Shiv Kumar Batalvi

  Parvinder Singh from B.A. Kwantlen Polytechnic University performed a thesis on ‘The heroine in modern Punjabi literature and the politics of desire’, talking about the version of Loona contributed by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. The link for the report is - https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0073494 In one of the journals published by Sahitya Academi, Akshaya Kumar performed a research on the tale of Bhagat Pooran titled, ‘ From Spiritual to Subaltern: Shifting Semantics of "Kissa Pooran Bhagat'' in Modern Punjabi Literature’. Kumar mentions Shiv’s version of Loona in the study too. The link for the thesis is - https://www.jstor.org/stable/23341396 Gurdial Singh, a student at Department of Punjabi, Punjab University performed a research on Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s work. The thesis is done in Punjabi language. Singh talks about the culture of Mushairas and contribution of Shiv Kumar Batalvi in the success of Mushairas of modern poets. The thesis also

  The most common term or phrase his fans use to describe him is Birha Da Sultaan (The King of Sadness). In this post of the Blog, we will talk about the stories associated with the name of Shiv Kumar and the opinions of fellow poets and his friends. Once Shiv Kumar Batalvi mentioned that he was sitting with Amrita Pritam (Punjabi Poetess) and Achla Devi (Bollywood Actor), when he started singing his poems in front of them they both got emotional and he could see tears in their eyes. To break the sadness in the environment Shiv stopped his singing in between. When Shiv released his first anthology Peeran Da Paraga (The Scarf-full of Sorrows) in 1960, Amrita Pritam was so touched with his work that she wrote a letter to Shiv, a copy of which can be seen in the photograph below. Amrita blessed him for the pain in his poems writing, “ May the Pain in your Poems live Forever. I don’t know whether your Pain is a Blessing or a Curse ”. Bhushan Dhianpuri, a fellow poet, who was in Chandigarh

  Born on 23rd July 1936 in Bara Pind Lohtian (Shakargarh tehsil) Punjab, which is now a part of Pakistan, Shiv Kumar used to talk a lot about his childhood days. The lands of Pind Lohtian used to be a part of Gurdaspur before the Partition of Indian Territories.  Being close to the mountains of Jammu & Kashmir, the weather of the village was quite cooler compared to other villages of Punjab. Shiv’s life before partition was really peaceful, his village has around 500 families with majority of Hindus. Both Hindus & Muslims used to drink water from the same wells, and their kids also played together. Religious and seasonal festivals were given importance by the villagers, and Pind Lohtian was also known for his political stability and social law and order. Every dispute was settled within the village through Panchayats, no major crimes were reported and police never came to the village. The village was named Lohtian because merchants there used to bring Loha (Iron) from the City

  The play of Loona makes Shiv Kumar Batalvi a contemporary poet. The book Loona was published in 1965, which helped Shiv to touch a new peak of success. He was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award for this book, and till date he is known to be the youngest recipient of this award. He was 28 years old when he received the award. Loona embraced the changes taking place in modern Punjabi literature.  The Tale of Loona was actually known as the Folk Tale of Bhagat Pooran. Loona had sexual and emotional desires which were often tagged as ‘lust’. Raja (King) Salwaan was an old king of Sialkot. He was married to queen Ichhra and they had a son named Pooran. Accepting the suggestions of his astrologers, the king sent his son Pooran away from him for first 12 years of his life, as he can’t see his face during that period. In between this time, king Salvaan married another young lady named Loona. Loona was a beautiful girl from a small middle class family living in a village. After his isolation p

From 1968 to 1972 the four years of Chandigarh gave both fame and pain to Shiv. Wishing for some peace and to get a change in his life, Shiv was looking for a trip abroad, which was fulfilled by the invitation for a trip to England, from Dr. Gurpal Puri and Mrs Kailash Puri. When he reached England he realised that his work has the same popularity in the Punjabi Community of other lands too. His arrival was announced in the local newspapers of India with big headlines and photographs.  He had a busy time in England too, many public and private shows were organized for him. The very first function after his arrival was organised by Dr. Gurpal Puri in Coventry (a city in England). Kuldip Takhar, Santokh SinghSantokh and Tarsem Piurewal, the famous poets of that time, also attended the event. Another big public event was organised in Rochester for his honour. It was said that S. Sobha Singh flew to England at his own expense, especially to attend events of Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Events of Sh

  After leaving S.N. College, Shiv Kumar realised that writing and composing poems is his actual passion, and from that time he constantly gave importance to his artistic desires. During the decade of 1960, Shiv explored literature of four different languages- Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English. Shiv resigned his job in the Revenue Department of Patwari office in  1961 and remained unemployed till 1966, and successfully established himself as a poet. Shiv never asked for any financial help from his family during this period, he survived and managed his financial needs through royalty from his works. His bohemian lifestyle was the reason he always had differences with his father. Most of the days in the first five years of this decade, Shiv used to stay at his friends’ places.    In the first five years of this decade, Shiv Kumar published five of his anthologies; Peeran da Paraga (The Scarf-full of Sorrows) (1960), Lajwanti (Touch Me Not) (1961), Atte Dian Chirian (The Sparrows of Dou