Manohar Shyam Joshi

हिंदी और अंग्रेजी के बहुत से उपन्यास, कहानियां और पत्रिकाएँ मैंने पढी हैं - साहित्यिक, माडर्न टाइप, पुराने क्लास्सिक्स, लुगदी साहित्य, और न जाने "कैफे कैफे". एक आम पाठक की हैसियत से मैंने यह पाया है कि साहित्य के मोटे तौर पर दो ही पहलू हैं - एक कथानक, दूसरा भाषा. इन दोनों की गुणवत्ता और सामंजस्य ही उस कृति, चाहे वो कहानी हो या कविता, की गुणवत्ता, प्रखरता और प्रभाव निर्धारित करता है.

इस लिहाज से मेरे विचार में बहुत थोड़े से ही लेखक ऐसे हैं कि जिनकी शैली, यानी लिखा हुआ शब्द और कथानक यानी शब्दों के बीच की कहानी, दोनों इतने दमदार, ओरिजनल और अनूठे होते हैं कि मानो पन्नों से निकल कर सीधे अन्दर के इंसान से डायरेक्ट रिश्ता बना ले जाते हैं. इस श्रेणी में सबसे ऊपर मैं रखता हूँ मनोहर श्याम जोशी को.

हम में से अधिकतर लोग मनोहर श्याम जोशी को दूरदर्शन के पहले मशहूर टी.वी सीरियल "हम लोग" के लेखक के रूप में जानते होंगे, जैसा कि मेरे अल्प-ज्ञान की बदौलत मैं जानता था. जैसा कि उस वय में हमारे साथ होता था, एक टी.वी सीरियल की सफलता में हमें सिर्फ परदे पर चेहरे दीख पाते थे, परदे के पीछे नहीं. इस लिए यह नाम आया गया हो गया, जो कि बड़ी भूल हुई.

फिर अभी करीब पांच साल पहले एक सह-ब्लॉगर "सिलबिल" ने मुझे "कसप" के बारे में बताया, जिसके जरिये मेरा बाकायदा परिचय जोशी जी की लेखनी से हुआ. "कसप" पहाड़ी पृष्ठभूमि में लिखी गयी एक हिंदी प्रेमकथा (उपन्यास) है, जिस का नायक एक अनाथ और निर्धन युवक डी.डी. (देबिया या देबिदुत्त तिवारी) है और नायिका है बेबी नाम्नी एक खिलंदढ़ कन्या. मैं आपसे सच कहता हूँ, ऐसी भावप्रण और ईमानदार प्रेमकथा मैंने आज तक न पढी है और ना ही परदे पर देखी है. पहाडी आंचलिक परिवेश और भाषा इस प्रेम-कहानी को एक अलग ही आयाम दे देते हैं. यह मुझे बाद में पता लगा कि इस उपन्यास को लोग हिंदी साहित्य के एक मील के पत्थर की तरह मानते हैं.

इस शानदार उपन्यास के बाद मैं इनका एक अन्य उपन्यास "कुरु कुरु स्वाहा" पढ़ पाया, जो कि एक और अजब ही, करीब करीब वर्णातीत सी चीज़ निकली. उपन्यास के जैकेट पर भी ऐसा ही कुछ वर्णन है, नोश फरमाइए - "नाम बेढब, शैली बेडौल, कथानक बेपेंदे का. कुल मिला कर बेजोड़ बकवास. अब यह पाठक पर है कि "बकवास" को "एब्सर्ड" का पर्याय माने या न माने". और, इसी के एक पात्र के शब्दों में - " अईसा कामेडी है कि दर्शिक लोग जानेगा, केतना हास्यास्पद है त्रास अऊर केतना त्रासद है हास्य." आंचलिक भाषाओँ पर अपनी बेहद मजबूत पकड़ का परिचय जोशी जी यहाँ पर भी दे देते हैं - पंजाबी और बम्बईया लहजों से सराबोर हिंदी से पाठक का परिचय करवा के.

"स्वाहा" के बाद बारी थी "ट-टा प्रोफ़ेसर" की, जिसे मैंने बड़ी शिद्दत से ढूँढा. आखिरकार, लैंडमार्क स्टोर पर हिंदी किताबों के निष्कासित और भूले भूले से सेक्शन में मेरी किस्मत जागी. एक ही सिटिंग में मैं इसे पढ़ गया और बिलकुल भी निराश नहीं होना पड़ा. यह उपन्यास भी "स्वीकृत मानदंडों की दृष्टि से पूरी तरह तर्क-संगत और प्रासंगिक नहीं होने के बावजूद हिंदी उपन्यासों में एक विशिष्ट दर्जा रखता है....एक पात्र की ही नहीं, एक कहानी की भी कहानी है....." (जैकेट से).

