Photo above: by Swaranjit Singh Savi
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Punjabi Poet Surijit Singh Patar Awarded Padma Shri
NEWS REPORT
Noted Punjabi poet, Surjit Singh Pãtar, is to be conferred with the Padma Shri Award in the field of Literature and Education - Poetry.
In addition, Bollywood box-office star. Dharmendra Singh Deol, is also to be honoured with a Padma award.
Surjit Singh Pãtar, who appeared on the Punjabi poetry scene in the 1960s, explains his poetic journey.
“My poetry depicts the struggle of mankind, Punjabi culture and emotions. The award comes as recognition of my struggle in the field of poetry of Punjabi culture.”
Poet Darshan Singh Khatkar calls him ‘a poet having amazing creativity and versatility.’
Born in Sahnewal near Ludhiana, Dharmendra Singh has appeared in as many as 250 films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to local cinema and also another Lifetime achievement Award at
the 2007 IIFA Awards. He was also a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India, representing Bikaner constituency in Rajasthan.
January 27, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), January 27, 2012, 10:19 AM.
Poetry depicting the human struggle ... that of the Sikhs - must make awesome poetry.
2: Roop Dhillon (Reigate, United Kingdom ), January 27, 2012, 11:28 AM.
Saddened as we are by the loss of Kartar Singh Duggal, this particular news is something to enjoy. I hope Surjit's day is not maarred by the contemporaneous loss. More and more Punjabis are being recognized over the years ... It's good.
3: Raj (Canada), January 27, 2012, 8:37 PM.
Dr. Surjit Singh Patar is the Ghalib of Punjabi and the Sikhs. He penned a poem in 1969 for the five hundred birthday of Guru Nanak Dev; it's my favourite. It talks about how the divine message of Guru Nanak is lost in today's quagmire. It goes like this: "Na ilam nu yaad hai kuch, Na hunar hi janda hai. Darvesh di sadaa si, Kithey rul gai pata hai?" Congratulations to Surjit Singh ji.