Prem Nath Premi- The Voice of a Commoner from Kashmir

Kashmir, the ‘Heaven on Earth', has been a home of eminent scholars, historians, and poets, like - Bilhan, Anandavardhana, Gunaverman, Abhinavagupta, Jonaraja, Kalhana, Prem Nath Premi etc. During the Muslim rule, Persian became the court language but Kashmiri scholars did not fail to keep pace in acquiring mastery in this language. There were poets like Gani Kashmiri, Munshi Bhawani DassKachroo, Hyder Malik Chadura, Narayan Kaul Aziz, Muhammad AzamDidmari, Prem Nath Premi who acquired this language in no time and preferred to use their own Kashmiri dialect for conveying their messages and thoughts. 

Pt. Prem Nath Premi was a well-known writer from Kashmir. He was born in Srinagar on 29th September 1929. He started writing from a young age of 15. He started writing with Urdu and later his writing turned to Koshur (Kashmiri language). 

He was very dedicated towards studies and had obtained Master's degree in more than one subject. With time he gained a very good command over many languages such as English, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, and Persian, along with the Kashmiri language. As a result, his writings (prose as well as poetry) are available in many languages. He gained much popularity through his work and was listed among the top poets of Kashmir. He was chosen as one of the poets for study in the curriculum of Kashmiri language courses in Kashmir University. Although his work was simple but had so much of depth that it was further transformed to Leelas and romantic Ghazals. These Leelas are now sung in devotional ceremonies. Many of his work has been turned into songs by ‘Radio Kashmir’and some have become folk songs.

Famous  Kashmiri scholar, Dr. Mohiuddin Hajini writes about him:

"Premi  belongs to a class of writers that believes in the chastity language, sincerity of purpose and (above all) a charming depiction of human emotions and ambitions."

Besides writing, Pt. Prem Nath Premi also had a talent for expressing his feelings through brushstrokes on canvas. Even today some of his paintings beautify the walls of the Schools in which he worked as an illustrious Teacher.

He was one of the promoters of literature in Kashmir and was associated with many literary and cultural groups. He was facilitated with many awards for his unique skill of writing, from institutions inside and outside of Kashmir.