Gurdaspur Diary: Batala salutes its sons

Batala: A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand but an accomplished one might not be found in even a hundred thousand. Yes, men like litterateur Shiv Kumar Batalvi and hockey Olympian Surjit Singh were accomplished men. They had achieved something which is beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals. Hence, it was apt that their home town of Batala established memorials to commemorate their life and times. When someone you respect becomes a memory, then that memory becomes a treasure. Two treasures in the form of statues have come up in the city as a tribute to Batalvi and Singh. Batalvi’s bust adorns the pathway leading to the auditorium constructed in his name. Surjit’s statue has been installed near Hansli bridge on Jalandhar Road. Batalvi never painted dreams or for that matter nightmares. He painted his own reality, full of pathos and dripping with sentiment for losing a loved one. When in his elements, he would write Punjabi poetry akin to Greek tragedies. His works were conceived with fire in the soul and executed with the precision of a surgeon. Like hundreds of his city colleagues, Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, a renowned surgeon of the city and founder president of the Shiv Batalvi Arts and Cultural Society, too is an ardent follower of the poet. “Shiv became the youngest recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967 for his epic play—Luna— based on the legend of Bhagat Puran Singh. His poetry stands on equal footing among stalwarts of modern Punjabi poetry like Mohan Singh and Amrita Pritam. His works were appreciated on both sides of the border. The world was never the same every time Batalvi added his works to it. He never went in search of poetry. Poetry came in search of him. As they say, poetry comes from the highest happiness or the deepest sorrow. In his case, it was the latter,” said Dr Nijjar. Hockey Olympian Surjit Singh had his schooling from the local Guru Nanak School. He was regarded as one of the finest deep defenders of his era. Singh was a part of the 1975 Kuala Lumpur World Cup winning team. He was married to Chanchal Randhawa who captained the Indian team in the 70’s. Players like Surjit do not die, they just linger on in our memory. Old timers say it was a treat to see Singh tackle the robust European forwards. Those whom we love, adore and respect do not go away. They walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard but always near us. Batala is proud of both of its sons.

Pathankot cops up the ante

Where there is an election, it is obvious that narcotics will flow like water in that area. Likewise, in the run-up to the Jalandhar Lok Sabha poll, the cops of adjoining districts were on the look-out for contraband passing through their areas. Pathankot SSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, for once, tightened the noose on the Pathankot-Jammu national highway. For several days, the police keenly watched the movement on the road. Finally, they spotted a truck meandering its way in a suspicious way to the city from the J&K side. When searched, 207 kg of poppy husk came out of it. The SSP says his officers have not let go of their grip even after the elections were over. Smugglers are indeed in for some hard times!

(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)

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