Premchand on Literature and Life: Selections (Translated from the Hindi) [1 ed.] 9781032524573, 9781032524597, 9781003392866

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Introduction
Writing a Novel
The Novel
Proposal for an Edition on Stories
Premchand’s Response to His Honourable Critics
The Need for Literary Clubs
Lord Krishna and the World’s Future
Satisfaction
Literary Ailments
At Shantiniketan
Publications in Japan
Awards to Editors
Publications in Soviet Russia
The Growth of Literature
The Sufferings of Life
The Objectionable Conduct of Periodical Subscribers
My Delicious Books
The Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh
Religion in Ancient Egypt
Festschrifts and the Common Man
The Need for a School of Editing
Celebrating Tulsidas Tithi
Tulsi Birth Anniversary or Tulsi Death Anniversary
What is an Interview?
Literary Depravity
But What Happened Here?
A Campaign for Libraries
The Place of Hatred in Life and Literature
The Need for a National Literature Association
The Rise or Fall of a Literature
The Hindi Lekhak Sangh
Teaching the Art of Editing
Bernard Shaw’s Advice to Writers
An Important Suggestion for the Sahitya Sammelan
The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore
The Tale of a Turmeric Seller
Partiality Towards Women Writers?
The Hindi Sahitya Parishad at Patna
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indian Literature
Enriching the National Language
My Humble Submission to Triveni
One Year of the Hindi Lekhak Sangh
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Disappointment
London’s New Organization of Indian Writers
The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan
The Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea
Institutions for Hindi Literature
The Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad
The Progressive Writers Association
Publishing Books in Hindi
Rashidul Khairi’s Social Narratives
Appendix
Translators

Citation preview

PREMCHAND

on

Literature and Life

PREMCHAND on

Literature and Life

Selections (TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI)

Edited Ameena Kazi Ansari Ruchi Nagpal

First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Individual Contributors and Aakar Books The right of contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Bhutan) British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 9781032524573 (hbk) ISBN: 9781032524597 (pbk) ISBN: 9781003392866 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003392866 Typeset in Palatino by Arpit Photographers, Delhi

To our parents

who have spent their lives in building ours

Contents Introduction 11 Writing a Novel Upanyas Rachna 21

The Novel Upanyas 32

Proposal for an Edition on Stories Galpaank ka Prastav 32

Premchand’s Response to His Honourable Critics Premchand ki Premleela ka Uttar 55 The Need for Literary Clubs Sahityik Clubbon ki Avashyakta 59

Lord Krishna and the World’s Future Sri Krishna aur Bhavi Jagat 61 Satisfaction Paritosh 67

Literary Ailments Sahityik Sannipaat 78

At Shantiniketan Shantiniketan Mein 79

Publications in Japan Japan Mein Patron ka Prachar 83 Awards to Editors Sampadakon ke Puraskar 84

Publications in Soviet Russia Soviet Roos Mein Prakashan 86 The Growth of Literature Sahitya ki Pragati 88 The Sufferings of Life Dukhi Jeevan 99

The Objectionable Conduct of Periodical Subscribers Pattron ke Grahakon ka Aapattijanak Vyavhar 109 My Delicious Books Meri Raseeli Pustakein 111

The Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh Akhil Bharatvarshiya Pustakalaya Sangh 115 Religion in Ancient Egypt Pracheen Misr ke Dharma Tatva 119

Festschrifts and the Common Man Abhinandan Granth aur Sadharan Janata 129 The Need for a School of Editing Sampadankala Vidyalaya ki Avashyakta 131 Celebrating Tulsidas Tithi Tulsi Smriti Tithi Kaise Manayi Jaaye 133

8 Premchand on Literature and Life Tulsi Birth Anniversary or Tulsi Death Anniversary Tulsi Jayanti ya Tulsi Punyatithi 137 What is an Interview? Interview Kya Hai 138 Literary Depravity Sahityik Goondapan 139

But What Happened Here? Magar Yahan Kya Hua 141 A Campaign for Libraries Pustakalaya Andolan 144

The Place of Hatred in Life and Literature Jeevan aur Sahitya Mein Ghrina ka Sthan 146

The Need for a National Literature Association Ek Sarvdeshik Sahitya Sanstha ki Avashyakta 153 The Rise or Fall of a Literature Sahitya ka Utthan ya Patan 156 The Hindi Lekhak Sangh Hindi Lekhak Sangh 158

Teaching the Art of Editing Sampadan Kala ki Shiksha 162

Bernard Shaw’s Advice to Writers Lekhakon ko Bernard Shaw ka Updesh 163

An Important Suggestion for the Sahitya Sammelan Sahitya Sammelan ka Ek Mahatvapoorn Prastav 165

Premchand on Literature and Life 9 The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore Indore Hindi Sahitya Sammelan 167 The Tale of a Turmeric Seller Haldi ki Gaanthwala Pansari 172

Partiality Towards Women Writers? Kya Yeh Lekhikaon ke Saath Pakshpaat Hai 179 The Hindi Sahitya Parishad at Patna Patna ka Hindi Sahitya Parishad 181

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indian Literature Bharatiya Sahitya aur Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 185 Enriching the National Language Rashtrabhasha Kaise Samriddh Ho 190

My Humble Submission to Triveni Triveni se Hamara Namra Nivedan 192

One Year of the Hindi Lekhak Sangh Hindi Lekhak Sangh ka Ek Varsh 196

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Disappointment Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji ki Nirasha 198

London’s New Organization of Indian Writers London Mein Bharatiya Sahityakaaron ki Ek Nayi Sanstha 200 The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Sahitya Sammelan ke Vishai Mein 203

The Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea 205

10 Premchand on Literature and Life Institutions for Hindi Literature Hindi Sahitya ke Vidyalaya 209 The Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad 211

The Progressive Writers Association Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh 214 Publishing Books in Hindi Hindi Mein Pustakon ka Prakashan 215

Rashidul Khairi’s Social Narratives Rashidul Khairi ki Samajik Kahaniyan 218 Appendix 228 Translators 232

Premchand on Literature and Life 11

Introduction The non-fiction oeuvre of Premchand truly defines him as it maps out the geography of his mind. For most people, the name ‘Premchand’ evokes the image of a formidable fiction writer but for a few, the name additionally elicits the image of a literary figure in whom the creative and the critical impulses were equally strong. This is so very emphatically conveyed in his non-fiction writings. In them, he comes across as a mind that has been shaped by close observations of his milieu, his interface with people, his experiences, and also his vast reading.