एक जीवंत और प्रमाणिक भाषा के अलावा जोशी जी के लेखन में दो चार बातें और मैंने पायी. एक तो यह कि हर कहानी के केंद्र में नायक का अकेलापन है जो पूरी कहानी को एक अबूझ और attractive उदासी दे देता है. दूसरा यह कि पूरी कहानी के दौरान एक तीसरी आँख कैमरे की तरह फिल्म बनाती चलती है, जो शायद उनके फिल्म अनुभव की वजह से है. इस से कहानी में एक अलग ही dynamics और perspective पैदा हो जाते हैं और कहानी को एक अलग ही गति दे देते हैं. तीसरी बात यह है कि कोई भी कहानी किसी मेसेज के ढकोसले में फँस कर पाठक के बौद्धिक स्तर का अपमान नहीं करती. कहानी सिर्फ कहानी होती है. चौथी बात शायद आपने अब तक नोट कर ही ली होगी - उनके अनूठे और रहस्यमयी से शीर्षक.

कुल मिला कर यह कि पहली फुर्सत में जोशी जी को पढ़ डालिए और रसास्वादन कीजिये. तब तक मैं इनकी अन्य कृतियाँ जुटाता हूं.

Dev. D

The best tribute any filmmaker can pay to his favorite work of art is when s/he retells it in his own way.

Dev D, though of course based on the original story by Shart Babu, is an out and out Anurag Kashyap film – completely hat ke, and very bold – not recommended for your usual Bollywood aficionados. I watched it a couple of days back, and it is only now that I have been able to shake off its stupor.

It is not only that the story has been made contemporary by placing it firmly in rural Punjab and Paharganj, and dovetailing it with certain current happenings in Delhi. The undercurrent of emotions that run through the film is also so palpably real and so modern, not far-fetched and unfathomable for we the real people. And the characters, including the protagonist Dev, are very realistically etched out, away from the “classic” and “pristine” characters of all the earlier versions.

Of course, the film would not be what it is without some marvelous acting by Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill and Kalki. Thank God for actors like Abhay, and directors like Anurag Kashyap, who have tried hard, and been successful, in growing apart from the formula land of bad Bollywood. Without them, we would be so much the poorer.

Talking too much about the film would spoil the fun for the unlucky ones (or simply out-of-date types like me) who have not watched it yet. Just let me say that ten years down the line, it would surely be counted as one of the milestones of Hindi cinema. So, go ahead and watch it. Pronto.

Jaat Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki

भारतीय रंग-कर्म के लेखन क्षेत्र में विजय तेंदुलकर एक कद्दावर नाम है, यह मैंने पहली बार बीस साल पहले तब जाना था जब स्कूल में उनके लिखे एक प्रख्यात नाटक "खामोश, अदालत जारी है" पर आधारित (सिर्फ़ "आधारित, क्यूंकि स्कूल के बालकों के लिए इस की थीम काफी बोल्ड थी) एक नाटक का मंचन देखा था।
कल एन.एस.डी रंगमंडल की प्रस्तुति "जात ही पूछो साधू की" देख कर लौटा हूँ और एक बार फिर शिद्दत के साथ विजय तेंदुलकर, और साथ ही में रंगशाला के कलाकारों का और हिन्दी अनुवादक डॉ। वसंत देव का, कला-कौशल महसूस रहा हूँ।
"जात.." एक बहुत ही आम, कस्बाई युवक महीपत की कहानी है जो हमारे देश के लाखों युवकों की कहानी की तरह तीसरे दर्जे में एम्.ए पास से शुरू हो कर, जात-पात, भाई-भतीजावाद, गंवाई राजनीती और असफल प्यार से होती हुई अंततः बे-रोजगारी पर ख़त्म होती है.
कहानी बिलकुल सीधी-सादी, या यूँ कहें कि एक-आयामी ही है पर विजय तेंदुलकर के हाथों में एक farce का treatment पा कर, और वसंत देव के शानदार हिंदी अनुवाद और आंचलिक संवादों से सज कर यह एक घनघोर हास्य नाटक में बदल गयी है. और इस पर रंगमंडल (NSD repertoire) के कलाकारों के उच्च स्तरीय अभिनय ने इस नाटक की प्रशंस्नीयता को अक्षुण रखा है. नायक महीपत की भूमिका में अम्बरीश सक्सेना बहुत दमदार हैं, और इसके अलावा बबना, नलिनी और चेयरमैन (सुरेश शर्मा) भी कमाल के हैं. सुरेश शर्मा रंगमंडल के प्रमुख हैं, और इन्हें "घासीराम कोतवाल" में नाना के रोल में देखना भी एक अनुभव ही था.
ऐसे नाटकों को देख कर यह अहसास होता है कि वाकई अभिनय कला की सही कसौटी मंच ही है, फूहड़ फिल्में, भद्दे टी.वी सीरिअल और रियलिटी टी.वी प्रोग्राम नहीं.
नाटकों के बारे में और बातें फिर कभी.

