He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony,[5] due to that he was also called Birha Da Sultan.

He became the youngest recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967, given by the Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters), for his epic verse play based on the ancient legend of Puran Bhagat, Loona (1965),[6][7] now considered a masterpiece in modern Punjabi literature,[8] and which also created a new genre, of modern Punjabi kissa.

[11] Shiv Kumar Batalvi was born on 23 July 1936 (though a few documents related to him state 8 October 1937) in the village Bara Pind Lohtian in the Shakargarh Tehsil of Gurdaspur District (now in Narowal District of Punjab, Pakistan) into a Punjabi Hindu Brahmin family to father, Pandit Krishan Gopal Sharma, the village tehsildar in the revenue department, and mother, Shanti Devi, a housewife.

[citation needed] In 1947, when he was aged 11, his family moved to Batala, Gurdaspur district after partition of India, where his father continued his work as a patwari and young Shiv received his primary education.

[12] Allegedly, he was a dreamy child, often vanishing for the duration of the day, to be found lying under trees by the riverbank close to the Hindu temple outside the village, lost in a brown reverie.

He appears to have been fascinated by local renditions of the Hindu epic Ramayana, as well as wandering minstrel singers, snake charmers and the like – which feature as metaphors in his poetry, giving it a uniquely rural flavour.

When he heard of the birth of her first child, Shiv wrote 'Main ik shikra yaar banaya', perhaps his most famous love poem.

A large number of his fans and Punjabi poets, including Santokh Singh Dhir, Kuldip Takhar and Tarsem Purewal and many others attended this function.

While the Punjabi community got the opportunity to listen to Shiv on various occasions, his stay in London proved to be the last straw for his failing health.

He would stay late and continue to drink until 2:00 or 2:30 in the morning at parties or at home engaged in discussions with his hosts and other people who would come to visit him.

[18][19] Shiv Kumar Batalvi Auditorium is constructed to commemorate 75th Birth anniversary of the eminent poet of Punjab in Batala.

[23] In 2004, a Punjabi play titled Dardaan Da Darya based on Shiv's life was performed at 'Punjab Kala Bhavan', Chandigarh.

In 2014, the rap duo "Swet Shop Boys", consisting of Indo-American Himanshu Suri, and British Pakistani Riz Ahmed, released a song entitled "Batalvi" which sampled Shiv Kumar Batalvi's own recitation of "Ikk Kudi Jihda Naam Mohabbat Ghum Hai" from an interview done with Aikam TV in the early 1970s.

The song's lyrics explore issues regarding cultural identity faced by many second-generation South Asians living in the West.

[25] His poem "Ikk Kudi Jihda Naam Mohabbat Ghum Hai" was made into a song featured in Udta Punjab.

In 2016, Punjabi rapper Kay Kap's album "Kaagaz" featured a song entitled Pind Bewafaayiyaan, which was inspired & conceptualized from Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poem "Ikk Kudi Jihda Naam Mohabbat Ghum Hai".

[26] In 2020, Punjabi singer Wazir Patar made his debut with a tribute to Shiv by producing his only available vocal recording, "Ki Pushde O Haal Fakiran Da."