Mohan Singh (1905–1978) was a noted

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n poet in the

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 m ...

and an academic, and one of the early pioneers of modern

Punjabi poetry Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Sh ...

Biography

Born in 1905 at

Lyallpur Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

(now in Pakistan), Mohan Singh spent the early years of his life at his ancestral village

Dhamial Dhamial is a village of Rawalpindi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country ...

Rawalpindi District Rawalpindi District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Rawalpindi city is the district capi ...

. His poem Kuri Pathohar Di is reminiscent of his romantic early days. He obtained a master's degree in Persian and started his career as a Lecturer in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Urdu and Punjabi at

Khalsa College, Amritsar Khalsa College ( pa, ਖਾਲਸਾ ਕਾਲਜ ''khālsā kālaj'') is a historic educational institution in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. Founded in 1892, the sprawling campus is located about eight ...

in 1933. He was well read in English, Persian and Urdu literatures. At Amritsar, Teja Singh, Sant Singh Sekhon, Gurbachan Singh 'Talib' became his friends. In 1940, he joined as a lecturer in the Sikh National College, Lahore, but after some time he left the job and started a firm, Hind Publishers to promote the literary standards of Punjabi publications. In 1939, he started his famous literary Punjabi monthly, Panj darya. After Partition In 1947 he shifted his business to Amritsar and then to Jullundur, but ultimately he closed down the firm. Then he became the teacher in Khalsa College, Patiala. Later, he worked as Professor Emeritus at the

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultura ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

from 1970 to 1974 and made this industrial town of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

his home towards the end of his life. He died on 3 May 1978 at Ludhiana.

Collection

Prof Mohan Singh gave Punjabi poetry collections like ''Sanve Pattar'' (The Green Leaves), ''Buhe'' (Doors) and ''Jindran'' (Locks), a total of 10 poetry books and one Mahakavya.

Prof. Mohan Singh Mela

Prof Mohan Singh Memorial International Cultural Mela was organized every year by Prof Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation.

Village Nanoki Nabha

Prof. Mohan Singh Mela is going to organize at Village Nanoki in Nabha Tehsil. It is one of the best Little Modern Solo Village. The credit of bringing this village to the international map goes to Sardar Abninder Singh Grewal an artist and industrialist. This village is bought up by Late Sardar Metab Singh Grewal Minister in Sardar Hira Singh King of Nabha Kingdom.

Awards

He received

Sahitya Akademi award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 1959 ''Wadda Vela'' (Poetry).

Modern Punjabi poetry

Prof. Mohan Singh was known as the father of modern Punjabi poetry. The other poets who contributed significantly to the growth of modern Punjabi poetry in the initial years include

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body of wo ...

, Harbhajan Singh and

Shiv Kumar Batalvi Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 - 6 May 1973) was an Indian poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony, due to that he ...

. Mohan Singh has been hailed as ''the greatest Punjabi poet of the 20th century''Ludhiana personalities
/ref> He is hailed by many modern artists including Hadiqa Kiani who refers to him, and recites his lyrics in her live versions of "Buhe Bariyan". https://open.spotify.com/track/7C6STbO1MhvBUt2xdSbrnl?si=U0iXTA-SSnqPMkIvUxUboA

References

External links

Prof Mohan Singh's Poetry in Roman Script
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Mohan Punjabi-language poets People from Mardan District Punjabi people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Punjabi 1905 births 1978 deaths Khalsa College, Amritsar faculty 20th-century Indian poets