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Welcome To the Blog

 



I am Harkaran Singh, a student of Business Economics at University of Delhi. This blog from me is a tribute or a Thank You Note to one of the greatest poets our mother tongue Punjabi ever had. Shiv Kumar Batalvi, holds a special place in the world of literature. Also known as the John Keats of Punjabi Poetry, Shiv, whom I often consider my imaginary friend is known for his contemporary poetry, melodious voice, fame he earned at a very young age and realisation of dying too early. The reason that the literary audience still loves him is that the literature he produced in the 1960s still seems relatable, understandable, and fresh. This post is like an Index to this blog.

Shiv Kumar Batalvi was born in Pind Lohtian (Pakistan), and after partition his family moved to India. To read about his childhood in Pakistan and his village life visit this post: Village Life and Shiv's Childhood.

The next chapter of his story is the beginning of his life in India and how he got into Poetry and Singing. To know about this segment of his life visit this post - Shiv Kumar Getting into Poetry

Shiv Kumar got his first anthology (Peeran Da Praghan) published in 1960, and entered the road of success. It is said that the decade of 1960s was full with fame for him. Read more about this decade of his life here: 1960s The Decade of Success

It was said that Shiv had a better understanding of female psychology. To read about the women that came in his poetry visit this post: The Women in Shiv Kumar's Poems

The most reputed award among the literary artist is the Sahitya Akademi Award, which Shiv received at the age of 28, and he is considered to be the youngest recipient of this award till date. Shiv Kumar recieved this award for his book titled 'Loona'. Read : The Contribution of Loona in Shiv Kumar's Success

In 1968, Shiv moved to the city of Chandigarh, which later turned out to be one of the worst decisions of his life. He dealt with a lot of disappointments in the 4 years of his stay in that city. Read about his life at Chandigarh here: Shiv's Life in Chandigarh

From Chandigarh Shiv once visited England, which is also the most controversial segment of his life. Read about his 6 months visit and the final days of his life in this post: Trip to England & Shiv Kumar's Death Chapter

There are a good number of stories associated with Batalvi that are still famous. Read what other poets and family members of Shiv says about him: Thoughts of Shiv Kumar Batalvi's Friends & Family About Him

Shiv Kumar once said to his friend when he asked Shiv about his low interests in education, to which Shiv replied, "We don't do PhDs, People do PhDs on us". This later turned out to be truth. Visit this post where I have mentioned a few Thesis and Researchs perfromed on the Literature of Shiv Kumar Batalvi.  

At last, to read the english translations of his poems you can visit: 

And the most important thing, there is a book named 'Sampuran Kaav Sangreh' where you can find the complete literature produced by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Link for the same is - https://punjabilibrary.com/product/sampuran-kav-sangreh-shiv/

If you want to add anything to the blog, report a mistake, give a suggestion, or just want to talk about Shiv Kumar Batalvi, you can reach me at hkaran2402@gmail.com

Thank You!

ਇਸ਼ਕ਼ ਨੂੰ ਸੌਗਾਤ ਜਿਹੜੀ ਪੀੜ ਸੈਂ ਤੂੰ ਦੇ ਗਿਓਂ, 

ਅੰਤ ਉਹੀਓ ਪੀੜ 'ਸ਼ਿਵ' ਨੂੰ ਖਾਂਦੀ ਖਾਂਦੀ ਖਾ ਗਈ |


You rendered Love the Pain it holds,

That Pain is the sweet thing that ate Shiv away.


عشق نوں سوغات چہڑی پیڑ سیں توں دے گیوں 

انت اہیو "شو" نوں کھاندی کھاندی کھا گئی


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Trip to England & Shiv Kumar’s Death Chapter

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
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Thoughts of Shiv Kumar Batalvi's Friends and Family About Him

  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
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Shiv Kumar Batalvi Getting into Poetry

After the partition, the Kumar family settled down in Darussalam Mohalla of Batala, which is now known as Prem Nagar. Shiv’s father always wanted to see his son getting the best possible education and building a respectable career ahead, but Shiv had his mind involved in Literature. After completing his matriculation in first division from Punjab University in 1953, following his father’s insistence, he got himself enrolled in F.sc. program at Baring Union Christian College of Batala. Although he spent 2 years there, he ended up getting dropped out for not appearing in the final examinations. Then he enrolled in R.D. College, Nabha, where he spent the next few months, but again left the college. Shiv finally got admission to another college named S.N. College, Qadian (a town in Batala) in arts subject, but dropped out again after spending a couple of years there. Because of never attempting the final examinations of any of these colleges, Shiv Kumar never got any degree qualification.
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