Police Sensitization

A few days back, I was reading an editorial in the Hindustan Times which talked about an unfortunate incident in which some policemen & women beat up a mentally ill girl because she turned violent.

The editorial argued that the police force needs to be reformed and sensitized about such matters.

My response, in an unpublished letter, is as follows:

This is apropos your editorial "Are we really a police state?" in HT dated August 27, 2009.

You have rightly raised a very apt question about the lack and immediate need thereof of sensitization of our police force. It was indeed painful to learn about a mentally ill girl being thrashed mercilessly in public, which is yet another instance of police behaviour at its worst.

In my view, however, this is not the problem per se; it is only a symptom of a deeper malaise. Police force, like any other institution, is not a faceless entity. It is essentially a group of people who, rather than being unleashed by the heavens above, are common people drawn from the society itself.

And it is our societal collective mindset – essentially feudalistic, acutely class-conscious, intolerant of the maginalised of any manner and opportunistic of the first order, rules be damned – which is being reflected in each one of us, policemen included, only with different degrees of manifestation in line with the opportunity provided.

It has to be recognized therefore that without a corrective action on the root cause, therefore, it would only be a symptomatic treatment at best.

Sincerely Yours

Kaminey

Yesterday, after we had unfurled the Tricolour at our residence apartments, I went to watch Kaminey, the new Vishal Bhardwaj film.

Kaminey is a story about how the lives of two identical brothers, one a small time gambler and the other an idealist, crisscross each other in a series of incidents and after many manoeuvers, culminate in a happily–ever–after end. The title Kaminey (hindi), which loosely translates into a wicked or a vile fellow, derives from the wickedness of the gambler brother and how he uses this trait to survive in the world.

It is now beyond dispute that Vishal is surely an above-average film-maker, with gems like Omkara, Maqbool and The Blue Umbrella to his credit. It has to be said, however, that Kaminey falls just a whisper short of the high standards and expectations one has of him.

It has a rather clichéd story line, reminding one of the old 70s films, complete with bura bhai - achha bhai clashes, villain ka adda and late entry of the police et al.

Admittedly, the treatment and the screen-play is authentic Vishal but the earthliness and the gritty reality which seeps through each of his films has this time been replaced in part by a sort of flight of fancy – what else can you say when you see Priyanka Chopra holding and firing a machine gun!

And the characterization and role-etching, which is always a high point of his films, also leaves something to be desired. Not only were there many small characters which were just introduced and left on fringes completely unexplored, the good brother character of Shahid also suffers from this.

Lest you be scared of the movie, however, let me reiterate that the standards by which I am judging Kaminey are a bit harsh - those which have been set up by Vishal’s earlier films. As a stand-alone film, Kaminey is a gripping movie, exemplifying Vishal’s superior understanding of this craft and has its strong points.

First, the film unearths a different Shahid Kapur – it stands to surely catapult him from the “boys’ club” to “men-only” section. It could be termed an out-and-out Shahid film. Add to that a surprise villain in Amole Gupte.

Second is the delightful music score – a combination of some brilliant lyrics by Gulzar (who else can write Dhan Te Nan with such élan?), music by Vishal himself, both riding on the voices of Sukhwinder and Mohit Chauhan.

Third is the fast pace and slick editing of the film, which keeps the adrenaline flowing.

All in all, the movie merits a must-watch-once tag.

White Mughals & Hyderabad

It was in May that I was reading White Mughals by Willian Dalrymple, when a lovely coincidence resulted in my visit to Hyderabad during that time.

White Mughals, though technically classified as a history book, is essentially a true & moving love story between an English resident James William Kirkpatrick and a Hyderabadi noble woman Kahirunnissa, set in Hyderabad of 18^th century. Kirkpatrick took to Islam to marry this woman.

Keeping this love story in the foreground, Dalrymple has explored and evidenced the inter-cultural and inter-racial mingling of an improbably large number of British people with the Indians at that time.

Having considered the English as mostly colonial masters and India-haters, I was really surprised to learn that there were actually a large number of Englishmen who not only did not hate India, but loved this country so much that they embraced the Indian culture in totality– dress, cuisine, lifestyles – everything. The rare photos reproduced of the Englishmen including the protagonist show them all decked up in Indian finery, complete with hookahs et al. A large number of them had Indian wives. Many of them spoke fluent Persian and Hindustani, got their palms hennaed and even nursed the ubiquitous Indian symbol - moustache.

For a historian, Dalrymple has an excellent narrative style. Considering that he does not have the luxury of a fictional plot, the story he has pieced together from the available sources including private letters is truly a compelling one, and I could feel the passion of the main characters.

