Harbhajan Singh (poet)

Harbhajan Singh (poet)

Harbhajan Singh (18 August 1920 – 21 October 2002) was a Punjabi poet, critic, cultural commentator, and translator. Along with Amrita Pritam, Harbhajan is credited with revolutionizing the Punjabi poetry writing style. He has written 17 collections of poems, including Registan Vich Lakarhara, 19 works of literary history and translated 14 pieces of literature of others including those of Aristotle, Sophocles, Rabindranath Tagore and selections from the Rig Veda.

Contents

Honors

  • 1970
Sahitya Akademi Award, Sahitya Akademi, India, for Na Dhuppe Na Chaanve [1]
  • 1987: Kabir Sanmaan – one of the highest literary honours in India given by the Madhya Pradesh Government.
  • 1994: Saraswati Samman – award for literary excellence in India, in
  • 1994: Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, New Delhi – a title only one other Punjabi writer received; Sardar Gurbax Singh Preet Lari.[2]
  • Soviet Land Nehru Award – a now extinct award highly coveted while it existed
  • 2002: Dhaliwal Sanmaan – the highest award presented to him by the Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, Ludhiana

Life

Harbhajan Singh was born in Lumding, Assam, on August 18, 1920 to Ganga Dei and Ganda Singh, his father, who was suffering from tuberculosis. The family had to move to Lahore where they bought two houses in Gwal Mandi. His father died before he was one year old. Then his mother and two sisters died leaving him without a direct family by the time he was 4 years of age. He was brought up by his mother's younger sister who lived in Ichhara, Lahore. He was educated in the local DAV School and was a top student from a very early age. In his educational ventures, he was among the top three in Punjab but had to stop his studies for lack of money. He took up odd jobs as a sales-boy at a Homoepathic Chemist Shop in Lahore, as a lower-division clerk with the Government of India in New Delhi and then as an Assistant Librarian in Khalsa School, New Delhi.

Singh completed his higher education without going to college, he had two degrees in English and Hindi Literature, both from the University of Delhi. His thesis discussed Hindi poetry in the Gurumukhi script. He started his academic career as an English teacher before switching to Hindi and then to Punajbi. He worked at the University of Delhi as Professor Emeritus until he retired in 1984. He was a visited and gave lectures at many prestigious universities and institutions including the Indian Institute of Technology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab University[disambiguation needed ], Jammu University and Gwahauti University.

He was invited to join the Department of Modern Indian Languages by a Board of Experts (a board of anthropologists and linguists), including Professor Pritam Singh, who Singh supported greatly until his death.

Influences

He praised Ustad Reham Din, Lala Suraj Bhan, Dr Mohan Singh Diwana, and Dr Nagendra as his most preferred teachers throughout his education. The poets he most admired and rated highest were Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Arjan Dev, Shah Husain, Waris Shah, Bulle Shah, Mir Taki Mir, Lorca, Rabindranath Tagore, Noon Meem Rashid, and Puran Singh.

Many prolific poets and scholars did their Ph.D.s under him including Dr Attar Singh, Dr Tirlok Singh Kanwar, Dr Atamjit Singh (currently teaching in California), Dr Mahinder Kaur Gill and Dr Satinder Singh (currently the PVC of Guru Nanak Dev University).

Bibliography

Further reading

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mohan Singh (poet) — Mohan Singh born 1905[1] at Mardan (now in Pakistan), was one of the best Punjabi poets. He obtained a Master s degree in Persian and started his career as a Lecturer in Persian at Khalsa College, Amritsar[2]. Professor Singh also worked as… …   Wikipedia

  • Harbhajan — can refer to:*Harbhajan Mann, a Punjabi singer and actor *Harbhajan Rai, a former field hockey player from Canada *Baba Harbhajan Singh, an Indian army soldier who died near the Nathula Pass in eastern Sikkim, India *Harbhajan Singh (poet), a… …   Wikipedia

  • Ramgarhia — Languages Punjabi, Hindi, English, Regional languages Related ethnic groups Tarkhan (Punjab) The Ramgarhia community is an Indo Aryan ethnic tribe of the Punjab region in South Asia.[1] They are named …   Wikipedia

  • List of Punjabi authors — This page is a list of Punjabi authors and authors who write in the Punjabi language. * Sharif Kunjahi * Amrita Pritam * Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon * Sarabjit Bedi * Dr. Kuljeet Kaur * Ram Sarup Ankhi * Raja Muhammed Ahmed * Kartar Singh Balaggan… …   Wikipedia

  • 2002 in literature — The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books. Events* March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam s poem The… …   Wikipedia

  • Ayyappa Paniker — K. Ayyappa Paniker Born September 12, 1930(1930 09 12) Kavalam, Kerala Died August 23, 2006(2006 08 23) (aged 75) …   Wikipedia

  • Mahesh Elkunchwar — (born October 9, 1939) is an Indian playwright with more than 15 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India s Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter. Born to a Telugu Brahmin family …   Wikipedia

  • Manoj Das — Born February 27, 1934 (1934 02 27) (age 77) Shankari, Balasore, Orissa, India Residence Pondichery, T …   Wikipedia

  • Dalip Kaur Tiwana — Dr. Dalip Kaur Tiwana is a foremost novelist and short story writer of contemporary Punjabi literature. Contents 1 Biography 2 Collection 3 Awards 4 References …   Wikipedia

  • Naiyer Masud — is one of the foremost short story writers in Urdu. He was born in Lucknow in 1936 and has spent nearly all his life there, working until his retirement as a Professor of Persian in Lucknow University. He is the author of many scholarly books and …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”