Premchand’s views on literature and the literary world echo a literary pluralism that underlines his familiarity with classical and contemporary writings at a broader level which includes his intimate understanding of British, American and European literary traditions. This, perhaps, is best brought by his response to diverse subjects such as the callous indifference of his literary world towards the poet-saint Tulsidas or the vibrant syncretism of Amir Khusro’s compositions. Equally rankling for him is the apathy towards the brilliant humour of Birbal or the hilarious wit of Charlie Chaplin. Given the considerable legacy of Premchand’s non-fiction works, attempts have been made to classify his prose pieces into thematic clusters.

12 Premchand on Literature and Life

Such categorisations1, however, are over-simplifications as his non-fiction writings reflect the rich intersections of literature with history, politics, culture, society, faiths, traditions, gender issues, and so much more. This volume contains English translations of a selection of Premchand’s non-fiction pieces that express his views on literature, his literary world, and his keen observations on the socio-political milieu of his times. While some of these are definitional in nature; others present his vision of life and literature. In yet another category we come across pieces that comprise insightful evaluations of authors, critics, texts, and institutions. Taken together, they voice the proclivities and concerns of a man of letters who is given to plain talking rather than mincing of words. In his essay, Sahitya ki Pragati for example, Premchand has viewed literature as the manifestation of a tussle between ‘truth’ and ‘untruth’. For him, ‘truth’ is a shared objective of faith and science, both of which reach the point of resolution through reason. He further posits that ‘progressive’ literature should lay a premium on Man’s space rather than God’s space, underlining the fact that freedom of thought and expression are vital for any progressive milieu. Fiction, he believes, is a confluence of originality and imitation that aims to be both reformative and entertaining. Consequently, he bemoans the fact that films have killed the novel as they fail to capture the fluidity of language. Poetry, or ‘our’ poetry as he terms it, is seen to have wasted centuries on lamenting the separation of lovers or the pain inflicted by a heartless beloved. However, he perceives a veering away from such tradition in the compositions of poets like Muhammad Iqbal, better known as Allama Iqbal. 1

An example is Premchand ke Vichar brought out by Prakashan Sansthan in 2008.

Premchand on Literature and Life 13

For Premchand, a composition like Iqbal’s Farman-e Khuda infuses life into our poetry’s dead bones as it carves new paths for verse to take.

Against this backdrop of literary perceptions, Premchand also envisions the idea of ‘Indian Literature’ as a sphere of rich diversity and does not subscribe to the homogenising impulse of an Indian Literature. He underlines this in a piece like Indore Hindi Sahitya Sammelan by asserting that such a categorisation must include writers/writing from the all provinces of undivided India. At the same time, he is disturbed to observe that Hindi lags far behind many of these other languages. The primary reasons for this, in Premchand’s view, are the mediocrity of Hindi writing when compared to the rich literary harvest in Bangla and Gujarati, the poor state of publication in Hindi, and the fact that Hindi aspires for the status of a national language simply on the basis of translations done in it. Many of the pieces in this volume reflect a writer grappling with the problematics of a national language vis-à-vis the dynamics of the Urdu-Hindi debate. While voicing the need for a national language, he is acutely aware of the prickly path ahead, given the range of linguistic diversity in the country. He proposes many routes that he hopes would converge to facilitate the identification of Hindi as a national language. One route envisioned by him is of seeing Hindi as a Hindi-Hindustani fusion; another way is to consider the Hindi-Urdu relationship as one of ‘two sisters’ with one body but two faces; yet another path is the consideration of Urdu as a form of Hindi. In the ‘Hindi’ that Premchand visualises as the national language, the Urdu-Hindi-Hindustani trajectory of idiom becomes very apparent. This trajectory is related to the fact that in the second half of the 19th century and the

14 Premchand on Literature and Life

early decades of the 20th, both Muslim and Hindu writers contributed regularly to the same journals without the ‘fragmented community’2 mind-set propagated by some academics who favour a Sanskritised Hindi to reinforce the Hindu identity, and consider Premchand’s propagation of Hindustani as some kind of a utopian dream. Interestingly, one of these academics also agrees with Premchand by referring to Urdu as Hindi’s ‘sister language’ and stating that Premchand made ‘Hindustani his overriding mission’ in the last years of his life by first publishing his short story, Kafan, in Urdu in 1935 and then in Hindi in 19363. Taken together (and despite the divisive attempts), these facets of the Urdu-Hindi debate invoke in Premchand’s mind a ‘secularization’4 of literary idiom that values the link rather than accentuating difference between the two languages.

While there is no overlooking the fact that that ‘there are two claimants to a single linguistic and literary tradition’ that usually defines a nation, ’the whole issue [of Urdu/Hindi] seems to be more political than academic’5. Unfortunately, the Urdu-Hindi debate has led to ‘the increasing communal divide within a unified linguistic culture’ that has brought about ‘the politicization of the 2 3

4

5

See Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory (OUP, 2001). See Harish Trivedi, ‘The Progress of Hindi, Part 2: Hindi and the Nation’, in Sheldon Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia (OUP, 2004). See Dipankar Gupta’s ‘Secularization Minoritization: The Limits of Heroic Thought’, in D.L. Sheth and Gurpreet Mahajan (eds.), Minority Identities and the Nation State (OUP, 1999) and Pramod Nayar, ‘Introduction’, Reading Culture (Sage, 2006). See Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, ‘A Long History of Urdu Literary Culture, Part 1: Naming and Placing a Literary Culture’, in Sheldon Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia (OUP, 2004).

Premchand on Literature and Life 15

Hindi vernacular’6 in the face of the ‘linguistic ambiguity of the word “Hindi”’7. It is pertinent to mention here that this culture had ‘co-opted writers’ like Premchand whose early works were written in Urdu but who later shifted to the Devanagari script in the face of the closure of Urdu printing presses8. He also subscribes to the progressive view of reverting to Hindustani to reach out to a larger segment of the Indian population9. Premchand anticipates Hindi serving as a link language by bringing out works in other Indian languages in Hindi. This is perhaps a corollary of being acutely aware of the predominance of English as a living language which constantly enriches itself by borrowing from other languages. As for the crucial issue of script, Premchand goes so far as to second London Indian Progressive Writers Association’s goal of working for the acceptance of the Indo-Roman script as the national script that would encourage greater readership. On the issue of language and literary creativity, Premchand can thus be said to assert his own unique strain of linguistic multiculturalism. Some of the non-fiction pieces in this collection also show Premchand as a literary critic who is well aware of, and sensitive to, the realities of his contemporary world of literature. Especially strident are his views on the publishing scenario in Hindi. The poor state of affairs in this sphere find reflection in his piece entitled Hindi Mein Pustakon 6 7

8 9

See Mukesh Williams and Rohit Wanchoo, Representing India (OUP, 2008). See Stuart McGregor, ‘The Progress of Hindi, Part 1: The Development of a Transregional Idiom’, in Sheldon Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia (OUP, 2004). See Williams and Wanchoo (2008). Ibid.

