Surjit Patar releases Jatin’s Punjabi Poetry Book ‘Phoori’

Chandigarh, February 12, 2022:  Noted Panjabi poet and Chairman of Punjab Kala Parishad, Surjit Patar released the book of Panjabi poetry by Advocate Jatin Salwan, here today. 

At a function organized by Punjabi Lekhak Sabha in association with Punjab Kala Parishad in Punjab Kala Bhawan, Surjit Patar commended Jatin’s poetry for its simplicity yet rich vocabulary which somehow has been lost into oblivion in Punjab.  

Another uniqueness of Jatin’s poetry, he said, is its effortless expression of his deep thoughts that carries on from the beginning till the end, and each poem punctuated with beautiful metaphors from nature and Punjab’s culture and its rich social fabric. 

As the title suggests, the word ‘Phoori’ itself has gone out of use and so has the culture of sharing the pain and grief by the community if someone lost a near and dear one in the family.  Jatin recalled that people used to congregate to console the family and show their solidarity with the family in their hour of grief. 

The anthology of ‘ghazals’ touches the soul as it reflects upon the pain of separation and isolation and yet reflecting the perennial hope that life presents. 

Jatin, a lawyer by profession, is known in the city for his philanthropy, plantation of thousands of trees, love for nature and animals, and now, for his love for poetry, which he has been writing since his young days, in Panjabi and  Hindi with extensive use of  Urdu words. “Life is a great teacher that has left indelible mark on my life and I continued to scribble them on paper for a long time, and the collection is vast, and it was only on the persuasion of my friends and family that this first collection in Gurmukhi has come about,” he remarks. 

The event started with 'Udeek', a short Punjabi play based on the theme from the poems written by Jatin  Salwan in his Punjabi poetry book presented by The Narrators Performing Arts Society of India. Nisha Luthra has written & directed this short play performance to mark the launch of the poetry book. This play beautifully captures and portrays the narrative of mature love, romance, celebration of loss and how remembrance can be such a joy for the one who is left behind. Balkar Sidhu, a senior Punjabi actor, folk dancer and President, Punjabi Lekhak Sabha and artist Amy Singh enacted the play.

Prominent among those  present  included, Gen V P Malik, former Chief of Army Staff and his wife Ranjana Malik , Mr Vivek Atray, former IAS and  a noted writer, motivational speaker, Mr Santokh Winder Singh (Nabha), President, Pb &Hy High Court Bar Association, Mr Hardeep Chandpuri, Publisher, Ms Renee Singh, writer , poet and life coach, Ms Lily Swarn,  a poet and writer, members of Panjab Kala Parishad and Panjabi  Lekhak Sabha,  friends and family.

The official trailor of Phoori by Jatin Salwan was also released on the occasion which is directed by Film Director, Ojaswwee Sharma, Pinaka mediaworks

The event was compered by Deepak Sharma, Secretary, Punjabi Lekhak Sabha.