Puran Singh

Puran Singh Biography

Professor Puran Singh was a Punjabi poet, scientist and mystic, who lived during the period 1881–1931. A prominent figure of Punjabi poetry in the first half of 20^th century, he is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Punjabi poetry. His achievements in both science and literature fields are equally significant. He spent a lot of time for his scientific experiments. A lover of nature and beauty, he wrote poetry both in English and Punjabi language. In 1931 he died of tuberculosis aged only 50, when he was at his career peak. Khule Maidan, Khule Ghund and Khule Asmani Rang are his noted poetry works.

Puran Singh was born in Pothohaar, British India of present day Pakistan in an Ahluwalia family in the year 1881. He completed matriculation from Mission High School Rawalpindi in 1897 and he graduated in Industrial Chemistry from Tokyo University in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Japan in 1903, with the help of a scholarship. He was born into a Sikh family, became a Buddhist Bhikshu later (under the discipleship of Svami Ram Tirath) and finally settled as a Sikh mystic. He was influenced by Bhai Vir Singh, when he attended a Sikh Educational Conference meeting at Sialkot in 1912. He gained faith in Sikhism once again. All these events left great marks in Puran Singh’s life. His encounter with the American poet Walt Whitman also marked an important event in his life.

As a scientist he started off with distillation of essential oils. In 1904, he joined Hindu Technical Institute at Lahore as Principal. After unsuccessful ventures like factory for soap making and Forest chemist at the Forest Research Institute Dehra Dun, he turned the scorching desert of Gwalior into a fragrant oasis of rosha grass and eucalyptus. He also found a method to purify sugar without mixing it with charred bones.

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Updated: January 28, 2016