Another surprise protagonist which emerges from the story is the city of Hyderabad. Dalrymple has been able to create a lively approximation of Hyderabad of yore. The painstaking research, though digressive sometimes, sparkles through each and every page.

(Image Courtesy: FlytoHyderabad.com)

When I first visited Hyderabad around 7 years back, I was pleasantly surprised to find a clean, energetic city with wide roads (it was during the reign of Chandrababu Naidu) in place of a stinking city which some people had warned it to be. There is however a more important thing about the city which I felt - it seems to present a delightful confluence of North and South Indian cultures, as symbolised by the language (ready understanding and acceptability of Hindi in this southern state) and food (delicious cuisine which is able to satiate even a North Indian palate).

This time, however, I long to see beyond the present, and explore the forgotten monuments like the British Residency, Begum's Garden, Raymond's Tomb etc, and visualise the past in places like Banjara Hills. But whenever I do this, I am sure I will be armed with this gem of a tome.

छुट्टियाँ ख़त्म या छुट्टियां शुरू

Now that the summer vacations of my son, who is in Class III, have ended, it seems mine and my wife's have truly started.

Till the last week, as we raced towards the deadline of school re-opening, we were fully consumed after our office hours in making charts, sticking pictures, tying up project-reports and what have you, all in the interest of timely completion of his "holiday homework". I talked to some "fellow travelers" in distress and the common refrain was - इतना तो हम हमारे टाइम में पढ़ लेते तो आज IAS कर चुके होते !!

The phrase "Holiday Homework" truly must rate amongst the top 10 oxymorons in the Indian English. After all, what remains of holidays for a poor child with so much homework to complete is anybody's guess. I fondly remember our times when holidays were pure fun, untouched by anything remotely curricular and academic. And this did not make us any poorer in education, my contemporaries would agree.

I am sure I state the obvious in saying that it is we parents who are to blame for this sorry state. Today, when most of us are maniacally driving our children towards super-human goals, we expect the schools to play their part. Driven, therefore, by our anxities and in their zeal to provide us a better "product" that education has now become, the schools work out unassailable tasks for the children as homeworks, which even parents find quite tough. No wonder then that there have sprung up specialised shops catering to school projects and homework!

I wish the educationalists and acamedicians would recognize this as a problem and devise some such simple assignments, if needed at all, which could make the lives of our children more relaxed and fun, and ours more relieved.

Happy and Gay?

Apropos the Delhi High Court judgement over gay rights, it is amusing to note that both the opponents and proponents of the judgement have, even if inadvertently, reduced this issue to just a Freudian debate.

This judgement is an endorsement of personal liberty and rights and inclusiveness, which any sane and civil person already understands. That the state also now does so is all the more welcome. It is one less opportunity for the insensitive law enforcerers to harrass civil people on imaginary pretexts. So far so good.

However, the accompanying celebrations and felicitations and the whole picture painted in the media has twisted this issue out of context. It almost seems like a glorification of the LGBT lifestyle choice, if there is one, over our less interesting, boringly normal heterosexual lifestyles.

This we definitely do not need. It has to be clearly understood that the issue is about inclusiveness towards the "differently normal", if I may dare to coin a term, and not about their validation as normal.

The same sentiments are carried in my letter to the editor in today's edition of Indian Express, Delhi.

I would love to hear what you think about this sensitive topic.

