VĪR SIṄGH, BHĀĪ (1872-1957), poet, scholar and exegete, was a major figure in the Sikh renaissance and in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary traditioin. His identification with all the important concerns of modern Sikhism was so complete that he came to be canonized as Bhāī, the Brother of the Sikh Order, very early in his career. For his pioneering work in its several different genres, he is acknowledged as the creator of modern Punjabi literature.

        To this patrimony of Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh was added from his mother's side a living kinship with another rich tradition of scholarship in exegesis of the Giānī school, going back to the times of Gurū Gobind Siṅgh. His maternal grandfather Giānī Hazārā Siṅgh compiled a lexicon of Gurū Granth Sāhib, and wrote a commentary on Bhāī Gurdās' Varāṅ. As a schoolboy, Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh used to spend a great deal of his time in the company of Giānī Hazārā Siṅgh under whose guidance he not only learnt the classical and neo-classical languages, Sanskrit, Persian and Braj, but also received grounding, both theoretical and practical, in the science of Sikh exegesis.

        Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh had the benefit of both the traditional indigenous learning as well as of modern English education. He learnt Persian and Urdu from a Muslim Maulawī in a mosque and was apprenticed to Giānī Harbhajan Siṅgh, a leading classical scholar, for Sanskrit and Sikh literature. He then joined the Church Mission School, Amritsar, and took his matriculation examination in 1891. At school, the conversion of some of the students proved a crucial experience which strengthened his own religious conviction. From the Christian missionaries' emphasis on literary resources, he learnt how efficacious the written word could be as a means of informing and influencing a person's innermost being. Through his English courses, he acquired familiarity with modern literary forms, especially short lyric. While still at school, Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh was married at the age of 17 to Chatar Kaur, daughter of Sardār Naraiṇ Siṅgh of Amritsar.

        Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh began taking active interest in the affairs of Siṅgh Sabhā movement. To promote its aims and objects, he launched in 1894 the Khālsā Tract Society. In November 1899, he started a Punjabi weekly, the Khālsā Samāchār. He was among the principal promoters of several of the Sikh institutions, such as Chief Khālsā Dīwān (1902), Sikh Educational Society (1908) and the Punjab and Sind Bank (1908). Interest in corporate activity directed towards community development remained Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh's constant concern, simultaneously with his creative and scholarly pursuits. In this engagement and, at the same time, in his eschewal of political activity, the Christian missionary example was apparently his model.

        The Khālsā Tract Society periodically made available under the title Nirguṇiārā low-cost publications on Sikh theology, history and philosophy and on social and religious reform. Through this journal Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh established a living contact with an ever-expanding circle of readers. He used the Nirguṇiārā as a vehicle for his own self-expression and some of his major creative works such as the epic Rāṇā Sūrat Siṅgh, the novel Bābā Naudh Siṅgh, and the lives of the Gurūs Srī Gurū Nānak Chamatkār and Srī Gurū Kalgīdhar Chamatkār were originally serialized in its columns.

        Subhāg jī dā Sudhār Hathīṅ Bābā Naud Siṅgh, popularly known as Bābā Naudh Siṅgh (serialized in Nirguṇiārā from 1907 onwards and published in book form in 1921) shares with Rāṇā Sūrat Siṅgh (which he had started serializing two years earlier), Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh's fascination with the theme of widow's desperate urge for a re-union with her dead husband. But in Bābā Naudh Siṅgh this search is situated in a more mundane setting. This makes all the difference. The narrative here is more realistic in tone, and almost contemporary in its appeal. Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh weaves into the narrative numerous motifs of social reform, moral teaching and religious preaching and depicts several situations of inter-communal and urban-rural confrontation.

        Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh's quest for new forms of expression continued. Soon after the publication of Rāṇā Sūrat Siṅgh in book form in 1919, he turned to shorter poems and lyrics. In quick succession came Dil Taraṅg (1920), Tarel Tupke (1921), Lahirāṅ de Hār (1921), Maṭak Hulāre (1922), and Bijlīāṅ de Hār (1927). Following at some distance was Mere Sāīāṅ Jīo (1953). In this poetry, Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh's concerns were more aesthetic than didactic, metaphysical or mystical. He refined the old verse forms and created new ones. The metrical patterns Kābit, Soraṭhā, Baint, etc., which he inherited from classical Punjabi literature, were transformed into light, nimble measures. Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh also naturalized in Punjabi the Rubāī which he borrowed from Urdu. By grafting Soraṭhā and Sirkhaṇḍī forms on English blank verse, he paved the way for the emergence of Punjabi poem. As it happened, the first play written in Punjabi, Rājā Lakhdātā Siṅgh (1910), also came from the pen of Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh. Tentative in form, the play did reveal the author's powers of constructing crisp and witty dialogues.

        Monumental in size and scholarship was his annotation of Bhāī Santokh Siṅgh's magnum opus, Srī Gur Pratāp Sūraj Granth, published from 1927 to 1935 in fourteen volumes covering 6668 pages.

1. Talib, Gurbachan Singh and Attar Singh, ed., Bhai Vir Siṅgh : Life, Times and Works. Chandigarh, 1973
   ਍㰀氀椀 挀氀愀猀猀㴀∀䌀㄀∀㸀 䠀愀爀戀愀渀猀 匀椀渀最栀Ⰰ 㰀椀㸀䈀栀愀椀 嘀椀爀 匀椀渀最栀㰀⼀椀㸀⸀ 䐀攀氀栀椀Ⰰ ㄀㤀㜀㈀㰀䈀刀㸀ഀഀ
2. Harbans Singh and Talib, Gurbachan Singh, Bhai Vir Singh : Poet of the Sikhs.
   ਍㰀氀椀 挀氀愀猀猀㴀∀䌀㄀∀㸀 䠀愀爀戀愀渀猀 匀椀渀最栀Ⰰ 攀搀⸀Ⰰ 㰀椀㸀䈀栀愀椀 嘀椀爀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀 䌀漀洀洀攀洀漀爀愀琀椀漀渀 嘀漀氀甀洀攀㰀⼀椀㸀⸀ 䐀攀氀栀椀Ⰰ ㄀㤀㔀㐀㰀䈀刀㸀ഀഀ
3. Guleria, J.S., Bhai Vir Siṅgh : A Literary Portrait. Delhi, 1985
   ਍㰀氀椀 挀氀愀猀猀㴀∀䌀㄀∀㸀 倀愀爀欀愀猀栀 匀椀渀最栀 㰀椀㸀䌀漀渀琀椀渀甀椀渀最 䤀渀昀氀甀攀渀挀攀 漀昀 䈀栀☀⌀㈀㔀㜀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀 嘀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀爀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀㰀⼀椀㸀⸀ 䄀洀爀椀琀猀愀爀Ⰰ ㄀㤀㜀㈀㰀䈀刀㸀ഀഀ
4. Satinder Siṅgh, Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh : Jīvan te Rachnā. Patiala, 1982
   ਍㰀氀椀 挀氀愀猀猀㴀∀䌀㄀∀㸀 匀攀欀栀漀渀Ⰰ 匀愀渀琀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀Ⰰ 㰀椀㸀䈀栀☀⌀㈀㔀㜀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀 嘀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀爀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀 琀攀 唀渀栀愀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀 搀☀⌀㈀㔀㜀 夀甀最㰀⼀椀㸀⸀ 䰀甀搀栀椀愀渀愀Ⰰ ㄀㤀㘀㈀㰀䈀刀㸀ഀഀ
5. Manmohan Siṅgh, Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh--Kavi dā Darshnik Vishleshaṇ. Delhi, 1975
   ਍㰀氀椀 挀氀愀猀猀㴀∀䌀㄀∀㸀 䐀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀瀀Ⰰ 䐀愀氀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀瀀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀Ⰰ 㰀椀㸀䈀栀☀⌀㈀㔀㜀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀 嘀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀爀 匀椀☀⌀㜀㜀㐀㤀最栀 㨀 䨀☀⌀㈀㤀㤀瘀愀渀 琀攀 䬀☀⌀㈀㔀㜀瘀椀 䌀栀椀渀琀愀渀㰀⼀椀㸀⸀ 䰀甀搀栀椀愀渀愀Ⰰ ㄀㤀㜀㐀㰀䈀刀㸀ഀഀ

Attar Siṅgh