Death anniversary of Shiv Kumar Batalvi: Remembering the Sultan of Birha…

Shiv Kumar Batalvi was born on August 8, 1937 near Bade village in Sialkot (Pakistan) to mother Shanti Devi and father Kishan Lal. At the time of partition of the country, he had to move to Batala along with his family. Batalvi studied till FSC and then while searching for a job, he got a job in State Bank of India. In 1963, he became a teacher in Early Education.

Then he left the profession of teacher and became a Patwari. Shiv Kumar was the poet of Birha. The commercialization of these painful songs increased its readership. In this connection, after Warish Shah, readers take the name of Batalvi. Batalvi was the youngest among the contemporary poets. Whatever he wrote, whether he wrote ghazals or songs, every composition attracted the readers.

The first book of this poet ‘Piranha da Paraga’ was presented before the readers. ‘Luna’ (poetry collection) won the Sahitya Akademi Award. Shiv Kumar Batalvi read the composition of people’s hearts with his keen eye. The pain and suffering in his writing makes the reader emotional. Tears come to the eyes automatically. Due to his ability to mold words like beads of a rosary, he shone like a pole star in the literary world. It is said that at that time if Shiva did not attend any literary event then that event was considered incomplete. Readers came from far and wide to attend the events to hear and see him.

The poet used to talk about ‘during the Joban Route we die’ and the further preparations they had to make during the Joban Route. On 5-6 May 1973, when the Pole Star named Shiv Kumar Batalvi fell from the sky, the eyes of millions of readers became moist. After making the faces of his followers sad, he fell into eternal sleep. He left his home, family, gentlemen, boys, readers and everything for the job.

Today people go to see Batalvi’s old house where he used to sit and write. The government has built an auditorium in his memory by spending half a crore. Although Shiv Kumar Batalvi could not fulfill his and his family’s dreams, millions of readers called him theirs. Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s work will make him immortal for the rest of the world. His name will continue to shine like a star in the Punjabi literary world.