a book which was an honest effort to help students who required a comprehensive package in the language. Earlier books in Punjabi were more of a downloaded cut-and-paste effort. I didn’t want that. So, I invested a lot of time and effort in this book."

Jaiteg is also a man of varied interests. Painting and making cartoons are his hobbies. "I got a scholarship from the Centre of Cultural Development and Training in Class VIII and it continued till I graduated. I won numerous on-the-spot painting competitions held by the North Zone Cultural Centre. In the Punjab State Education Board competition, I stood third." The impish streak in him led him to make cartoons of his teachers. "They took it in the right spirit and appreciated my efforts," he says with a grin.

Jaiteg’s next agenda is to get registered for his Ph.D, and work on the topic ‘object oriented software testing techniques’. Meanwhile, he is already planning another book on specialised software engineering. "I don’t know how long will it take. I have to be totally satisfied with the effort and only then will it see the light of the day."