16 Premchand on Literature and Life

ka Prakashan where he laments the practice of dubious publishers handing out commissions to prospective buyers of their books prior to publication, thereby setting off a race in sales that has serious publishers lagging far behind. This, in turn, is seen to lead to the literary sphere being impacted by a lack of literary taste in that considerable section of readership which is governed by the lure of the lucre. Premchand believes that all these factors together have a cascade effect which makes space for the emergence of salacious literature as well as plagiarism. This angle finds special mention in articles like Meri Raseeli Pustakein where Premchand comments on vulgarity in Acharya Dwivedi’s poetry collection, Suhaag Raat, and contrasts it with the sobriety and subtlety of Pandit Krishnakant’s work bearing the same title. This article concludes with castigation of the former for avoiding a response to the latter’s questions on the lewd anthology. Equally worrisome for Premchand is the grim scenario that confronts the publication and sale of periodicals in his times. He ascribes this to be the consequence of ‘inertia’ emanating from ignorance and a general disinterest in affairs of the country as well as the world at large. Consequentially, he perceives his literary milieu lacking in serious critical engagement due to a marked paucity of critics and scholars devoted to the study and analysis of literary writing. To make his case, Premchand indulges in an exercise of practical criticism in an appraisal titled Rashidul Khairi ki Samajik Kahaniyan, which is a short critique of Khairi’s work, Hayat-e Saleha. While he identifies in Hayat-e Saleha the three vital traits of good writing—representation of class mentalities, problematization of womanhood (not feminism as understood today), and the need for social reform—he also critiques Khairi for limiting his narrative

Premchand on Literature and Life 17

by confining the plot to a Muslim milieu. In the course of his critique, Premchand establishes his knowledge of Islamic history through a whole paragraph on the Golden Age of Islam which he considers to be a symbol of a time that was truly progressive in both vision and spirit. Many of Premchand’s prose pieces in this volume make a strong case for giving impetus to literary creativity. He especially underscores the need for literary clubs in towns as much as in cities so as to encourage students to read stories. Related to this is his call for a Bharatiya Pustakalya Sangh that shall be a centrally-located coordinating body to organise the country’s libraries. His considered view is that such a Sangh would be best suited for undertaking the task of establishing an organised procedure for listing books available in libraries across the land, for overseeing the coordination between existing libraries, for training youth in library management, and also for preparing annual reports on the collective stock and functioning of these libraries. To encourage regional writing from the provinces of colonial India, Premchand also makes a case for a Sarvdeshik Sahitya Sanstha as a central body to give stimulus and encouragement to regional writing from the provinces of colonial India and also for the collation of these works. He proposes a Hindi Lekhak Sangh for the protection of writers’ literary interests and financial support, for the honing of their creative skills, and for addressing the problem of the dearth of critics.

The socio-historical sphere also invites Premchand’s attention and many of the selected prose pieces in this collection bear this out. In them are reflected the crises of identity in a nation under the British Raj. He speaks of the colonial subjugation of the country as a significant factor in downgrading its intellectual potential and hits out at the

18 Premchand on Literature and Life

triumphant arrogance of the colonial masters who whisked away manuscripts and artefacts to proudly display them in the museums of their own countries. This outlook of Premchand can aptly be described as a kind of ‘anticolonial nationalism’10 that Vinay Dharwadkar has propounded. Premchand’s view on the national fabric is equally critical and he chooses to agree with a close friend’s opinion that his nation is shackled by bigotry and sectarianism which highlight a deadly divisive tendency that runs through its people. Interestingly, he suggests a literary antidote to this divisiveness, saying that our literature and literary culture needs to nurture the spirit of nationhood that places a premium on the harmonious bond of cultures and languages rather than being swept away by nationalism’s ‘cultural purism’11 which insists on the singularity of cultural and linguistic identity. In Jeevan aur Sahitya mein Ghrina ka Sthan, Premchand castigates Brahminvaad and the gimmicks of a body like the Varna Ashram Swarajya Sangh. In this article, he defines his vision of social inclusivity as governance that respects all faiths and inspires national harmony. For this man of letters, the nation is not just a spatial or territorial construct; it is more of a cultural entity in which literature assumes crucial importance. A nation’s soul, Premchand asserts, is best articulated through its writers who serve as a vital cog in a nation’s core identity. Premchand remained a prominent voice of dissent both in his personal life as well as his public life. It is well known that he chose to resign as an inspector of government schools to join Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement that lay at 10

11

See ‘The Historical Formation of Indian-English Literature’, in Sheldon Pollock (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. David Bennet (ed.), ‘Introduction’, Multicultural States: Rethinking Difference and Identity (Routledge, 1998).

Premchand on Literature and Life 19

the core of Swaraj, the call for ‘self-rule’. He was equally sensitive to events and conditions in the world at large, which is evident in his critique of Rashidul Khairi’s work that mentions nations across the world having a ruling class of capitalists and imperialists who control the military, the parliament and the bureaucracy while the masses struggle to demolish this fortress of power. In these views on his micro- and macro-environment are evident the roots of Premchand’s individual and social consciousness12 which make both his fictional and non-fictional writings powerful and relevant. They together bring out facets of Premchand’s ‘multiple modernities’13 that make for interesting analysis and critique today.

In the context of his non-fiction pieces in this collection, facets of such modernity are evident in his keen reflections on the contemporary literary scenario coupled with suggestions like the need for a Sarvdeshik Sahitya Sanstha (that eventually saw fruition as India’s Sahitya Akademi many years after his death), his seconding of Subhas Chandra Bose’s view that Calcutta University should take on the responsibility of teaching editorial skills to young learners as a professional skill, and the introduction of an Indo-Roman script to expand the outreach of Indian literature(s). His non-fiction writing on literature and related issues can thus be viewed as a vast canvas where ideas and issues get projected. It is a rich harvest which invites translation and analysis, and makes a strong case for evaluating Premchand on the basis of what he has written rather than going along with opinions voiced by readers and critics. He comes across as a canon-maker 12 13

See Doug Lorimer, Fundamentals of Historical Materialism (Aakar, 2006). Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization (University of Minnesota Press, 1998).

20 Premchand on Literature and Life

in our literary heritage, given his stances and acuity on literary culture and creativity.

