In Keeri Mangyal, a quaint village on the banks of the Ravi, Shiv Kumar Batalvi lives on in every conversation. The memory of the literary icon—across generations, old and new—remains deeply personal. Though time has created some distance, an enduring intimacy still surfaces whenever he is spoken of.
May 6, 2027, marks the 53rd death anniversary of Batalvi, whose stature in Punjabi literature remains unique—both classical and path-breaking. For the residents of Keeri Mangyal, the legacy of their shining star is inherited and undiminished. Batalvi was not born here—his native village is Bara Pind Lohtian, now in Pakistan—but he spent a significant part of his life, including his final years, in Keeri Mangyal, the maternal village of his wife, Aruna.
Anuridh Sharma, a member of Shiv Batalvi’s in-laws’ family and a former sarpanch of the village, still cherishes vivid memories of the poet. He recalled that when Shiv was critically ill and staying at his in-laws’ house in Keeri Mangyal, he himself was just six years old. “Shiv loved children, and we would sit beside him and listen to his stories. As his health deteriorated, the soles of his feet would swell. We were too young to understand his immense stature and literary legacy, but we always felt enriched in his presence,” he said.
Anuridh Sharma added that after Shiv Batalvi’s passing, there were discussions about building a memorial in the village. Eventually, a library was constructed in his memory. However, much like Shiv Batalvi’s memorial auditorium in Batala, which has remained in ruins for years, the condition of this library in Keeri Mangyal is also deplorable. Writer Inderjit Singh Harpura, who recently visited the village, remarked that Shiv’s words—“Wherever a lamp is lit, there will be my tomb”—seem to have come true in Keeri Mangyal.
Prof Manjinder Singh, a Punjabi writer and head of the School of Punjabi Studies at GNDU, said that Shiv Kumar Batalvi emerged from the grassroots and was not an elite poet. “The villages around Batala celebrate Batalvi as their literary hero. His stature goes beyond that of a classical poet—he was truly a people’s poet. While his language and literary sensibilities were complex and appreciated by intellectuals, many of his folk-inspired works remain unexplored. His parental home in Prem Nagar still existed a few years ago and was being renovated, but no sustained efforts were made to preserve it,” he said.
