Shiv Kumar Batalvi
| Shiv Kumar Batalvi | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Shiv Kumar 23 July 1936 Bara Pind Lohtian, Zafarwal Tehsil, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 7 May 1973 (aged 36) Kir Mangyal, Pathankot, India |
| Occupation | Poet, author, playwright |
| Nationality | Indian Punjabi |
| Period | 1937–1973 |
| Genre | poetry, prose, play |
| Subject | Pathos, passion, |
| Literary movement | Romanticism |
| Notable works | Loona (1965) |
Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 – 7 May 1973) was a Punjabi language poet, who was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony.
He became the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, given by Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters), for his epic verse play based on the ancient legend of Puran Bhagat, Loona (1965), now considered a masterpiece in modern Punjabi literature, and which also created a new genre, of modern Punjabi kissa. Today, his poetry stands in equal footing, amongst that by stalwarts of modern Punjabi poetry, like Mohan Singh (poet) and Amrita Pritam, all of whom are popular on both sides of Indo-Pakistan border.
Shiv Kumar was born on 23 July 1936 (though a few documents related to him state 8 October 1937) in village Bara Pind Lohtian, Shakargarh Tehsil, Sialkot District (now in Punjab province, Pakistan), to Pandit Krishan Gopal, village tehsildar in the revenue department, and Shanti Devi, a housewife.
In 1947, when he was aged 11, his family moved to Batala Gurdaspur district after partition of India, where his father continued his work as a patwari and young Shiv received his primary education. Allegedly, he was a dreamy child, often vanishing for the duration of the day, to be found lying under trees by the riverbank close to the Mandir or Hindu temple outside the village, lost in a brown reverie. He appears to have been fascinated by local renditions of the Hindu epic Ramayana, as well as wandering minstrel singers, snake charmers and the like – which feature as metaphors in his poetry, giving it a uniquely rural flavour.
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