The publication of this selection of Premchand’s non­ fiction writings was done under the aegis of the UGC’s (University Grants Commission) SAP-DRS programme, Phase 3 (2015-2020), Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. As coordinator of the Phase, I would like to thank Priyadarshini Bhattacharya, Rakesh Sengupta, Trisha Lalchandani, Ruchi Nagpal and P. Rajitha Venugopal for their indefatigable assistance as Project Fellows, and to Neelofar Azam, Shahnawaz and Aquil Zafir Ansari for fulfilling the taxing requirements of secretarial assistance in the programme. I must specially thank Sumitra Thoidingjam and Anuradha Ghosh, my colleagues, for always being there with their unstinting support and encouragement in our endeavours to finalise this volume. And lastly, all of us engaged in translating and putting together this collection will be ever grateful to Professor Anisur Rahman, Professor Sudha Rai, Professor Mini Nanda, and Ms. Keerti Ramachandra for their painstaking efforts of going through the translations and giving invaluable suggestions that improved the quality of the translations and enhanced their readability. Ameena Kazi Ansari

Premchand on Literature and Life 21

Writing a Novel Upanyas Rachna

We Indians have not adopted any other genre of European literary creativity as much as the novel. It has now become an intrinsic component of our literature. The novel came into being in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were inspired by Italian novels. The genre has become so popular that it rules over the world of literature today. In the last fifty years, perhaps no other literary genre can match the creative energy devoted to novel writing. Bengal produced Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Gujarat had Govind Das, Marathi gave us Hari Narayan Apte, and Urdu provided us Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar and Abdul Halim Sharar, none of whom are at all inferior to the other novelists in the world. Hindi initially produced novelists of extraordinary appeal but slowly this changed and novels of character, of sentiment, and detective fiction came to be published. It is hoped that Hindi fiction will not be intimidated or cowed down by our regional writing. Plainly put, novel writing is termed ‘light literature’ because it offers entertainment for readers. But the truth is that a novelist puts in the same amount of mental effort that a philosopher puts into a philosophical tract. The first thing the novelist looks for is a theme for his novel—what should he write about? Should he depict the vacuity of earthly

22 Premchand on Literature and Life

grandeur or engage with emotional reciprocities? Should he choose a mystery to write about or recount an historic event? The novelist selects one of these according to his interests and inclinations. Once the theme is finalised, he begins to worry about the plot. Whether asleep or awake, whether active or sedentary, he finds himself submerged in deliberating on this. Sometimes months or even years go by in these deliberations. The quality of his composition depends on the intensity of his contemplation. Thus is laid the foundation of a novel. Subsequently, its structure demands a kind of supportive scaffolding, and the seminal features of this are: (i) observation (ii) experience

(iii) self-instruction (iv) intuition (v) curiosity

(vi) judgement

It is said that the celebrated American novelist, Mark Twain, often travelled ticket-less on trains and trams in order to experience and understand the psychological state of mind of a ticket-less traveller. Similarly, another man was friendly with rogues and scoundrels in order to photograph the prostitutes of Paris. Another gentleman committed burglary in order to understand the sentiments of a thief. All this would suggest that Western writers are devoid of imagination. It is a novelist’s power of imagination that helps him describe such circumstances and the resulting emotions. There would hardly be a person who has not stolen a few coins or sweets in his childhood, who has quietly slipped away to a fair or to a spectator sport without telling a soul, or made lame excuses to teachers. Should one

Premchand on Literature and Life 23

possess a lively imagination, such experiences might come in very handy for portraying the psyche of thieves and dacoits. It is needless to proclaim that experiences gained in such specious circumstances are not really genuine. Experience is the vital mantra for the success of novels, and novelists should not let go of any opportunities to perceive and experience new things. Another way to express mankind’s inner feelings is to grope within one’s own inner feelings. The English poet, Sir Philip Sidney, once said that one should allow one’s gaze to pierce one’s heart, and then one should write about what one saw there. The more a writer imaginatively places himself in various situations, the more powerful his work is. That explains how successfully Tulsidas has portrayed a father’s grief when it is well known that he had not personally experienced the loss of a son. Only by placing himself in the role of an empathetic grief-stricken father could he have written about it.

Self-study also greatly assists a novelist. A sage has said that it is self-study that makes a man complete. Some hold the opinion that a novelist would destroy his originality if he reads too much. However, eminent poet and playwright, the late Shri Dwijendralal Ray, has said that a writer, whose originality is threatened by reading, has perhaps no originality to speak of. The objective of self-study is not the theft of an eminent writer’s sensibility or sentiments; rather it should be the comparison of one’s own sensibility and sentiments with those of other writers in order to inspire oneself to write well. Should we find some flaw in a writer’s work—instances where his imagination has lapsed—we must try to surpass that writer when writing a similar narrative. A writer, especially a novelist, must not pick up his pen without reading other literatures but it is not that a good novel cannot be written without extensive

24 Premchand on Literature and Life

reading. For those blessed by the Almighty, there is no need to read a lot but we cannot write correctly without learning grammar. Just as we have no way of avoiding grammatical errors, comparisons and self-study make us aware of our flaws, help our thinking to evolve, and give us a glimpse of those devices that have contributed to the outstanding success of a great writer. Some people have the mistaken notion that seeking help or advice from anyone is an affront to themselves. But the fact is that a writer needs to have as much curiosity as any student. It is said that the English writer and statesman, Francis Bacon, always sought people who were more knowledgeable than himself. No man, no matter how knowledgeable, can ever claim to possess all knowledge so why should he hesitate to seek advice from others? Whenever Shri Ray wrote a play, he would read it out to his friends, consider their responses, and even effect changes in his script if convinced by their arguments. Sometimes entire chapters and scenes were revised by him. A writer must always have lofty ideals. He must also hold the conviction that he would not write a thing unless he had something so exceptional to write about that, for a long time, no other writer would be able to match his work.

