| Italic Title: | --> |
| Marhi Da Deeva | |
| Title Orig: | ਮੜ੍ਹੀ ਦਾ ਦੀਵਾ |
| Subject: | Life of a poor |
| Genre: | Social |
| Pub Date: | 1964 |
| Media Type: | |
Marhi Da Deeva (Originally in Panjabi; Punjabi: ਮੜ੍ਹੀ ਦਾ ਦੀਵਾ, Literally meaning: The Lamp of the Tomb), sometimes spelled as Marhi Da Diva, is a 1964 Punjabi novel by Gurdial Singh. This first novel established Gurdial Singh as a novelist.[1] [2] The author himself described it as the first Punjabi novel in "critical realism". It came in for high praise, with some critics calling it a landmark equivalent to Premchand's Godan.[3] It was translated as The Last Flicker by the Sahitya Akademi.
The novel was adapted into a 1989 Punjabi film of the same name.[4] [5] Surinder Singh directed the film, which starred Raj Babbar, Deepti Naval and Parikshit Sahni in lead roles.[6] The film received a National Film Award and was critically acclaimed.[4]