Kusum Arora 
Jalandhar: On May 10, 2024, a day before his demise, Punjab’s revered and popular poet Dr Surjit Patar was among the audience at Punjabi Sahitya Sabha, Barnala district for a literary event, where he read out a poem, ‘Jaga de Mombattiyan’ (Light up candles).
As the name suggests, Patar gave a message of hope and light to every struggling section of society through this poem. In his gentle voice, he said:
‘Hanera na samjhe ki chanan dar gaya hai,
Raat na soche ki suraj mar gya hai,
Baal jota zindagi de maan mattiyan,
Uth jaga de mombattiyan,
Tu jaga de mombattiyan…’
(The ‘dark times’ should not misjudge that the light was afraid of the dark, the night should not think that the sun has died, light up candles for the honour of life, get up and light candles, light up candles…)
A revered name and stalwart of Punjabi poetry, Padma Shri awardee Patar passed away in his sleep on May 11, 2024 in Ludhiana district. He was cremated with full state honours in Ludhiana on May 13, 2024.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who was present during the cremation announced ‘Patar Award’ in the memory of Patar and to promote his legacy among the youth. A host of AAP leaders and those from the opposition and his avid readers from far and wide also reached to pay their last respects to the poet.
Known for his subtle way of conveying complex messages ranging from human life to socio-political issues to Punjab’s past, present and future, Patar was loved by one and all. He was mild mannered and gentle in his approach, a trait which earned him admiration from children to youth to the elderly.
After Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Patar was one of the most popular and celebrated poets of his times. He wrote about Punjab’s tumultuous past, the Naxalite period, and the dark days of militancy to political debates in the country and Guru Nanak Dev’s teachings with comforting words. His poems reflected emotions of struggle, hope, nostalgia and the fight against injustice.
In one of his famous poems, which was an antidote to life’s troubles and that of societal issues, he wrote:
Je ayi Patjhad ta pher ki hai,
Tu Agli rutt ch yakeen rakhi,
Mai labh ke kiteyo,
Laiyauna kalma,
Tu Phoolan jogi zameen rakhi
(So, what if autumn has come,
Have faith that the next season will arrive,
I’ll bring blossoms from somewhere,
You keep some land to sow them)
Patar would also be remembered for silently protesting and standing against the regime whenever the need arose.
In 2020-2021, when farmers protested the now repealed three farm laws, Patar was one among many luminaries from Punjab who had returned his Padma Shri.
Further, when nationwide protest against the rising intolerance, communal hatred and lack of action by the government in the killing of Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Dhabolkar, M.M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare started, Patar was one of the renowned writers and scholars who had returned their Sahitya Akademi Awards in October 2015. The protest saw many writers, scholars, activists and actors returning their awards to the Union government.
In fact, one of his poems: ‘Asi hun mud nahi sakde’ became widely popular during farmers’ protest.
In this poem, Patar wrote:
“Asi hun mud nai sakde…Asi hun mud gye ta phir ta samjho mud gya itihas piche, jit gyi haume te nafrat di siyasat, jit gye kaatil manukhta de…”
(We (farmers) cannot return now. If we returned then it would mean that the history has gone back, arrogance and the politics of hatred has won and the killers of humanity has won….)
Talking to The Wire, Dr Lakhwinder Singh Johal who is serving as secretary general, Punjab Arts Council, Chandigarh said that he was associated with Patar since 1979, when he was a student. “From being a student to working with him, we shared a long personal and professional association. He knew the art of effortlessly and calmly conveying human emotions. Patar was a humble human being and this trait came naturally to him,” he said.
Another reason behind his immense popularity was that he was easily approachable. “Patar never kept himself confined to the elite circle of poets, writers, and scholars. Quite often he was spotted in some college or university among youth, who would jostle to have a picture clicked with him. This is the reason why Patar was famous not only among the elderly readers but the youth too. Despite being a stalwart, he remained a commoner with public. He would always say being among school and college students is like rain falling on flowers and buds while being in the company of writers and reciting poetry was like rain falling in the sea,” he said.
