Harbhajan Singh | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1920-08-08)8 August 1920 |
| Died | 21 October 2002(2002-10-21) (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, critic,cultural commentator, translator |
Harbhajan Singh (8 August 1920 – 21 October 2002) was an Indian poet, critic,cultural commentator, and translator in thePunjabi-language. Along withAmrita Pritam, Harbhajan is credited with revolutionising the Punjabi poetry writing style. He published 17 collections of poems, includingRegistan Vich Lakarhara, 19 works ofliterary history and translated 14 pieces of literature of others including those ofAristotle,Sophocles,Rabindranath Tagore and selections from theRig Veda.
Harbhajan Singh was born inLumding, Assam, on 8 August 1920 to Ganga Devi and Ganda Singh, his father, who was suffering fromtuberculosis. The family had to move toLahore where they bought two houses inGawalmandi. 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 inIchhra,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 inLahore, as a lower-division clerk with theGovernment 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 theUniversity of Delhi. His PhD thesis discussedHindi poetry in theGurumukhi script.
One of his three sonsMadan Gopal Singh is a well-known singer and scholar.
He started his academic career as an English teacher before switching to Hindi and then to Punjabi. He worked at theUniversity of Delhi as Professor Emeritus until he retired in 1984. He visited and gave lectures at many prestigious universities and institutions including theIndian Institute of Technology,Guru Nanak Dev University,Punjab University,Jammu University andGauhati University.
He was invited to join the Department of Modern Indian Languages by a Board ofanthropologists andlinguists, including Professor Pritam Singh, who Singh supported greatly until his death.
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 wereGuru Nanak Dev,Guru Arjan Dev,Shah Hussain,Waris Shah, Bulle Shah, Mir Taqi Mir,Lorca,Rabindranath Tagore,Noon Meem Rashid, and Puran Singh.
Many prolific poets and scholars did their PhDs under him, including Attar Singh, Tirlok Singh Kanwar, Atamjit Singh, Mohinder Kaur Gill and Satinder Singh.
