Shiv In Bombay

Shiv In Bombay

In the early 1970s Shiv came to Bombay for a literary conference. In keeping with Shiv's outrageous behaviour there is a story about his trip to Bombay. Part of the conference involved readings at Shanmukhananda hall. After a few people had read their work (one of whom was Meena Kumari), Shiv got on the stage and began "Almost everyone today has begun to consider themselves a poet, each and every person off the streets is writing ghazals". By the time he had finished with his diatribe, there was not a sound in the hall. This is when he began to read Ek kuri jeeda naam mohabbat. gum hai, gum hai....(This song has been sung recently by Rabbi Shergill in his Album Bulla Ki Jana.) There wasn't a sound when he finished either.

Encouraged by his friends, Shiv went to Bombay and try out in film-industry. He was not born for that, he found that out real fast. He could not write poetry to suit the scenes in the movies, he was born to write from his heart, from his inner voices, and he returned to Punjab.