Nand Lal Noorpuri was a renowned Punjabi poet, writer, and lyricist. He was born in 1906 in the village of Noorpur in the Lyallpur district (now in Pakistan), to Bishan Singh and Hukam Devi. His real name was Nand Lal, but he adopted the pen name Noorpuri from the name of his native village, Noorpur.
He completed his matriculation from Khalsa School and pursued further studies at Khalsa College. Nand Lal Noorpuri worked for some time as a teacher and later joined the police service, but he eventually left that job as well. After the independence of India, he served briefly in the Language Department, but he resigned from that position too.
Nand Lal Noorpuri's poetic journey shone brightly in the Punjabi literary world. His writings reflect the cultural richness of Punjab, spiritual depth of Sikhism, and realities of social life. His first published work was Nooripariyan, followed by several other collections like Vangaan, Jionda Punjab, Noorpuri de Geet, and Saugaat. After his death, a selection of his poems was published under the title Punjab Bolia.
While he wrote songs, ghazals, and nazms with great mastery, it was his songs that earned him widespread recognition. His lyrics were sung by famous singers like Surinder Kaur, Asa Singh Mastana, Parkash Kaur, and Harcharan Garewal. In addition, he also wrote songs for Punjabi films like Mangti, Geet Baharan De, and Walayat Pass.
At the age of sixty, distressed by the socio-economic system, Nand Lal Noorpuri died by suicide on 13 May 1966. In his memory, Punjabi literary scholars and poets came together to form the Nand Lal Noorpuri Society, with the aim of keeping his thoughts alive. Each year, this society honors an artist with an award in his name.