Shiv Kumar Batalvi

Shiv Kumar Batalvi
Shiv Kumar Batalvi during the interview by BBC in 1970
Shiv Kumar Batalvi during the interview by BBC in 1970
BornShiv Kumar
(1936-07-23)23 July 1936
Barapind, Punjab Province, British India
(now in Punjab, Pakistan)
Died6 May 1973(1973-05-06) (aged 36)
Kiri Mangyal, Punjab, India
OccupationPoet, singer, author, playwright, lyricist
LanguagePunjabi
Period1960–1973
Genrepoetry, prose, play
SubjectPathos, passion,
Literary movementRomanticism
Notable worksLoona (1965)
Notable awardsSahitya Akademi Award
SpouseAruna Batalvi
Signature

Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936[1][2] – 6 May 1973[3][4]) was an Punjabi poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony,[5] due to that he was also called Birha Da Sultan. He is also called 'Keats of Punjab'.

He became the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, given by the Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters), for his epic verse play based on the ancient legend of Puran Bhagat, Loona (1965),[6][7] now considered a masterpiece in modern Punjabi literature,[8] and which also created a new genre, of modern Punjabi kissa.[9] Today, his poetry stands in equal footing, amongst that by stalwarts of modern Punjabi poetry, like Mohan Singh and Amrita Pritam,[10] all of whom are popular on both sides of Indo-Pakistan border.[11]

  1. ^ "Shodhganga" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Shodhganga". hdl:10603/104123.
  3. ^ "Shodhganga" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Remebering [sic] Shiv Kumar Batalvi: Fan recalls time when poet was the hero". Hindustan Times. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. ^ Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India, by Nalini Natarajan, Emmanuel Sampath Nelson. Greenwood Press, 1996. ISBN 0-313-28778-3. Page 258
  6. ^ List of Punjabi language awardees Archived 31 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Sahitya Akademi Award Official listings.
  7. ^ "Wo Shayar Badnaam: The tragic life and love story of Shiv Kumar Batalvi". The Asian Mirror. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ^ World Performing Arts Festival: Art students awed by foreign artists Daily Times, 16 November 2006.
  9. ^ Shiv Kumar The Tribune, 4 May 2003.
  10. ^ Pioneers of modern Punjabi love poetry The Tribune, 11 January 2004.
  11. ^ The Batala phenomenon Daily Times, 19 May 2004.