Lakhwinder shared how Patar remained associated with Doordarshan Kendra Jalandhar, where the duo worked closely in programmes like Kaav Saar, Lok Rang and Rubru to name a few. “We were planning a Kavi Darbar at Doordarshan Kendra Jalandhar on May 10 but he turned down the offer as he had a programme at Barnala. However, he promised our friend and the director of the Doordarshan Kendra in Jalandhar Puneet Sehgal that he would meet them later. Nobody knew that May 10 would be his last day. It is a huge loss for his readers, Punjab and Punjabiyat,” he added.
Patar hailed from Patar Kalan village of Jalandhar district. He used his village name in place of his surname, which is a popular culture in Punjab. He is survived by his wife Bhupinder Kaur Patar and two sons.
He did his education from Randhir College, Kapurthala district and completed his PhD in literature on transformation of folklore in Guru Nanak Bani from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Since Patar served as a professor of Punjabi at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana he settled there. It is from PAU that his poetic journey began.
Among his notable works are “Lafzah di Dargah”, “Hawa vich likhe harf” and “Hanere vich sulagdi varnmala” for which he won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993. He also wrote scripts of hit Punjabi film Shaheed Udham Singh starring famous Bollywood actor Raj Babbar, Juhi Chawla and others and Deepa Mehta’s “Heaven on Earth”.
Patar also translated some of the best literary works like Federico Garcia Lorca’s Three Tragedies, Girish Karnad’s “Nagmandala” and poems by Brecht and Pablo Neruda in Punjabi language. Besides this, he also adapted plays by Jean Giradoux, Euripides and Racine along with tele-scripts featuring Punjabi poets from Sheikh Farid to Shiv Kumar Batalvi, a name which resonates with East and West Punjab and Punjabi diaspora across the world.
Patar’s writing style
An independent journalist Shiv Inder Singh, who had the pleasure of knowing Patar closely said that despite the age gap between them (Patar was senior), he always remained like any other good friend.
Talking about Patar’s literary journey, Shiv Inder Singh said that when he started writing poetry in mid-1960’s, Punjab had already seen progressive poets like Pash, Dr Jagtar Singh Sandhu and Darshan Khatkar to name a few.
“Surjit Patar was adept at exploring ‘Duvidha’ or complex subjects. He used to discuss life’s philosophy and at the same time take criticism easily. I cannot recall if Patar ever felt offended with my criticism. In one of his poems he wrote, ‘Kuch keha ta hanera jarega kiwe, chup reha ta shamadan ki kehnge… (If said something, how will you bear the dark, if kept quiet, what will the forgiver say?) He knew the art of using symbolism in his poetry and that made his poems deeply reflective and moving,” he said.
Shiv Inder also mentioned how Patar’s poetry would talk about Punjab’s past, present and future.
One of his famous poems ‘Odo Waris Shah nu vandya si’ reflected the painful period of Punjab’s partition and those trying to provoke communal hatred in just four lines. “In this poem he spoke about partition and how politicians exploit human problems to divide the society:
‘Odo Waris Shah nu vandya si,
hun Shiv Kumar di baari hai,
Oh zakham purane bhul bhi gaye,
naweya di jo phir tyari hai..’
(Then (during 1947 Indo-Pak partition) they divided Waris Shah, now it is the turn of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, they have forgotten the old wounds, now they (politicians) are getting ready for new ones…),” he said.
Shiv Inder said while Shiv Kumar Batalvi was popular in both East and West Punjab, Patar was a popular name in Indian Punjab and among the Punjabi diaspora. “It was because of Patar’s warm nature that people irrespective of their age or class would feel connected with him,” he added.
Celebrities, politicians mourn the poet’s demise
Patar’s demise left a big void not just in Punjab’s literary world but in the field of acting and singing too.
Renowned Punjabi singers Satinder Sartaj, Manmohan Waris, Harbhajan Mann, Debi Makhsoospuri, Babbu Mann and actors Gurpreet Ghuggi, Binnu Dhillon, Nirmal Rishi and others took to social media to express grief at the poet’s untimely demise.
Earlier former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, Congress leader of opposition in Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa among others also expressed condolences on Patar’s demise.