गोरा

मैंने अक्सर किताबें पढ़ते हुए सोचा है कि ऐसा क्या है जो एक लेखक को औरों से ज्यादा पठनीय बनता है, एक महान लेखक को आम लेखकों से अलग करता है, और सबसे बड़ी बात - उसकी रचनाओं को कालजयी बना देता है।
बहुत साल पहले जब प्रेमचंद को मैंने पहली बार पढ़ा था तो इस प्रश्न से मेरा पहला साबका था। इस बार, मैंने गुरुदेव रबिन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर का उपन्यास "गोरा" ख़त्म किया है , और मुझे लगता है कि मैंने उत्तर पा लिया है। "गोरा" मूलतः बांगला भाषा में है, जो मैं नहीं पढ़ पाता हूँ। इसलिए कुछ दो-एक महीने पहले जब मुझे सत्चितानंद वात्स्यायन "अज्ञेय" द्वारा हिन्दी में इस उपन्यास का अनुवाद मिला तो मैंने तुंरत इसे उठा लिया - गुरुदेव को पढ़ पाने का इस से बेहतर और प्रामाणिक अनुवाद और क्या हो सकता था।
"गोरा" एक ऐसा वृहत उपन्यास है जो स्वतंत्रता के कुछ दशक पहले के कलकत्ता में स्थित किया गया है और जो मित्रता, देशप्रेम, पारिवारिक सवाल-जवाबों और स्त्री-पुरूष प्रेम के ताने बाने में गूँथ कर तत्कालीन बांगला, या कहें कि भारतीय समाज की, न केवल वास्तु-स्थिति प्रस्तुत करता है बल्कि उसके अन्तर-विरोधों और रूढियों पर भी चोटें करता है। गौरमोहन नामक युवक इस उपन्यास के मुख्य पात्रों में से एक है, और इस उपन्यास के नाम का कारण भी। कहानी जानने के लिए आपको उपन्यास में डुबकी लगानी होगी।
यहाँ मैं आपसे मेरे प्रश्न का उत्तर बांटने में ज्यादा उत्सुक हूँ, चाहे साहित्य के गंभीर पाठकों और विद्यार्थियों के लिए शायद यह सब इतना नया न हो।
निपट सरल भाषा में जटिल से जटिल बात कह देना सभी महान लेखकों का संभवतः पहला विशेष लक्षण है। मैंने अंग्रेज़ी में सलमान रश्दी को पढ़ा है, और कदम कदम पर शब्दकोष की आवश्यकता महसूस की है। इस के बाद, शायद मेरे शब्द-ज्ञान में तो वृद्धि हुई होगी, लेकिन कहानी का रस कहीं बीच ही में छूट गया। इसके उलट, गुरुदेव और प्रेमचंद और इनके समकक्ष अन्य रचनाकार अपने पाठकों पर धाक ज़माने से ज्यादा अपनी बात को कहने और समझाने में विश्वास रखते हैं - वे सरल शब्दों का प्रयोग करते हैं और इस लिए आम जन से अपने आपको सायास ही जोड़ लेते हैं।
दूसरी महत्त्वपूर्ण बात - इन सभी रचनाकारों में मानव मन की गांठें खोल पाने का, और गहन भावनाओं को पाठक तक अपने शुध्ह्तम रूप में पहुँचा पाने का अद्भुत कला कौशल है। सभी पात्रों की सोच और उनके विचारों को इतनी ईमानदारी से हमारे समक्ष रख पाना कोई मामूली बात नहीं है।
तीसरी और आखरी बात जो मैं समझ पाया वह कारण से अधिक परिणाम है - महान कलाकारों की रचनायें बूढी नहीं होती। देश, काल और समय के परे यह आज भी हमें छू पाने का माद्दा रखती हैं।
आज इतना ही। साहित्य के बारे में आपके विचारों की प्रतीक्षा रहेगी.

Trichy

Every time I travel out of Delhi NCR to far-flung cities and small towns, it is a pleasure to be relieved of my claustrophobic, Delhi-centric vision and be treated to the varied cultural experience that real India has to offer.

We (my friends DD, K and I) are just back from a week long business tour to Trichy in Tamilnadu, which I had earlier considered to be an inconsequential “Madrasi” town, mainly an industrial area. It is an industrial town, yes, but has other interesting facets too.

Trichy (or Tiruchirapalli) is the fourth largest city of Tamilnadu. Apart from being an important centre for industry (major energy sector related industry), it is a big religious tourism hub (many temples) and an education centre too (Dr. CV Raman and Dr. Kalam and some of the renowned “alumni” of the city).

The industry visits took my maximum time, which was why we were actually there. It has a dense concentration of BHEL ancillaries which are manufacturing varied equipments for the energy sector.

To complete the religious itinerary, we visited the two major temples - Shree Ranganathan Temple, which, as wikipedia informs, is the largest functioning Hindu (Vaisnava) temple in the world and Rockfort Temple, a Shiva temple on an 83mtrs high rock, which is a geographical anomaly in an otherwise flat landscape (see pic).

Both the temples are generally well-managed from a devotee’s point of view, as temples down South are known to be, but for a small anomaly - none of the important historical and mythological information is displayed in any language other than Tamil.

Owing to this, it was frustrating for me to not being able to decipher these markers and delve deeper in to so much history and culture and mythology right in front of me. Somebody needs to seriously look in to it.

We also visited an ancient Grand Anicut (dam) which is still functional (see pic) but did not seem to be very well promoted. With a little more effort, I am sure it could be developed in to a good resort.

There is a small army cantonment area which I suspect might be from the colonial times but it has remained completely unexplored by me.

Apart from this, we had a limited interaction with the city as a civic centre, but it was delightful to be treated to actual Tamilnadu, beyond the cosmopolitanism of Chennai. From what we could see, Trichy is a well maintained city with good civic services. Most notable for us Dilliwallahs was the extraordinarily large, well managed and sparklingly clean fleet of city buses.