It sometimes unexpectedly happens that a fresh idea surfaces or an extraordinary scene unfolds before one’s eyes while one is simply walking. A writer must have the talent to engrave such ideas and scenes in his memory, and express them when an opportunity arises. Some writers have the habit of maintaining a notebook in which they promptly enter such experiences. Writers who cannot rely on their memory must do this. Notations in a diary also encourage the habit of writing. The plot in a novel refers to events that occur in the

Premchand on Literature and Life 25

characters’ lives but just the description of events cannot hold a reader’s interest. The writer’s imagination must make these events so similar to life that the reader sees reality reflected in them. A novelist has said that just like Euclid, the father of geometry, we must place our story before the public and then join the others in responding to it. In Euclid’s opinion, nothing can exist unless it has adequate space and by emulating his view, great novels can be written. Generally, the plot is a tale that gets inscribed on a reader’s heart and memory. Most stories till now have been very staid, hardly containing life’s vim and vigour. In a novel of five hundred odd pages today, the crux of the story can be summed up in about half a dozen lines. The thought and deliberation that a novelist puts into his lines far exceed the effort of writing the entire novel. It generally becomes much easier to write a novel once the plot has been conceived. But along with the plot, characters need to be imagined so that the plot can be disclosed. About Charles Dickens it is said that whenever he conceived a new novel, he would long be lost in thought, stay locked alone in his room for months, and not step out even for a walk in fresh air. When his doors were unlocked after these months, he resembled an ailing man—pale face, sunken eyes, and weakened body. William Makepeace Thackeray, it is reported, would often sit beside a riverbank at dusk, lost in thought about his plots. But to devise a plot quickly or otherwise depends on a writer’s wit and intelligence. George Sand is a well-known French writer who has not written less than a hundred novels. It seems she never underwent a mental struggle to visualize her plot; it would automatically unfold as she picked up her pen to write. It is also well known that Sir Walter Scott did not have to expend his mental energy in brooding over a plot. There are some stories which do not have a plot at all, and Mark

26 Premchand on Literature and Life

Twain’s Innocents Abroad is an example.

Plots are conceived in many different ways. Six of their variants, given below, are generally accepted and are based on: 1) an extraordinary incident 2) a hidden mystery 3) portrayal of emotions 4) contrast and analysis of character 5) expression of life’s experiences 6) some social or political reform

1) The extraordinary-incident plot

Only a story which contravenes the laws of nature is really extraordinary. Most ancient tales belong to this category. Their sole aim is to entertain the readers. Their perusal is believed to boost the imagination, which makes them very appropriate for children. Such stories do not usually engage adult readers. Often, advice on morals and conduct is conveyed through them. England’s famous writer, Jonathan Swift, has satirized society in Gulliver’s Travels. In it, he relies on extraordinary events. Often life’s mysterious and perplexing occurrences are explained through parables and allegories. English writer, John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, is the unparalleled example of an allegory. In our part of the world, the sages of ancient times have also counselled the masses along the same lines. The Mahabharata, the Puranas, as well as the Upanishads, are full of parables and allegories. Closer to the present times, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Leo Tolstoy have written extremely didactic and remarkable narratives. It thus follows that imaginative, event-oriented novels are both easy, as well as difficult, to write.

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2) The hidden-mystery plot

All espionage novels fall in this category. A novelist writing such novels confronts two major issues. The first is the possibility of the reader being able to resolve the mystery very early in the narrative; the second concerns the possible dissatisfaction of the reader with the suspense in the tale. This literary genre was almost non-existent in India till now but has enjoyed great popularity in Europe. Here, diabolical events have been narrated through mystery. English writer, Conan Doyle, is very well known for this genre as are Maurice LeBlanc in France, and Edgar Allan Poe in America. Doyle, however, is now more inclined to writing about crimes. In espionage novels, the writer first imagines an incident and then invents a fictitious detective figure to unravel the mystery. The particular strength of such narratives is that the mystery seems unsolvable till the writer chooses to unravel it, leaving the reader surprised about how the obvious and simple solution to the mystery had never struck him. The reader is also made aware of his incapability of unravelling the mystery on his own. The finesse of such writing lies in the fact that the character who appears to be the culprit in the eyes of both the reader and the writer turns out to be innocent at the climax. Such novels are extremely engaging as they sharpen our minds, encourage analytical thinking, and help us face adversity. These stories of mystery are very difficult to write, which is why no one has attempted them in Hindi, and only translations of Doyle and others have been attempted in that language. 3) The portrayal-of-emotions plot

In such novels, a writer’s attention is focused more on his characters expressing emotions rather than describing incidents and episodes. Greater attention is paid to

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characters’ thoughts and feelings and less to description of events. This trait is predominant in Tolstoy’s novels. Such novels demand that its authors necessarily imagine themselves in different situations as it is necessary for them to lay bare their hearts before readers. What other means do they have to comprehend the deep-seated emotions of others? No one reveals such feelings; rather they try their best to conceal them. If at all a person gets to know a friend’s innermost thoughts, it is only a very brief glimpse. Writing novels about such interiorities is an uphill task for which the writer has to constantly look within himself. Most of George Eliot’s works are examples of such novels. 4) Contrast-and-analysis-of-character plot and 5) Expression-of-life’s-experiences plot

To write novels that focus on these two kinds of plots, it is essential for a writer to possess divinely-inspired imagination as well as the power of observation and insight. It is, thus, essential for a writer to be acquainted with all manner and nature of people by keeping his eyes and ears open at all times. The delineation of two different people’s reactions to an event is not something easy. Experiences are sometimes spiritual, sometimes temporal. The writer should observe natural landscapes and extraordinary events very minutely. Nature’s grandeur—like the breeze stirring the river’s waters or the sky taking on different hues at dawn— can only be sensitively written about by a writer who has actually been witness to it. Mere imagination cannot suffice to depict scenes or characters drawn from his experience. Why describe a port when you have never been to the sea? Why write about rural life when you have never interacted with rustic folk? To achieve success, many renowned European writers have often disguised themselves in order to garner experiences they wanted to depict in their novels.

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6) Some-social-or-political-reform plot

In almost all languages today, the number of didactic novels is very high. Urdu, along with many other languages, has several such novels as there is a clamour for reform that it resonates up to the high heavens! Some cry for police reforms, some demand prison reforms; others seek judicial reforms while elsewhere there is a cry for educational reforms; then there are people calling for change in social practices. Whether novels should be written with a purpose or not is a debatable issue but most eminent critics would agree that literature should be confined to the depiction of emotions. Stories written with any other objectives often have their writers helplessly producing narratives that have many inconsistencies and contrived incidents. The biggest problem now is the writer donning the role of a sermonizer. But in a pleasure-loving society no one wants to be sermonized to; there is distaste for sermons and revulsion for sermonizers. Only entertainment and leisure is what such a society seeks. However, one has to concede that many of the changes in Western nations during the last century have been inspired by novels. Nearly all of Dickens’ novels, many of Tolstoy’s great works, and the writings of other major novelists like Maxim Gorky, Turgenev, Balzac, Hugo, Marie Corelli, and Zola, were written with the aim of ushering in reform. It is true that the obligation of a good writer is to ensure that his narrative’s appeal is not diminished by his enthusiasm for reform. His novel’s characters and events must reflect the conditions which he seeks to reform. It is also of prime importance for a writer to think very deeply and profoundly about the issue of reform, otherwise his literary efforts will be futile. Writers are, by and large, the architects of their times. They possess an intense desire to release their nation from the clutches of misery, injustice and falsehood. It is impossible

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for a writer to let society walk on the path of suffering and himself remain only a passive observer. The least he can do is get his pen to write. The need for reform was no less in the times of Shakespeare or Kalidas but political awareness was not as widespread then as it is today. The wealthy enjoyed luxury and sensual pleasures while writers and poets extolled their debauchery. Nobody spared a thought for the common masses. It is now the time for redressal. Today, those of us who claim to be educated cannot remain neutral in the face of injustices. After grasping the significance of a plot, one desires to know the components of a good plot. Critics would have us believe that these are simplicity, originality, and appeal.

