The name Shikra has been derived from the Hindi/Urdu word shikari, which means hunter. It is a small, powerful predator.

Shiv Kumar Batalvi was a Punjabi poet, writer and playwright. His poetry was soaked in passion, pathos and the pangs of separation. He is popularly known as the ‘Keats of Punjab’. Shiv Kumar Batalvi has written a poignant Punjabi poem, “Shikra“, in which shikra has been used as a metaphor for love, longing and betrayal.

Maye ni maye!

Main ik shikra yaar banaya.

Ohde sir te kalgi, te ohde pairin jhanjar.

Te oh chog chugina aaya

( My beloved is like a Shikra bird. He has a crest on his head and anklets on his feet. That bird had come while pecking grains.)

Ikk ohde roop di, dhup tikheri

Dooja mehkaan da tirhaya,

Teeja ohda rang gulabi,

Kisse gori maa da jaaya,

Ni main vaari jaan!

( Firstly, he is very beautiful. Second, he smells like perfume, and thirdly, his complexion is pink. It seems that his mother is also fair-skinned).

Choori kuttan, te oh khanda nahi

Ohnu dil da maas khavaya

Ik udari aesi mari, Oh murr watnin na aya

(I crushed choorie for him, but he doesn’t eat, so I fed him the flesh of my heart; he took a flight, never to come back again)