The food is unapologetically south Indian, as is ought to be. To be fair, there are a lot of eateries “specializing” in different cuisines – Bombay Chappathy, North Indian dhall tharka, Chow mein and what not but everytime we deviated from the staple fare, it was an adventure best forgotten. Except the unfailingly excellent “kaapi” every time and the ubiquitous “paan”.

Trichy would remain with me as my first window to the mofussil Tamilnadu.

Jai Ho!

The battle cry of Jai Ho! (Victory Be Thine!) has served its purpose well for the Congress. The Grand Old Party has been voted back to power in a manner so decisive as to surprise even its own stalwarts.  

Clearly, it is a vote for stability and continuance of good governance, and as Shekhar Gupta so succinctly writes in his today’s editorial in Indian Express - “politics of aspiration has won over the politics of grievance”.

Regardless of one’s political affinities, it is a matter of pleasure to note the most obvious positive – a firm rendering of caste and religion as irrelevant in the democratic process as demonstrated in the rout of BJP and Behen ji.

Another positive is that the Indian voter has ably learnt to make a distinction between the state and central elections, which is why the regional parties have been more or less swept off the electoral map this time.   

So, here is wishing the new government all the very best. I sincerely hope this time Congress party puts its head down and tackle issues that really matter – education, nutrition, child care, unemployment, poverty, followed by Kashmir, Naxals et al. They have been blessed with a strong mandate, and inaction would surely attract capital punishment at the next hustings.

Oh, and by the way, while they get on with their work, I wish to at least once meet the entity which they say is responsible for all of it – the Indian Voter. S/he is the bhagya vidhata of our politicians and indeed of our country, because it is s/he who decides who would rule us. All the surveys and editorials talk about he/r.

I wish this being would remain awake more often than every 5 years it does now, and guide the government with the same iron hand it has elected it.  

Indian Express, 14th May'09

Indian Express of 13th May'09 carried a photograph of a proposed four-faced statue of Mayawati. I thought I was above contempt for this woman but a fesh wave of nausea surprised me. 

Today's Indian Express Delhi Edition carries my following letter in response:

"Mayafication ■ MAYAWATI’S photograph on your front page (‘Maya, Maya...’, IE, May 13) aptly summed up all that Mayawati actually stands for — self glorification, ideology be damned.

While there’s no denying that much needs to be done still for Dalit empowerment the big question remains whether this purpose is being served through Mayawati’s wasteful expenditure. I am surprised at the collective silence of our intelligentsia.

— Rahul Gaur Gurgaon"

Indian Express April 18 2009

Following is my letter to the editor about the Naxal problem, published in IE of 18th April'09.

Help and Punish

The image of a policeman in a dingy cell, writing his report as a slain security man lies on a post mortem table, is a poignant reminder of the grim realities of our democratic republic, beyond the usual post-poll smiles we are usually treated to (First Phse, Naxals cast their bullet, IE, April 17). 

While the state's failure to tackle the Maoists stares us in the face, it must also be acknowledged that the Naxalite problem did'nt surface overnight.

The rise of these ruthless murderers owes also to the systematic neglect and exloitation of the tribals. These marginalised people are now being exploited by the Naxalites to push their agenda.

As we celebrate our democratic carnival, our leaders should devise manifold policies to uplift these poor people and work out strategies to defeat the Naxalites. 

Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon

Once again, the erudite editors have tweaked the content to probably suit their style. But yes, the gist remains intact.

I invite your comments on this Naxal problem.

Outlook, April 13, 2009

Outlook, March 30 issue carried an interesting cover-story, which talked about how the brains behind the success of almost all the major politicians are Brahmins.  To a prejudiced mind, it could be termed as almost eulogising Brahmins.

My take on this story is carried in the Letter section of the present issue of Outlook and goes as follows:

Your cover story Backroom Brahmins (Mar 30) has dared to put forth a brave and thought-provoking thesis, which no publication would touch upon, lest it be accused of "propagating Brahmin supremacy and caste politics in these modern times". Political correctness aside, I wish this thesis was extended/tested with other occupations also. I am no historian or social scientist, but I think such a study would bear out the fact that the much derided caste system was actually a functional division based on personality traits and types—horizontal rather than vertical.
Rahul Gaur, Gurgaon 

I am really of the opinion that the caste system in its origin must have been a great psychological tool to categorise personalities for optimum utilization of societal resources. 

It is only with centuries of abuse perpetrated by petty self-interests that it degenerated in to a vile tool and created water-tight jackets of castes in which any osmosis was rendered impossible.

This is a touchy but interesting issue. Your enlightened opinions are awaited.  

Sakharam Binder and The Golden Fish

Watching two plays consecutively, on each of the last two weekends, has been sort of a study in contrasts for me.

