Puran Singh

Puran Singh (1881–1931) was a Punjabi poet, essayist, and scientist who wrote in Punjabi and English. Born in present-day Pakistan and educated in chemistry, he worked as an industrial chemist before devoting himself to literature and spiritual writing. His poetry blends Sikh mysticism with a deep reverence for the natural world, often using imagery of fields, rivers, and everyday rural life to express transcendent longing. He is associated with the Singh Sabha movement and the revival of Punjabi literary modernism, though his style remained lyrical and meditative rather than experimental. His notable works include the English prose poems 'The Sisters of the Spinning Wheel' and 'Unstrung Beads', as well as Punjabi collections such as 'Khulle Maidan'. His essays and translations, including renderings of Japji Sahib and other Sikh scriptures, shaped later Punjabi literary criticism. Puran Singh's poetry continues to be read for its ecstatic tone and its insistence on the sacredness of ordinary existence.