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Balbir Madhopuri (bio-note)

Balbir Madhopuri was born in 1955 in Madhopur, a small village in district Jalandhar, Punjab. His experiments with truth began at a tender age when he worked as a child laborer and an agricultural worker. Despite the humble beginning he managed to acquire a postgraduate degree in Punjabi. His writings are primarily focused on the issues related to the oppressed and depressed classes, especially Dalits. Balbir Madhopuri is a Punjabi poet with three collections of poetry.

Email: bmadhopuri@yahoo.in  ; madhopurihk@gmail.com

Website: www.balbirmadhopuri.in ; Mob.: 9350548100 (India).

His autobiography Chhangiya Rukh in Punjabi has gone through fifteen editions; it boasts a status of a classical book in India. Chhangiya Rukh (dubbed in English Against the Night) was published by Oxford University Press in 2010 and reprinted in 2019. It has also been published in Hindi (2007) as well as in Shahmukhi and Urdu (2010, 2019). Translations of his autobiography are in progress in some regional languages of India like Gujrati, Marathi, Malayalam, Maithili. It has been serialized by 10 Punjabi, Hindi, Shahmukhi and English-language magazines, which have published certain chapters in their newspapers such as Pancham, Aaj, Punjab Express, Nawan Zamana and Tehlka.

Chhangiya Rukh is being translated into Russian by Dr. Anna Bochkovskaya; it has been serialized from January 2020 in Russian-language magazines (Journal of the Institute of Oriental Studies and Oriental Courier) published by Russia’s Academy of Sciences; translation of the entire book is scheduled for 2022.

Dr. Zbigniew Dariusz Igielski is translating Chhangiya Rukh from Punjabi into Polish for the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the oldest University of Poland.

Balbir Madhopuri’s selected poems book My Caste – My Shadow is also available in English translated by Prof. T.C. Ghai. His poems were published in French in Mad in India by Tendance Floue in 2008.

Balbir Madhopuri’s new novel Mitti Bol Paye in Punjabi and Shahmukhi was published in 2020. According to the Nawan Zamana newspaper survey of Punjabi novels released in December 2020, his novel tops the list. Some scholars have compared Madhopuri’s latest novel with of those by Thomas Hardy and Fyodor Dostoevsky while some make comparison with texts by Charles Dickens for his distinguished style.

Balbir Madhopuri’s books are included in the syllabus of the Delhi University, Panjab University, Punjabi University, Guru Nanak Dev University, and other private universities under the UGC. A Matter of Community, a chapter from his autobiography Changiya Rukh (Against the Night), is included in the Listen to the Flames textbook published by Oxford University Press in 2016. His poem Many a Time focusing on anti-untouchability (Cast Out Caste) is included in the Living in Harmony (Class 8) textbook published by Oxford University Press in 2018.

In a nutshell, Balbir Madhopuri has authored 14 books, translated 36 books from Hindi and English into Punjabi, and edited 44 Punjabi books. The rich background of Doabi reverberates in his compositions both in poetry and prose. The clear and simple language used in his translations enables Punjabi readers to wholly understand and feel the original literary writings. Balbir Madhopuri’s research papers on the Ghadr Movement, Revolutionary Pash, Dalit movements in Punjab and India etc. have been published and included in various volumes edited by different scholars.

He has also translated Chinese writer Lu Xun’s selected short stories, and writings of South African authors Richard Rive, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Ben Okri, and Alex La Guma (in two volumes). Madhopuri’s translations of black poetry include pieces by Dennis Brutus, A.N.C. Khumalo and 27 other eminent poets who were put in jail for their freedom struggle (published in Black Kaav and Hindi Dalit Kaav, 2020). His works add value to the Punjabi language and are thus considered as a major contribution to India’s culture, especially to the Punjabi literature.

Balbir Madhopuri’s writings have earned him awards including the Life Time Achievement Award (2013) by Punjabi Academy, Delhi, Govt. of Delhi. Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh honored Balbir Madhopuri for the contribution to Punjabi literature by his classical writings. In 2014, the Sahitya Akademi awarded Balbir Madhopuri for his translation efforts; the Punjabi Academy did the same in 1994 (Kaav Purskar) and 2000. The Punjab Languages Department, Govt. of Punjab, presented the 2003 Best Book Award (Chhangiya Rukh) to him. Balbir Madhopuri has been honored jointly by the Govt. of Punjab and Guru Nanak Dev University in 2020. Also, the Department of Punjabi, Kurukshetra University, the Department of Hindi, University of Ranchi and other institutions have honored him for the contribution to the Punjabi literature.

Selected Works:

Original Main Works: Maroothal da Birkh (book of poems, 1992), Bhakhda Patal (book of poems, 1998), Meri Chonvi Kavita (book of poems, 2011), Meri Chonvi Kavta (2011, 2014, 2019); Chhangiya Rukh (autobiography, 2002), Ad Dharm de Bani – Ghadri Baba Mangu Ram (2010), Sahitak Mulakatan (1995, 2021), Samunder de Sang Sang (travelouge,1996; reprinted), Dilli Ik Virasat (1998, reprinted many times), Mitti Bol Paye (novel, 2020; in Punjabi and Shahmukhi).

Translated Main Works: Lajja (1996), Edwina and Nehru (1997), Shahidan de Khat (1998), Krantikarian da Bachpan (1999), Neeli Jheel (1999), Diabetes de Sang Jeen Da Dhang (2002), Manukh di Kahani (2001), Natakan de Desh Vich (1996), Bhartdian Puranian Yadgaaran (1999), Samunder de Tapu (1994), Man di Dunia (2004), Guru Ravidas di Mool Vichardhara (2004), Nawab Rangile (2004), Karantikari Azeemula Khan (2009), Rajkamal Choudhary dian Chonvian Kahanian (2010), My Childhood on My Shoulders (autobiography of Prof. Sheoraj Singh Bechain, 2012), Subhash Neeravdian Chonvian Kahanian (2013), Inni Kaur’s Guru Nanak–Sakhian (2014), Mitti Boldi Hai Kahanian (2015), Chonvia Afriki Kahania (2014), Lu Xundian Chonvian Kahanian (2017), Black Kaav te Hindi Dalit Kaav (2020), etc.

Edited Main Works:

Bhapa Pritam Singh Yadgaari Bhashan, Punjabi Swaijeevnian: Sahitak Mulankan, Bharti Vigyan de Chanan Munare, Satguru Ram Singh te Kuka Lehar, Guru Nanak Ton Guru Granth Sahib Tak, Shahidan de Khat, Bhagat Singh: Amar Vidrohi, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Dyal Singh Majithia, Bharat dian PuranianYadgaaran, Bharat Chhado Andolan, Bharti Sabhyachar di Jhaki, Bharat Vich Angrezi Raj (Part I), Bharat Vich Angrezi Raj (Part II), Bharat dian Lok Kathavan, Punjab de Lok Nach, Bharat de Lok Nach, Kalpna Chawla, Bharat de Gaurav Granth, 1857 da Sutantarta Sangram,Vigyanian dian Jeevan Kathavan, Bharat de Panshi, Ravinder Nath Thakur dian Bal Kahanian etc.

Presently, Balbir Madhopuri is Director, Punjabi Bhawan, Punjabi Sahit Sabha (Regd.), New Delhi, and Editor of the Samkali Sahit magazine published by the Sabha. He served for over 32 years as Deputy Director (News Editor, AIR, New Delhi) and Senior Editor, Yojana (Punjabi), Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India.

Balbir Madhopuri writes with an aim to introduce social equality, social justice, non-discrimination and human rights to make this country a more peaceful and prosperous nation.