MEHBOOB, HARINDER SINGH (1937-)

Mehboob, Harinder Singh was born in Chakk, in Lyallpur district of present-day Pakistan in 1937 and took his Master\’s degree in English and Punjabi. He worked as a lecturer in Khalsa College, Garhdiwara, Punjab. He began writing essays for magazines in the early sixties. Among his significant publications is Sahji Rachio Khalsa, which is a comprehensive and voluminous treatment in 1237 pages of Sikh philosophy, aesthetics, metaphysics and history. The awards he has received are Bhai Gurdas Award, Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha Award, and Bhai Mohan Singh Vaid Award.

Jhanan Di Raat which wins Sahitya Akademi Award for Punjabi is his second major publication. A collection of over two hundred poems, written over a period of three decades, in seven anthologies of poetry now published as one volume, Jhanan Di Raat is a formidable work both in conception and in content. The stylistic range and virtuosity reflected by this 828 page volume is enormous; and while the ideological orientation and the concerns of the age as reflected in the poems change gradually, the poet\’s warm humanism is always extent.

The poet\’s synthesis of the folk poetic traditions with contemporary trends is a distinctive feature; and a recurrent theme is his deep nostalgia for the past glory of Punjab. For its variety of styles, images and metaphors, its vastness of scope, its amalgamation of modern diction with folk-forms and its poetic intensity, this work is regarded as an outstanding contribution to Indian poetry in Punjabi.

References :

1. Amarjit Singh, Punjabi sahit da itihas—Qissa kal, Amritsar, 1981.
2. Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature, Delhi, 1995
3. Kohli, S.S., Punjabi Sahit da Itihas, Ludhiana, 1955.
4. Mohan Singh, A History of Punjabi Literature, Amritsar, 1956.
5. Ramdev, Jaginder Singh (ed.), Punjabi Likhari Kosh, Jullundur, 1964.
6. Sekhon, S.S. and K.S. Duggal, A History of Punjabi Literature, Delhi, 1992.