Plots should be simple. Novels with plots that are complicated, convoluted, and interminably lengthy are often left half-read by their readers. Before one episode is over, a second one intervenes; as the second unfolds, a third plot emerges; all this leaves one’s mind reeling. Conceiving a simple plot is far more difficult than conceiving a complex one. A simple plot does not require the writer to create too many characters but it provides him the opportunity to minutely portray his characters’ thoughts and emotions, virtues and vices, and moods and manners. Characters in such plots are full of life, and leave an everlasting impression on readers. This effect is impossible in narratives that have numerous characters. It is also essential for a plot to have originality. It is improper for a writer to twist and appropriate ideas, themes or plots that have already been written about by other writers. Subjects like love and parting have been written about so repeatedly that no element of novelty remains. Readers of stories now look for new avenues that the depiction of sentiments, ideas and characters should take. In other words, readers

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are no longer satisfied with parrot-like repetition of plots. There must be some freshness in the construction of plots, something that is unusual. As for appeal, it goes hand in hand with originality. If the plot is original, it is sure to be interesting. But the appeal of a story is not dependent on one single factor. When the plot, the portrayal of characters, and the variety of incidents blend together, the narrative’s appeal is automatic. A writer should never forget that his prime duty is to reduce his readers’ stresses by offering some entertainment; all else pales into insignificance. If a reader loses interest in a story, it implies that he has failed to comprehend the writer’s feelings and is unable to draw any benefit from the writer’s experiences. Filled with resentment, such a reader would simply discard the book and become an eternal critic of novels. There are so many people today who get irritated by novels and swear that they will never ever read one again. The reason for such a reaction is that contemporary Hindi novels have made them despondent. It is now the responsibility of today’s new generation of writers to brighten the novel’s future by erasing its past ignominy. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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The Novel Upanyas

Scholars have defined the novel in various ways, only proving that the simpler a thing is, the more difficult it is to define. This is why poetry remains undefined till today. Its definitions are as many as there are scholars, and no two definitions are similar. The same can be said about novels— there is not a single definition on which there is consensus. I consider the novel to be a portrayal of human nature and character, revealing the hidden impulses behind them. Just as two people appear markedly different, their personalities are also very distinct. All human beings possess hands, feet, eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth but despite these commonalities, the obvious differences remain. Similarly, commonalities exist in human nature but there are also innumerable dissimilarities. The primary duty of the novel is to draw attention to the similarities and differences in human nature by exposing variations in personality. Love for one’s offspring is a powerful human emotion. Are there any parents for whom their children are not precious? But the degrees of parental love differ. Some parents are willing to die for their children while others are willing to endure many hardships so that they leave behind some inheritance for their offspring. But most god­

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fearing parents avoid amassing ill-gotten wealth as they fear it will harm their offspring. There are other parents who do not care for propriety as their goal is to amass wealth for their children, even if it means slitting someone’s throat. Such people have sold their souls for the love of their children. The third kind of parental love prioritizes building the child’s moral character but considers it useless to do or leave behind anything for a child who shows moral weakness. When you think about this third kind, you can perceive innumerable variations. Likewise, human qualities also possess their features and variances. The more minute and extensive our observation of human character, the more successful we shall be in depicting it. A picture of parental love is manifest when a father becomes the mortal enemy of a son he sees treading the wrong path. Another picture of parental love is that of a father likening his wayward son to a sugary laddoo whose sweetness always remains undiminished. One gets to see yet another instance of parental love when an alcoholic, gambler father is so intoxicated by the love for his child that he gives up his vices. In the light of all this, two questions emerge before a novelist. The first is whether he should, after having closely observed human personalities, describe his novel’s characters as mirror images of people he has actually observed, with no variation whatsoever. The second is whether the novelist should effect some changes in the depictions of his characters in order to conform to his imaginative blueprint of the novel’s purpose. It is from these two questions that two kinds of novelists have emerged—one is the group of Idealists, the other is that of the Realists. The Realist presents his readers with the true, naked aspects of human nature without bothering about the negative consequences of honest portrayals or the positive

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outcomes of false depictions. The Realist’s characters display their weaknesses and strengths in the drama of life where good deeds do not always bring rewards and where evil triumphs, often going unpunished while good men are pounded by the cruelties of destiny. Strange are the laws of nature! The Idealist is shackled in the chains of experience. Wickedness dominates the world to such an extent that even the most sterling characters have some tiny blemish. That is why realism draws such a naked picture of our weaknesses, our idiosyncrasies, and our viciousness. In many ways, realism turns us into pessimists who have lost faith in human nature, and we see only evil around us. There is no doubt that such realism is best suited for drawing our attention towards the vices of society. With realism, it is quite possible to depict situations in a far more gloomy light than they actually are. This is when realism becomes objectionable as it crosses the limits of decency while delineating human frailties.

Another distinctive trait of human character is that the soul cannot derive any real happiness from the deceit, shallowness and guile that are visible all around. So, for a short while, we wish to fly away into a world where the soul is free of base instincts and forgets the chains of anxiety as it meets lively, humane, charitable beings devoid of any pretension, insincerity, discord, and unpleasantness. There is no pleasure in reading stories in which we meet the same kind of people that we interact with every hour of the day. It evokes a desire similar to stepping out into a garden for enjoying its fresh, gentle air whenever we tire of working in a dark, dreary room. The idealist caters to intermissions like these. Idealism introduces us to characters whose hearts are pure and who are devoid of selfishness and lust as they possess stoic

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dispositions. Although such characters lack the ability to judge human conduct. Their simplicity deceives them in matters of human behaviour, their interactions with the cunning and the scheming, the duplicitous and the deceiving, give us insights into human psyche and acquaint us with man’s depravities. If Realism opens our eyes then Idealism transports us to captivating settings. While Idealism has its virtues, there is always the fear that we might end up portraying characters that are mere effigies of principles. It is easy to yearn for a deity’s effigy but it is difficult to infuse life into it.

