Punjabi literary gem Dev Dard passes away

Neha Saini

Amritsar, March 16

A poet, an educationist and a numismatist, Dev Dard, donned many hats, but the multi-faceted Punjabi writer and poet passed away in an unfortunate accident on Tuesday night, leaving the city’s literary fraternity in shock.

He passed away due to a head injury incurred in a fall at his residence. Dev was a prolific contributor for many noted Punjabi magazines and literary journals. His work in poetry and writing ghazals was known to all. He was a member of a number of cultural and literary organizations, including Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, and was counted among few literary scholars and researchers, who worked in development of Punjabi language prose for contemporary readers.

Born in 1956, Dev Dard had published several books on Punjabi poetry, dedicating his work to highlighting social issues. His cremation was attended by several noted names in Punjabi art and literature, including Deep Devinder Singh, Kulwant Singh Ankhi, Harjit Sandhu, actor Kuljit Singh, Sumit Singh, Jagdish Sachdeva, Vipan Dhawan.

He is survived by two sons, a daughter and wife. After retiring from teaching, he opened a school at his house, which was engaged in educating poor children for free. He, later, built a museum inside his home, displaying a large collection of coins, stamps, utensils and other collectibles from 14th century onwards. Several organisations, including Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Virsa Vihar Society, Central Punjabi Writers’ Association, District Sahitya Kendra Gurdaspur, Khalsa College, Punjab Natshala, and Amritsar Vikas Manch, expressed grief over his demise.