About Kunwar Viyogi
The Biography
‘Viyogi’ means one who burns in fires of separation.
When alone, he longs to hold you, closely and about
Your most fragrant person makes his own.
‘Viyogi’ means a person who burns,
With you and without you, turn by turn.
– Kunwar Viyogi
While the world recognized his literary genius and called him a master storyteller, and the Sahitya Akademi adjudged him the best Dogri poet at the age of 39, for his maiden book ‘Ghar’, in the quiet corner of his heart Group Captain Randhir Singh popularly known as Kunwar Viyogi acknowledged self as an extension of his muse, his inspiration, his only true love – Prem.
Credited with the title – ‘Father of Dogri Sonnets’, Viyogi’s unique and path-breaking contribution is penning 2300+ sonnets in English and Dogri, an art form that Dogri literature was oblivious of. Viyogi is the only Dogri writer who has written 300 sonnets alone in Dogri. In English, he has a world record of penning 2000 sonnets, each crafted with such perfection in his books ‘Rosary of Sonnets Volume 1-6. These books are testimony of Viyogi’s simple and carefree views that translate his deep and true discontents and triumphs. The sonnets create a complex depiction of love, hope, joy, wisdom, defiance, bravery, arrogance, and brutal honesty.
Progressive in thought and sensitive with the flair of his pen, Viyogi was a class apart from his contemporaries. His craft was beyond poetry. In his lifetime, this legendary genius penned 26 books ranging from ghazals, songs, short stories, couplets, rubaiyat, essays, and much more. His writings explored the struggles of human beings in constricted social norms, exploring women’s sensitivities and aspirations, their dreams, their societal pressures, their courage, etc. Women were one subject that was very close to Viyogi’s heart. His mother and three strong and beautiful sisters shaped his outlook toward gender sensitivities and their emotional well-being. Born on 4 September 1940 in the Samba district to Poorakh Singh Jamwal, who served as an inspector in the Jammu and Kashmir Police department, Viyogi’s mother, Pushpa Devi, was a homemaker, and mother to five brothers and three sisters, of which Kunwar was the eldest.
The uniqueness of Viyogi’s writings was also a result of his distinctive life experiences and a good formal education. The Sahitya Akademi Awardee articulated struggles of human existence with as ease as he shared life lessons that are wise and tongue-in-cheek. A pass-out from Partap Memorial Rajput School in Jammu, Viyogi later joined the G.G.M. Science College for higher studies. His interest in studies led him to pursue a BSc, PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma of Management), PGDM (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. His hobbies included playing football and hockey and he actively participated in the events of the student union. Later, Viyogi joined the Air Force. The nature of his job took him across India and he served as a squadron leader in New York for a year and a half.
Viyogi did not believe in restricting his writings to a specific genre. Needless to say, he did have his favorite – Love. Viyogi’s devotion to his muse, his inspiration, and his wife Prem transcended beyond the realms of time. He wrote as passionately about Prem when she was with him as he wrote when he lost her to breast cancer. Devotion for his muse can be seen in six books that Viyogi solely dedicated to Prem. Later he withdrew from the life that he had known with her and moved to Bhilwara, Rajasthan, and gave up all his literary musings. He then devoted his time to training students pursuing IAS and MBA. In 1992, Viyogi returned to Jammu and joined the Kashmir Times as the editor of its Dogri edition. He wrote editorials, essays, and poems. He again retreated to Rajasthan. In 2001, Viyogi was conferred the Sahitya Ratan Award by the Nami Dogri Sanstha for his invaluable contribution to Dogri. From 2012-15, he worked to publish and reprint his work.
Viyogi and Prem are survived by their three beautiful, strong, and sensitive daughters – Poonam, Rashmi, and Shalu, each happily married and contributing to keeping the legacy of their parents alive. To celebrate the works of Kunwar Viyogi and their mother’s contribution to his life, the daughters have instituted the Kunwar Viyogi Memorial Trust. An amalgamation of various educational, cultural, artistic, technological, and social endeavors, Kunwar Viyogi Memorial Trust has been working towards the revival, preservation, and promotion of the Dogri language through education, literary, art innovation, and technological advancements in language, literature, and entertainment. The Trust has undertaken multiple endeavors at school, college, universities, and cultural levels to promote and ‘Save the language’, along with introducing multiple initiatives to make the language relevant and cause-worthy for the youth.
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