The first play I talk about was titled “The Golden Fish”, a play for children, and part of a kids’ theatre festival, which we randomly walked into, thinking it as no more than a time pass evening for our 7 year old son.
On the contrary, we were pleasantly surprised to watch an immensely enjoyable and brilliant play, which managed to reach out to even us adults, what to talk about the kids. It is based on a poem of the same name by the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, and talks about an old fisherman, his greedy wife, and a generous & miraculous gold-fish. How the greedy wife is justly rewarded is the mainstay of the play.
“The Golden Fish”, we learnt, is produced by a society named Khilona, and was presented as a part of International World Day of Theater for Children, in collaboration with ASSITEJ – International Association of Theater for Children and Young People.
Khilona, we also learnt, is a 20 year old theater society specializing in dramas and workshops only for kids. It is run by Mr. VK Sharma, who is an NSD graduate and an acclaimed director himself, who has directed this present production too.
In this play, VK used an interactive narrative – sort of conversational building blocks, right from the introduction of the cast in the beginning – an approach which surely appealed to kids. Aided by pithy dialogues which do not talk down to the kids, good acting, simple but interesting props and of course a tight direction, the play progressed as a fun-filled informal interaction would naturally happen in group of kids.
It was a treat to watch and is highly recommended. I would be on look out for other plays from Khilona in future.

In contrast is the second play, which I watched just yesterday - the extremely famous “Sakharam Binder”, which was presented by Abhyan (or is it Abhiyan?) and directed by the equally famous theater doyen Rajinder Nath.
Having earlier watched a stupendous performance of “Ghasiram Kotwal”, which is also written by Tendulkar, at the NSD some time back, and having read a bit about Sakharam Binder, I was really very excited about it.
Sakharam Binder is one of the most noted & controversial plays written by Vijay Tendulkar. The protagonist, Sakharam, a book binder by profession, is alone in this world except for a close friend Dawood. He does not believe in marriage and considers it as hypocrisy. Instead, he picks up discarded women, giving them shelter and food in return of companionship and sex (forced, mainly). But, he is sure his candor is virtue enough, which rises above all these shortcomings. The play deals about the complex relationship with two women – Laxmi and Champa – the development of, and interesting culmination to, these relationships.
With the benefit of such a background, however, I must mention that I was sorely disappointed in the presentation.
Sanjeev Jauhari as the foul-mouthed protagonist no doubt gave a powerhouse performance, using wonderful inflections even to the swear-words, and body language.
However, to bring out the intricacies of the complex relationship, which was the mainstay of the script according to me, what was needed was an equally proficient performance from the other two woman characters. It was here that the play faltered, owing to below par performances from both the woman characters.
And, I could faintly sense an overbearing attitude of the director, who I think believed that only the fame of the play would carry it through. There was no interaction at all with the audience – neither through a synopsis at the beginning nor at the time of curtain call, where we expected an introduction to the actors and the director. At the end, when all of us got up and filed out, it felt, as my wife mentioned, a little like a movie hall. Which, you would agree, is something a true theaterwallah would not like to hear.

Indian Express, Delhi; March 20, 2009

Today's Indian Express, Delhi carries my letter about the now-famous hate-speech of Varun Gandhi:
Foul Mouth
VARUN GANDHI’S hate speech should be condemned in the harshest of terms for its blatant communalism and the speechmaker punished (‘Shocking language’, IE, March 18). During troubled times — when our secular fabric is already stretched to the extreme — such criminally irresponsible remarks, that too from a public podium and supposedly in the cause of democracy, are the last thing the country needs. The BJP has distanced itself from Varun but it needs to clarify what it thinks about the affair to the public.
The last line has been tweaked by them probably to suit their style, but I must admit that this has taken the sting out of my proposition.
Here is what I actually wrote to them:
BJP may have publicly distanced itself from Varun, but in their hearts, they would be feeling proud to see their agenda articulated in such clear terms, shorn of all verbal embellishments. Rather, I would go so far as to suggest that this might be a part of a pre-conceived plan by BJP to assure its loyalists.

होली है!

Here is wishing all of you a very Happy and, as it is politically correct to say now, safe Holi!
Below is a verse I wrote many years back, when me and my wife were still new to the city, with no friends, "celebrating" our first holi completely alone and away from home.
I remember both of us waited the whole day for somebody to come and play holi with us - unsuccessfully. At the end of the day, the acute feeling of being complete strangers found its expression thus:
मेरी बदरंग नीरसता के भीतर
आज फिर उग आया हैं
फागुन का सपनीला एक इन्द्रधनुष,
जिसके सात रंगों के पार
मैं देख रहा हूँ
बरसों पहले के, रंगों के बादल -
चटक लेकिन, आज भी!
सुन रहा हूँ
उल्लासित खिल्खिलाहटें हो-हुल्लड़!
महसूसता हूँ -
शीतल, आत्मीय फुहारें,
अंतस पर अपनें।
बीते बरसों की ये किरचें
आज फिर बैठ जाएँगी
चुपके से, पलकों की कोरों पर,
जिन्हें आज फिर,
रख दूँगा सहेज कर,
मन की दरक में,
और शामिल हो कर अनजानी भीड़ में,
पुकारूँगा ज़ोर से -
होली है !

