Poets, scholars and admirers of Bhai Vir Singh, the father of modern Punjabi literature, assembled to mark his 149th birth anniversary and recall his glorious legacy.

Key Points:

• Gursharan Kaur, the wife of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Prof Jaspal Singh, former Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala; and Preneet Kaur, Patiala MP, were among those who attended the event hosted by the Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan.
• Former PM Manmohan Singh is the president of the sadan, a premier literary and cultural organisation established in 1958 to further the legacy of the saint poet.
• The function commenced with the recitation of Bhai Vir Singh’s poems and readings from his works followed “kirtan” recital by Hazoori Ragi Bhai Gurmeet Singh Shant.
• Gursharan Kaur released a special issue of “Khalsa Samachar”, a weekly founded by Bhai Vir Singh in 1899. 

Bhai Vir Singh:

• Bhai Vir Singh was born in Amritsar on December 5, 1872.
• He was a great poet and scholar and played an active part in the movement to revive the Punjabi literary tradition.
• Unlike many other young men of his time, Bhai Vir Singh did not take up a government job after he had completed his education.
• He chose to be a writer and set up a lithograph press with one of his father’s friends, Wazir Singh.
• He soon started taking an active interest in the Singh Sabha movement.
• The main aim of this society was to increase awareness among people in the teachings of the Sikh gurus and to promote the Gurmukhi script.