Hence, novels considered to be of high standard should have a combination of realism and idealism. You can term it ‘idealistic realism’. To infuse life into an idea, realism has to be embraced and it is a feature of any good novel. The greatest power of a novelist lies in creating characters who enthral readers with upright actions and high thinking. A novel whose characters are bereft of such virtues has no merit. To create worthy and noble characters, it is not necessary to portray them as flawless as even the greatest of men have had some flaw or the other. In order to make characters lively, there is no harm in portraying their weaknesses; to instil life into them, there is no harm in referring to their flaws. It is these flaws that make a character more human. A flawless character is like a god, beyond human comprehension. Such characters hardly impact us. We are idealists and our ancient literature bears the stamp of idealism. The main purpose of this literature is spiritual refinement but it also has an element of entertainment. A writer’s job is also not confined to entertaining the reader. Entertainment is the occupation of bards, jugglers, jesters, and clowns. The writer has a far superior status as he guides us, arouses our humanity, stimulates goodwill, and broadens our horizons. These should, at the very least,

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be a writer’s objectives. To achieve them, it is necessary for a writer to have a positive outlook, to resist rather than be lured into temptations, to discipline rather than get trapped in passions, and thereby resemble a general on a victory march after decimating the enemy. Writers with such personalities impact us the most.

After deliberating upon the novel in general, I would like to turn my attention towards our Hindi novels. Readers are already aware that the novel is a Western seed that has taken root in India. Before the era of novels, stories and tales were extremely popular in the country and they usually revolved round love and separation. Their plots generally proceeded along given lines—a single glance of the beloved would slay the lover, the beloved would narrate tales of her distress to friends, the lover would sigh copiously and hit his head against walls, this news would reach his people, and his friends would gather to counsel him. Hakims would visit with remedies but no remedy or counsel would be found efficacious for the malady of love. Having suffered the pangs of separation for months and years, the lovers would miraculously meet again. These stories often had strange scenes of tilism and ayyari, magic and intrigue, all of which added to the suspense. In Urdu, Tilism-e Hoshruba exists in twenty-seven volumes of largesized pages, while Bostan-e Khayal was written in seven volumes. Till the times these were composed, the Hindi novel had not made its appearance. A few translations in Hindi had certainly appeared then but there was no novelist in sight. Prior to this, a number of good Urdu novelists like Pandit Ratannath Dhar ‘Sarshar’, the author of Fasana-e Azad, Maulvi Abdul Halim Sharar, Maulana Muhammad Ali, and others had emerged. Babu Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novels had appeared in Bengali but there was no mentionable or reputed novelist in Hindi at that time.

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Then, the late Babu Devkinandan Khatri’s Chandrakanta appeared in 1888 and proved to be a unique, totally new thing in the world of Hindi. Readers made a beeline for Chandrakanta and it created quite a stir. Even though it is only an imitation of Tilism-e Hoshruba, Chandrakanta was more than enough for the Hindi readership, which hitherto had been used to love narratives that lacked emotion and impact. I am at a loss to understand why no Hindi novelists had surfaced earlier when other languages had seen the emergence of remarkable writers.

After Chandrakanta, Devkinandan wrote other works that had social perspectives and laid the foundation of the Hindi novel. The stories of tilism and ayyari maintained their popularity, and continued to be published long after Devkinandan. Subsequently, detective novels made an appearance, primarily as translations of European detective stories that became very popular. It was expected that Hindi novels of originality would make an appearance at this juncture. Instead, the market was flooded with Hindi translations of Bengali novels. This trend continues without much thought even today as the best Bengali novels are being translated into Hindi. I have no objection to filling up our storehouse of literature with such gems from other languages. Much of the translation being done is from languages that are thriving. But what does one say about a language that survives entirely on such translations and has nothing original to offer? This is why the significance of Chandrakanta increases considerably when it is viewed from the perspective of originality.

Our objective is to make Hindi the national language but can any language attain the status of a national language just on the basis of translations done in it? While conversing with a friend on this issue, he said: ‘I agree that translation does not add to the status of a language

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but what will you say to people for whom translation is a question of livelihood?’ This implies that all those who cannot earn a livelihood through any other means should turn to translation. Such an argument can be given in support of anything that one fails to achieve in one’s life. For a thief, theft is a question of livelihood so why punish him for it? I have seen people proficient in Hindi acquiring enough knowledge of Bengali within a month to be able to comprehend simple Bengali texts. After this, there remains no plausible reason for them not to translate from Bengali into Hindi. If at all we must translate then let us choose languages that are far richer than Bengali. It is the English translations of a few French or Russian texts from which I have translated into Hindi. Young people who wish to serve the cause of our literature must learn European languages and contribute their translations as literary gems to the storehouse of Hindi. In doing so, they will be contributing immensely to a cause made weak by financial constraints. Most importantly, literature should be composed only to fulfil the cause of art—that is, ‘art for art’s sake’. No one should have any reservations about this principle. All writing that is rooted in the primary human impulses becomes immortal. Jealousy and love, anger and greed, affection and aversion, sorrow and shame—all these are our primary impulses. The prime objective of literature is to showcase them and literary writing that falls short of doing this becomes purposeless. Literature written with the intent of propagating any social, political and religious opinions undoubtedly plummets from its lofty status. But in these times of rapid change there are so many new ideas taking birth that it is almost impossible for a writer to stick to the ideals of literature. Writers find it difficult to remain aloof and unaffected in today’s situation. This is why we find eminent scholars in India and also Europe publicizing

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personal opinions in their writings these days. They are less concerned about their works enduring over time because their sole aim is to vindicate their personal opinions. We cannot accept that there is only short-lived interest in novels written with the aim of publicizing personal viewpoints. Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, as also many works of Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, are considered literary classics despite having personal undertones, and interest in them has not waned till today. Eminent authors like Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells are currently writing with the specific purpose of disseminating personal opinions. I believe that any good literary work subtly weaves together man’s innate conflicts with the author’s personal views. The time for ‘art for art’s sake’ can only be ripe when there is prosperity and happiness in a country. It is impossible for a sensitive soul not to be jolted on seeing mankind bound in all kinds of political and social chains, on witnessing horrific scenes of suffering and poverty, and on hearing loud lamentation over catastrophes. Indeed, novelists should endeavour to express their personal opinions with such subtlety that a novel’s natural flow is not interrupted. Any overt inclusion of personal opinions makes for a lacklustre novel. At the end, I gently appeal to our young upcoming writers to first make adequate preparations for writing novels. Without sufficient knowledge of human impulses, do not lift your pens. Writing should be very easy for those with a god-given gift for composition. Despite this, it is absolutely essential to be somewhat familiar with the various fields of knowledge, especially psychology. Once a gentleman had asked a famous painter where he got his beautiful hues from. The painter smiled and said, ‘Sir, it’s all in my head!’ Translated by Shaheen Saba

