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.

Honors

• 1969: Sahitya Akademi Award, Sahitya Akademi, India, for Na Dhuppe Na Chaanve Sahitya Akademi.
• 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.
• 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....
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