Dr. Surjit Patar who was a revered Punjabi writer and poet, passed away at the age of 79 due to cardiac arrest at his residence in Ludhiana’s Ashapuri area.
Recently the famous Punjabi Singer, Diljit Dosanjh also dedicated his concert in California to “Surjit Patar Ji”.
About the legend personality
Patar hailed from the village of Pattar Kalan in Jalandhar district from which he got his surname. His father’s name was Harbhajan Singh and mother’s Harbhajan Kaur. He had four older sisters. His father had migrated to Kenya for work and would only return home for short time after every five years. He matriculated from a nearby village school. After that admitted in as science student in a college in Kapurthala. But the next year, he took up Arts.
Patar graduated from Randhir College, Kapurthala and then went on to get a Master’s degree from Punjabi University, Patiala and then a PhD in Literature on “Transformation of Folklore in Guru Nanak Vani” from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. He then joined the academic profession and retired as Professor of Punjabi from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.He started writing poetry in the mid-sixties.
Patar was president of the Punjab Arts Council, Chandigarh.Earlier, he had held the office of the President, Punjabi Sahit Akademi, Ludhiana. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2012.
‘Hawa Vich Likhe Harf’, ‘Hanere Vich Sulagdi Varanmala’, ‘Patjhar Di Pazeb’, ‘Lafzaan Di Dargah’ and ‘Surzameen’ are one of his famous poetries.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Chief Minister Mann said he was deeply saddened by the passing away of Patar.
Former Punjab chief minister, Amarinder Singh, on X said, “End of an era, as famous Punjabi writer and poet Padma Shri Surjit Patar Sahib has passed away today. My heartfelt condolences to his family and millions of fans worldwide. Punjab has lost an icon today.”
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the death of Patar has left a void in the world of literature.
Not only people of Punjab even the people of the whole country has respect for the legend Patar.
Mann government has also decided to start ‘Patar Award’ in Punjab.
