Quick Facts
Biography
Kunwar Viyogi (4 September 1940 – 2015) christened as Group Captain Randhir Singh Jamwal is the first and only Indian Air Force officer to have received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for his long Dogri poem titled 'Ghar' in 1980. He used 'Ghar' (Home) as a peg and stringed together 238 four lines verses embracing a wide variety of subjects and ideas and feelings into a long poem. He is also the youngest poet in the history of Sahitya Akademi to have been bestowed with such an honour.
Early life
Kunwar Viyogi was born on 4 September 1940 in the Samba district to Poorakh Singh Jamwal, who served as an Inspector in the J&K Police Department. His mother, Pushpa Devi was a home maker, and mother to 5 brothers and three sisters. Kunwar Viyogi was the eldest of them all. Most of Kunwar Viyogi's siblings served the country by either joining the Army or the Air Force. All his sisters were married to defence officers.
Kunwar Viyogi's childhood was not tied to one place owing to his father's occupation. He grew up in Gaur Bajorian, Rajouri, Buddal, Kotli (presently in Pakistan), Jammu and Udhampur. He spent a major part of his life in Jammu's Fattu Chogan area and was inspired by poetry at the tender age of 13. He achieved acclaim for his work published in the magazines Khilona and Shamaa, contributing short stories.
Academic life
Kunwar Viyogi received his primary education from primary schools in Gaur, Sarore and Pacca Danga. His middle level education was from the prestigious princely school, Partap Memorial Rajput School in Jammu. He later joined the GGM Science College for higher studies. His interest in studies led him to pursue BSc, PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma of Management), PGDMC (Post Graduate Diploma of Mass Communication), MBA (Master of Business Administration) and post graduation in Journalism. Kunwar Viyogi was proficient in Dogri, Urdu, Hindi, English and Punjabi. It made his poetry multilayered and rich. His hobbies included playing football and hockey and he actively participated in the events of the Student Union. But his passion continued to be literature.
Major Works
- Ghar – A long poem,1979
- Pehli Bagan – A sonnet sequence of 200 sonets,1987
Awards and recognition
Sahitya Akademi Award for his long poem Ghar in 1980 Sahitya Ratan Award by the Nami Dogri Sanstha in 2001
Unpublished Work
- Three Novels
- Nine Stories
- Three Essays
- Four Hundred and Seventeen Ghazals
- Two Hundred and Ninety one Poems
- A long poem Sabak
- One Hundred and Thirty Seven Rubaiyan
- Forty One Kundalis
- Sixty One Sonnets
- A translation of the Book of Job in Verse form in Dogri