Fans greet lyricist Dev Threeke

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 19

Fans and music lovers from various parts of the city greeted noted lyricist Dev Threeke at his house on his 76th birthday today.

Dev, who has been writing songs since 1960, has penned several evergreen songs such as “Maa hundi ae Maa”, “Tere tille to auh surat dehdi aa Heer di” among several folk classics.

Dev said he left studies after matriculation due to financial crisis at home and then did a teacher training course. After being recruited as a teacher, he started writing short stories in 1958, he said.

“In 1960, HMV company conducted auditions in the city, as they were hunting for new talent. One of my friends, Prem Kumar Sharma, got an opportunity to records his voice. But he didn’t have lyrics. We met Inderjit Hasanpuri, who was a well-know painter and lyricist, and requested him to write a song for Prem. He was overloaded with work and could not do the needful. Finally, my friends motivated me to write a song. I penned my first song ‘Bhabhi’ and Prem sang it.”

“After some months, I was sleeping on the roof of my house. There was a wedding nearby and I heard my song on the gramophone. I ran towards Jhande village and reached the house where the song was being played. I told the gramophone owner that I have written this song. People thought I was boasting as the song was in demand. Finally, the machine owner read my name on the disc cover and people recognised me,” Dev said.

After that, several hit singers, including Kuldip Manik and Surinder Shinda, sang his songs.

Dev has written more than 1,000 songs and around 150 singers have given their voice to his songs. His still writes and a song sung by singer Veet Baljit is about to release.

Apart from songs, Dev has written several books including four story books, 10 books for children and folk classics.

Dev is known for writing folk classics such as Heer Ranja, Mirza Sahiba, Bego Nar, Partapi Suniari, Jagga Daku and Jeona Maur.

Talking about today’s Punjabi music industry, Dev said: “The market has ruined songs today. Lyricists do not read and hence are bringing out meaningless songs and degrading family and social relations.”