People turn poets amid pandemic

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 7

With lockdown of varying degrees imposed in the country, farmers, police officials and people from all walks of lives have turned to writing songs and poems amid pandemic, expressing their concern on the Covid pandemic and motivating people to remain in high spirits amid tough times. Writing and expressing the feelings through words has become a new normal in the society.

The incidents happening in the world have prompted people, otherwise busy in their normal routine, to write more during this time. People penned enthusiastically about problems faced by others due to lockdown.

‘Rail di patri, patri tureya, jawa main mazdoor ho, kut khavan, chori ghar javaan, mera ki kasoor ho', wrote Amolak Singh, president of the Punjab Lok Sabhyacharak Manch while highlighting the plight of the migrant workers.

Youngbir, Sub Inspector and in-charge of the horse-riding wing at the PAP is into writing the poems these days. Notably, the horse riding team has been taking part in national tournaments since 1990. ‘Dosto aajao ik sallah banaiye, corona di afat nu gall toh laiye, aap bachiye te apneya nu bachaiye,’ reads a few lines of the poem he has written. Apart from this, he has also written poems on mothers and fathers and now Youngbir is in the process of writing another article on Covid -19, which he says would come out soon.

Farmer Jagtar Sahota has written, ‘China vich dekh lo, te Italy vich vekh lo, ihne agg laayi, kite tusi vi na sek lo, iss to bachan layi khich lo tayariyaan, bhul jao rishte naate, bhul jao yaariyan.’

The lines of his another poem go like, ‘Hath na milao bai, japhiyaan na paao bai, door door reh ke isnu maar mukaao bai, chhuhn naal faildiya eh mahamariya, aa gaya Corona bai, laa lo buhe bariyaan.’

Gurtej Singh, another farmer from Mehatpur in Jalandhar, had expressed his gratitude to nature in a poem. He writes, “Mainu Jalandhar toh Dalhousie dikh gayi si, rabba mainu maaf kari, main taan kudrat bhula ditti si.”

He believes that everyone must be hopeful as this time too shall pass. ‘Baazi palt deyaan, bahuti der na lagdi, din oh na rahe te eh vi nai rehene, rakhi hausla tu, jit tere dar te ve.’ Gurtej had also written when floods had ravaged the crops in Lohian and Shahkot areas.