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The Women in Shiv Kumar’s Poems

    (The Picture above is of Anusuya)

The saying that there is always a woman behind every great man is true in Shiv Kumar's case too. In a book titled 'Shiv Kumar Batalvi' by Sa Soza, the author comments Shiv was basically a lover who understood female psyche to its core. He further wrote, "Shiv who wrote and died at the prime of his life, holds a special charm for the moon struck adolescents, surpasses, any mature or age-wised writer. He had his fingertips on the pulse of Cupidians".


Shiv was a tall, smart and handsome man with a melodious voice, due to which he was already famous among females of his age. Even before his college days, he used to be in the company of a lot of females. Another great excerpt from Sa Soza’s book says, “Shiv’s poem bears ample testimony through his recurring allusions and references to his passion and weakness for some particular female. Though it all ended in separation or death and resulted in casting a dismal shadow of the pangs and pains, this tender passion churned out his poetic talent in lyrical outburst with the depth of understanding of female psyche”. 


Shiv Kumar met Maina in a fair at Baijnath town of Himachal Pradesh. Shiv was deeply attracted to Maina and tried to find her in her hometown, where he heard the news of the death of Maina. Another famous story associated with the love life of Shiv is his affair with Anusuya. She was the daughter of Gurbaksh Sing Preetlari, who himself was a famous poet of his times. When Shiv heard about the news that Anusuya went to the U.S., got married and gave birth to a child, Shiv wrote one of his most successful poems 'Main Ik Shikra Yaar Banaya’. 


Mother! Mother!

I befriended a hawk.

A plume on his head

Bells on his feet,

He came pecking for grain.

I was enamored!


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