Chandigarh, July 19: Life has turned a full circle for Pawan Kumar who once penned the lyrics of the Punjabi film, ‘Chann Pardesi’; the first Punjabi film to win the National award in the late 1970s.
From a high of having his lyrics sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhonsle in the film, to a life of near penury, Pawan Kumar, commonly known as Pammi, has seen it all. Living in the small township of Jagraon near Ludhiana, the poet in him has now been subjugated to the more basic needs of sustaining life, by selling ‘papads’ earning about Rs 3000 a month.
“ I realised writing poetry cannot help me in earning a living, so I tried hands at many odd jobs like white washing and selling ice-creams”, explains Pawan. Finally he settled down to his ‘papad’ business.
Recalling his fleeting moments of glory in the highly popular Punjabi movie, ‘Chann Pardesi’, Pawan says those were memorable moments of his life. He recalls discussing the film with the writer-producer, B S Gill and another aide Ajit Pyasa at a small kiosk, where his father used to sell 'beetel' and cigarettes. Several months later, the film saw the light of the day and Pawan’s lyrics were used for the film's songs.
“ I felt honoured when two songs penned by me for the film were sung by the great Mohammed Rafi (maye na vatt pooniyan) and Asha Bhonsle (kite vekh sajan mere naina vich)”, recalls Pawan proudly.
So far, Pawan has written a Punjabi novel ‘Adhoori Aas’ and two books on Punjabi poetry ‘Parvaaz’ and ‘Soch nu janzeer’.The poet is still not short of creative urge to write, but financial problems have taken their toll. His wife is suffering from a stomach tumor and is bed-ridden, while his son earns Rs 1000 a month by selling newspapers.
The district administration gave him an award last year, but Pawan’s problem is basic bread and butter.
However, a small measure of relief came from offshore recently, when a compere of the radio programme ‘Gaunda Punjab’ broadcast from Toronto, narrated the poet’s miserable condition and appealed for financial assistance.This resulted in Punjabi NRIs collecting Rs one lakh for the poet.