Harbhajan Singh (poet)
Encyclopedia
Harbhajan Singh 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.
, 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
, 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.
, 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).
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, cultural commentator, and translator. Along with Amrita Pritam
Amrita Pritam
Amrita Pritam was a Punjabi writer and poet, considered the first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist, and essayist, and the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, who is equally loved on both the sides of the India-Pakistan border, with a career spanning over six decades, she...
, 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
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
, Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
and selections from the Rig Veda.
Honors
- 1970
- Sahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi AwardSahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
, Sahitya AkademiSahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
, India, for Na Dhuppe Na Chaanve- 1987: Kabir Sanmaan – one of the highest literary honours in India given by the Madhya PradeshMadhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
Government. - 1994: Saraswati SammanSaraswati SammanThe Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India.The award consists...
– award for literary excellence in India, in - 1994: Sahitya Akademi FellowshipSahitya Akademi FellowshipThe Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India. Awarded by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, to the "immortals of literature," and limited to twenty one individuals at any given time, it is the highest literary honour conferred by the Government of India...
, New Delhi – a title only one other Punjabi writer received; Sardar Gurbax Singh Preet Lari. - 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
- 1987: Kabir Sanmaan – one of the highest literary honours in India given by the Madhya Pradesh
Life
Harbhajan Singh was born in LumdingLumding
Lumding is a city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is the regional divisional headquarters of the North East Frontier Railway, a big important junction and is famous for the Barak Valley Express which passes through scenic routes.It is the biggest Railway...
, Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, on August 18, 1920 to Ganga Dei and Ganda Singh, his father, who was suffering from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. The family had to move to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
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
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. 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
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, as a lower-division clerk with the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and then as an Assistant Librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
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
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
. 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
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
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
Guru Nanak Dev University
Guru Nanak Dev University was established at Amritsar, India on November 24, 1969 to commemorate Guru Nanak Dev's birth quincentenary celebrations. Guru Nanak Dev University campus is spread over 500 acres near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly 8 km west of the Amritsar City on Amritsar - Lahore...
, Punjab University
Punjab University
Punjab University may refer to:In India:*Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana*Punjab Technical University*Punjabi University, Patiala*Panjab University, ChandigarhIn Pakistan:*University of the Punjab, Lahore...
, 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 DevGuru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.-Early life:Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now...
, Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Arjan Dev Ji was the fifth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in Goindval, Punjab, India, the youngest son of Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amar Das. He became the Guru of the Sikhs on 1 September 1581 after the death of his father Guru Ram Das. Guru Arjan died in...
, Shah Husain, Waris Shah
Waris Shah
Waris Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, renowned for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is best-known for his seminal work Heer Ranjha, based on the traditional folk tale of Heer and her lover Ranjha. Heer is considered one of the quintessential works of classical Punjabi literature...
, Bulle Shah, Mir Taki Mir, Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...
, Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, Noon Meem Rashid
Noon Meem Rashid
Nazar Mohammed Rashed commonly known as Noon Meem Rashed or N.M. Rashed, was born as Raja Nazar Muhmmad Janjua...
, 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).
Further reading
- Harbhajan Singh, Punjabi Poet Who's who of Indian Writers, 1999: End-century Edition, by Kartik Chandra Dutt, Ramakanta Rath, Sahitya AkademiSahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
. ISBN 8126008733. Page 448.