Surjit Patar hails from village Pattar (ਪੱਤੜ) Kalan in Kapurthala distt from where he got his surname.
He did his graduation from Randhir Colllege, Kapurthala and then went on to do Masters degree from Punjabi University, Patiala. In Patiala, Patar believes, he found a ripe earth for his creativity to blossom. He later did a Ph.D in Literature on “Transformation of Folklore in Guru Nanak Vani” from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. He then joined the academic profession and retired as Professor of Punjabi from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
Among his works of poetry are “Hawa Vich Likhe Harf” (Words written in the Air), “Birkh Arz Kar” (Thus Spake the Tree), “Hanere Vich Sulagdi Varnmala” (Words Smouldering in the Dark), “Lafzaan Di Dargah” (Shrine of Words), “Patjhar Di Pazeb” (Anklet of Autumn) and Surzameen (Music Land ).
He has translated into Punjabi the three tragedies of Federico García Lorca, the play Nag Mandala of Girish Karnad, and poems of Bertolt Brecht and Pablo Neruda. He has also adapted plays from Jean Giradoux, Euripides and Racine. He has written tele-scripts on Punjabi poets from Sheikh Farid to Shiv Kumar Batalvi.
He has held the office of the President, Punjabi Sahit Akademi.
He has been the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for Hanere vich Sulghdi Varnmala in ’93 and Panchnad Puruskar by Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad ,Kolkata in ’99.