A WIZARD WITH WORDS - HARMAN JEET

Harmanjeet - A wizard with words

Harman ,a young poet who is unheard presently but is slowly and slowly making inroads in the literary world of Punjabi literature. What strikes you when you read him is the unique flair, the wizardry of words and the singular ability to create images vividly with his compositions which are grounded in Nature.As he quotes, Frank Wright, 'I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."

Harman in his purity , his innocence writes about Nature as an alter ego. He says the time when he writes about  nature, counts birds flying, gives water to birds, talks to kittens that is the time when he feels happiest . Harman a young lad of 20 from District Mansa, Punjab stumbled into poetry writing since an early age .The dark brooding eyes, give him a romantic look aka a Victorian gentleman but the passion in him is limited to his writing. He is creative , paints as well , again nature playing a big role in his compositions. This young man is different from his peers and age group as he is so grounded and is not swayed by  the superficial and artifice which lures the youth of today. The inherent nature of his sets him poles apart from the Gen-X .

In a telephonic interview Harman airs his views on life, philosophizes about religion , God and gives us a message .

Q1( Ravneet) : How did you discover this talent in yourself , or how did you start this journey?

A1(Harmanjeet) : I have been interested in reading books since childhood,and the environment was always conducive to reading and writing. His father who used to bring a magazine "Nanhe Samrat 'and that started this journey .Initially he used to write , scribble and not show it to any one but in a school debate he won the second prize for his composition and rest is history. Now his four songs have been recorded and mixed, the album being released in Canada, India in a few months by Gagandeep Singh.

Q2 (R): What medium do you use to express yourself ?

A2 (H) :  I write in Punjabi and Hindi . Actually , I find Hindi more comfortable but am conversant in both . Face book has widened my exposure and consequently , a lot of web sites, nationally , internationally use my work. In fact, saanjh  weekly.com features my work.

Carrying on , more philosophically , wise beyond his years, Harman continues,

 " As a sculptor uses his tools on a piece of wood, a poet uses a pen , a painter a brush, but the finished result is not known before. It is all a mystery, a hidden puzzle which unravels by itself.In the same fashion , he does not know how he writes, he just writes. It is God's gift , and he believes all is pre-destined, and everything happens according to a pre-set plan. He does not know how he lives, he just lives."

Q3 (R):Who is your favorite poet, name a few?

 A3(H): Prof. Mohan Singh, Shiv Batalvi,Heer Waris Shah, Sahir Ludhianvi,paash, Sant Ram Udasi, Paash to name a few.

Q4(R): What is your aim? Where do you see yourself in a few years?

A4(H): I want to be a lyricist , a writer like Gulzaar sahib, contributing in my native language to leave a mark in the society. I want to write for meaningful movies, books . Also , I read a lot of scriptures and feel that the compositions of the Guru Granth sahib are perfect . The ragas, the meanings are complete and reading them give me a lot of peace of mind.

Q5(R):What is the message you would like  to give to the readers of TOI?

A5(H):  Laughs, and says, that in today's world there are more writers, and less readers but , if one writes poetry they should respect the meter, rhyme the words, the flow of composition should be there.He further states that as he had a balanced environment where everyone inspired him and gave him confidence to write he did and that is reflected in his writings.

Harman , reflects and then tells the youth of today to do what their heart tells them to do but to do it with maximum passion and to follow it through. Don't  leave it half-way.And to listen o good music but to read good literature which according to him is better. In fact, folk songs of all over the world reflect the same passion , intensity and it is in them the culture of the world exists.

Harman is a master craftsman of words who whips out vivid pictures and weaves a web according to Mannjit Singh from Patiala. Dr. Nirmal Singh Dhallu, an NRI from England, says,"A young poets with his unique flair and rich composition . He has tremendous potential and so much to offer Punjabi language in the future. I wish him all the best and hope that he stays on track ."

Aneet Randhawa, from Punjabi University (SDO)  says," the first thing that comes to my mind is earthiness, it smells like the first raindrops on a parched surface , his strength lies in similizing nature , he successfully captures its essence in the written word often evoking pathos ,it is certainly cathartic.