Poetry
By: Shiv Kumar Batalvi
(1936–1973)
Shiv Kumar Batalvi was a celebrated Punjabi poet, often called "Birha Da Sultan" (the Sultan of Separation) for his intensely emotional poetry on love, longing, and loss. Born in 1936 in Bara Pind Lohtian (in present-day Pakistan), his family moved to Batala, India, after Partition, which gave him his pen name. His verse play Loona, based on the legend of Puran Bhagat, won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, making him its youngest-ever recipient at the time. Widely regarded as one of the greatest modern Punjabi poets, his lyrical, deeply personal style has drawn comparisons to Romantic poets like Keats. He died in 1973 at the age of 36, but his poetry remains hugely popular across Punjabi-speaking communities in both India and Pakistan.
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