Professor Mohan Singh (October 10, 1905 - May 3, 1978) was known as the father of modern Punjabi poetry. He was a noted Indian poet in the Punjabi language, an academic, and an early pioneer of modern Punjabi poetry. The other poets who contributed significantly to the growth of modern Punjabi poetry in the initial years include Amrita Pritam, Harbhajan Singh, and Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Mohan Singh has been hailed as the greatest Punjabi poet of the 20th century. He is hailed by many modern artists including Hadiqua Kiani who refers to him, and recites his lyrics in her live versions of 'Buhe Bariyan'. Sahitya Akademi Award was given to Mohan Singh for his work Wadda Vela in 1959, and Honorary fellowship in 1966.
Professor Mohan Singh was born on October 10, 1905 to Bhagwanti and Jodh Singh in Hoti Mardan, North West Frontier Province , Punjab Pakistan. He was married to Basant Kaur. After her demise, he married Surjit Kaur. He spent his early years at his ancestral village Bhamial in Rawalpindi District. After a short stint of teaching at Khalsa School Khanewal, he obtained Master degree in Persian and started his career as a lecturer in Persian Department of Khalsa College Amritsar ( 1933 ). In 1940, he joined Sikh National College, Lahore but he left the job to start his own publishing house. He also started literary magazine Punj Darya. After partition he shifted his business to Amritsar and subsequently to Jalandhar. But ultimately closed his business and joined as Principal Khalsa College Patiala. Later he served as Professor Emeritus at Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana ( 1966-77 )
His earlier poetry was romantic and lyrical but later he became the progressive movement. He sang the pangs of down trodden labour class and motivated them to bring a revolution. The fragrance of our soil can be felt in his imagery and metaphors. Profuse use of Pathohari vocabulary enhances the sweetness in his poetry. He gave Punjabi poetry collections like Sanve Patter ( The green leaves ), Buhe and Jindran ( Doors and locks ), a total 10 poetry books and one Mahakavya.
Image Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohan_Singh_%28poet%29
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