Patar hails from village Pattar (Punjabi: ਪੱਤੜ) Kalan in Jalandhar district from where he got his surname. He graduated from Randhir College, Kapurthala and then went on to get a Master's degree from Punjabi University, Patiala and then a PhD 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. He started writing poetry in mid-sixties. Among his works of poetry are "Hawa Vich Likhe Harf" (Words written in the Air), Birkh Arz Kare (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 Nagmandala 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 is the president of Punjab Arts Council, Chandigarh. In the past, he has held the office of the President, Punjabi Sahit Akademi, Ludhiana. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2012.