Not History, Michael

(Image from www.last.fm)

This morning as I woke up, “Beat It” by Michael Jackson was playing on the radio. And, I was instantly reminded of two persons.
One was, of course Jackson himself, who for me still remains the King of Pop, albeit I admit that the list of “angrezi” singers I am aware of and have heard to is quite impoverished.
The other is my very dear old friend whom I would address as Parry Luther, his preferred moniker a quarter of century back when we were silly teenagers. It was courtesy him that I, a small–town-boy was introduced to a hitherto unexplored world of western music.
And what was western music, if not Michael Jackson! For years, I reveled in the rich sounds of Thriller, followed by Bad and then History.
Parry diligently continued to arrange a wide variety of the latest western pop for us initiated but even with all the choice, Jackson always remained a favourite, with his magnificently distinct vocals & music, his fantastic dancing (moonwalk et al), his grand stage shows and videos with superb production values.
As Wikipedia says, “Time magazine described Jackson's influence as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".
I am deeply saddened to see that today Jackson has been reduced to a caricature of himself, a pale, pale shadow of the phenomenon he was. True it is that success & fame are not worn lightly by everybody.
It is a strange coincidence that as I end this day, the last news item which comes to my notice is that Jackson has announced his swansong in London. I wish him all the very best.
Parry, what say?

Oye Its Farhan's Friday!

I am not an avid watcher of TV but even with my limited viewing, the inverse relationship of quality and quantity is not hard to miss.
Whether it is a reality show (frightening, really!!), some silly soap, news or even interviews, mostly the content on the telly is downright dumb.
It is in this context that the variety show “Oye Its Friday!” hosted by Farhan Akhtar quite simply stands out for its refreshing brilliance, seen on the TV after a long time.
Although it is technically a variety show, a major part is about Farhan interviewing the guests, leading to an inevitable comparison with earlier chat-shows of Simi Garewal and Karan Johar, other filmi insiders interviewing their fraternity.
I remember Simi as being positively mannequin-ish & maudlin, and Karan as very stylish and intelligent. Both, however, were overbearing – the former most of the time and the latter some of it.
In contrast, Farhan is sheer fun. His intelligence and delightful tongue-in-cheek humour permeates through the scripted lines, so visible in his clever turn of phrase and efficient wordplay (with Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani as his parents, can you expect anything different?). And, it is delightful to watch his unpretentiousness and masti quotient inevitably get to the guest. The episodes with Shahrukh and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were simply crackling with energy.
Adding to it is the ensemble of various interesting garnishing items like gags, songs, dances, instrument recitals, rope tricks, acrobats, what–have–you.
In short – good conceptualizing and even better presentation. Talking about the Indian telly, a rarity indeed!

A Worthy Valentine

Since the day the cowardly attacks on innocent young boys and girls happened in a pub in Mangalore, I had been dreading what would happen on the Valentine’s Day. Thankfully, yesterday was largely peaceful.
It is clear however that this state-sponsored cordiality is merely a superficial dressing. Slowly but surely, the fault-lines between the self-appointed “guardians” of a glorious “Indian” sanskruti and the supposedly liberal thinking modern youth have come to run quite deep now.
It is a good time to think whether these fault-lines are as clearly defined in black and white as we think them to be? And, most importantly, where does one fit in, whose side one is on. A decade back, you needn’t have bothered to even ask me. I was young enough to root for “freedom” above all. Now, my take is a little different.
I am no closet member of Shri Ram Sene (how can they malign this name!!). I however seriously feel that in the garb of modernity, this “freedom & liberty” bit has been overplayed a bit by a small section of our populace, including the English media. After all, why do we need to be free from our culture and traditions so badly? What great purpose in life is being held from us by our allegiance to these traditions?
Forgive me for spewing clichés like a true-blue (or red?) Marxist, but it does remain a fact that the economic imperialism being perpetrated for so many years by the west has indeed skewed our reference points now, so that there is apparently no other individual goal except immediate self–gratification. And it is this exalted goal which is being lent inaccessible by the whole body of our culture and traditions.
It helps of course that the self-appointed custodians of culture are another over-zealous & misguided ideologues leading a whole bunch of equally misguided youth, most of which give in to being utilized because they are suffering from an acute identity crisis and have got nothing more worthwhile to do.
I wish we were seeking liberty and freedom for achieving some greater value addition to the society in areas where it actually matters, which would have made this fight more justified.