"Melanin  is the story of the twenty-five years of pain that I have seen and felt myself and in my students. It was my duty to hug them and tell them to love themselves,  that they ,too,  have a right to the world. That I should refute the divisions of color and race  and tell them that this sun is for you, the East is yours,  as also the West . That is all that I have tried to do."

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About his story 'MELANIN'

Jaswinder Dharamkot

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Jaswinder was born in a daily wager's family in the town of Dharamkot. His date of birth was recorded as 05-01-1977 by approximation at the time of school admission. Due to  economic hardship, both his elder brothers used to study as well as work part time in shops . Much of Jaswinder 's childhood was also spent similarly.

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He studied in a local aided school that followed a good tradition that the philanthropists , while donating money or materials, would give preference to the poor students , irrespective of their caste. Therefore, this son of a laborer, though born in a Pandit family, would strive to stand first or second in his class as such an achievement would earn him one hundred rupees and shoes to wear . Pursuing his education in regular schools , and at times privately , after passing the first year of the BA he also cleared the ETT entrance test, raising the hope of his getting a proper job.

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In 1998, after completing ETT by standing first, he got selected to teach in the same school where he had studied, and subsequently got a government job within 3 months and joined a primary school that had been closed previously. According to Jaswinder , teaching has always been not just his profession,  but passion also and a source of comfort. He had started reading and writing during college days. His first article was published on the main page of Aitwarta on 2 July,  2000.  But, at that time he was more focused on reading and teaching , hence writing was put on the back burner.

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From 2021-22, the seeds lying in the soil of the subconscious sprouted again. Initially, he wrote poems for children in Hindi, that were collectively published in the book 'Pighalata Suraj'. Then he started writing prose again. His first published story ' The Shawl ' came out in Tasman (October-December 2022), followed by a few more in other literary magazines. By September 2023, his  first eponymous anthology 'Melanin' also came out.