Amitoj

Amitoj (; born Krishan Kumar; 3 June 1947 – 28 August 2005) and later known as Kanwal Shamim and Krishan Kanwal Sareen, was an Indian poet, from the Punjab region. He met poet Surjit Patar in 1962 while studying at Government College, Kapurthala. He studied at Evening College while working in life insurance and worked as a journalist in the newspaper Nawan Zamana for 18 months. Amitoj graduated with a Master of Arts and a PhD from Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Career Following his studies, Amitoj taught at Panjab University in the Department of Bhai Vir Singh Studies in Comparative Literature and later at the Department of Indian Theatre. He wrote many beautiful poems like Lahore De Naam Khat, Buddha Bould, Khali Tarkash, and Greeting Card. The Punjabi version of Bertolt Brecht's play The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Parai Kukh, became very popular due to Amitoj's songs.

Published works