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Proposal for an Edition on Stories Galpaank ka Prastav

Amongst the Hindi periodicals, Chand has taken the lead in the publication of special issues. Nine special issues have appeared since its launch and this year it has decided to publish another four. Chand’s annual year commences in November and the year’s first number appeared last month. Just after it appeared, the editor and managers of the periodical were extremely eager to bring out a special number on the short story and drew up a proposal for it. The miserable state of Hindi periodicals and magazines is well known and familiar to these enthusiastic gentlemen. Totally unfazed by this situation, it is their unwavering optimism that makes them go ahead with their plan. A poet has rightly said: Life is all about living courageously, The cowardly no life can claim. Life is indeed all about enthusiasm and optimism and this is only natural as life has many attractions to offer. It also explains why Chand is so proud to have reached the top of the ladder amongst all the monthly publications when, just four or five years ago, it used to bring out only a thousand copies. Chand has indeed become a magnet for readers.

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A month ago, when the well-qualified editor of Chand approached me with the proposal of bringing out a special issue on the short story, I was taken aback. His was a very simple though novel proposal but I was apprehensive that it might make the periodical a laughing stock. New initiatives are often laughed at by conservative people who tend to look down their noses and consider them sheer nonsense. What is so unique about short stories that they should be given such importance? But after giving due thought to the short story, I realized that there was no impediment to my welcoming the idea and accepting the editorship of the issue. The short story is a new arrival in contemporary literature and no magazine or periodical can now claim to be interesting without having short stories in it. Apart from Hindi, there are publications in many other languages that carry only short stories. In fact, there is no literary form other than the story that can highlight the hitherto unexpressed, invisible and unremarkable aspects of society in a manner that gives rise to sentiments, principles and elements. Owing to the subjugation of our country, the battle of life is so exhausting that we are drained of all our physical and mental strength. This leaves us enervated and we are unable to apply ourselves to anything that is dry and tedious. We wish for new ideas but are unwilling to make any effort. Only the short story has the capacity to entertain while educating us in various disciplines like mathematics, science, politics, history, geography, craft, health, and commerce. Creativity is used to even publicize the sale of medicines. Think of the short story as an elixir that can magically cure anything from a cold to tuberculosis. Nowadays, the pace of cinema’s popularity matches that of the swift passage of postage. In this process, however, drama as another vital form of

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literature finds itself strangled. We are currently in the age of silent films but efforts are on to introduce sound and make way for films with dialogues and songs. The day that happens, drama will have died.

Poetry is all about emotions and it has the power to delicately stir them within us. But the muse of poetry has a deep aversion to factories and industrial plants, to commercial buildings and establishments, and also to the mansions of the wealthy. It is natural elements like the greenery of riverbanks, the melody of flowing waters, and the vast sacred expanses untouched by man that are the real love of poetry. Present conditions are not conducive for poetry that detests confrontation, warfare and conflict. Then what is literature left with? Prose no doubt. But prose is meant for contemplation, not entertainment.

That leaves us with the novel. The problem here is that films are killing the novel just as they destroyed theatre earlier. If a rupee or a few annas can give us the pleasure of perusing, in a few hours, outstanding works by writers like Victor Hugo, Leo Tolstoy, and Thomas Hardy then why undergo the pain of reading totally different kinds of texts? Agreed that cinema cannot give us the pleasure that emanates from the fluidity of language—the beauty of words, the novelties of usage, the pleasurable collocation of sentences, the nimble tweaks and biting satire of idiomatic constructions—but most of us desire entertainment and filmmakers are not entirely oblivious of how poignancy in a filmic text can cater to this desire. Cursory readings of literature, however, do not leave us with any pleasurable experience. Great writers are able to subtly conceal so many emotions in their words that one has to read a single sentence several times over to derive pleasure and satisfaction. But we have no time to spare after spending exhausting hours

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in offices. Not many are left with the strength to spend exhausting hours in the perusal of literature.

Thus, it is only the short story that can take on cinema in terms of value, entertainment, and time management. One needs private time to read a novel but we have neither the time nor the privacy for this. In the case of a film, too, we need time and preparation to go and see it. To go and see a film, one must have an early dinner, make preparations to be absent from home for a few hours, travel between cinema hall and home in all kinds of weather, and be prepared to sit for three hours amidst a huge crowd with all attention focused on the screen. All this gets somewhat painful. Then, a senseless client may decide to visit while we are away watching a film and this means we will stand to lose out on business. The short story is a safe way out of all these problems. Whether in office, court, school, shop, or travel, one can simply pick up Chand’s short story special edition and get going. Stories are a must for train journeys; one just cannot spend the time without them. If one happens to be on a long journey, say from Delhi to Bombay or Calcutta, and specially as a second class traveller, novels like Kayakalp, Chandrakanta, Grihdaah, or Balidaan can surely be perused. If the train journey is short, such as one is from Banaras to Lucknow or Prayag in a third class carriage, then perforce the choice has to be a short story collection. During such a journey, one’s true companion can only be a slim volume of stories. Canon balls and machine guns are meant for big wars and, unfortunately, they take place only once in a few centuries but a pistol or revolver is needed all the time. If nothing else, one should have a stout cane in one’s hands in case a dog attacks. The short story, then, is your cane which cannot be left behind while you are travelling.

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If your eyes ever tire while looking out for customers at your bookshop, just pick up a story. You will become so engrossed that you would hardly worry about them and even return home happily despite not earning a single rupee. There is nothing like reading a story in the ten or fifteen minute gap that you might have between defending one client and another in a court of law. To spend time between two meetings that you might have to attend with officials, a story will come in handy. This is how spare time can be well spent. In case you have finished reading your stories, turn your attention to Chand’s special issue. In case there is someone at the door, don’t rush and hurt yourself. Walk slowly to the door and keep reading a story. You will find that you have finished reading quite a few pages while doing this. However, I would not advise teachers to read stories in this manner. They are neither short of time nor of leave in hand. With all this time at their disposal, teachers can have the pleasure of a leisurely perusal of something like the twenty-eight volumes of Tilism-e Hoshruba or the seven parts of Daastaan-e Khayaal or twenty-four serialized parts of Chandrakaanta or even the story of Alif Laila’s One Thousand and One Nights. I am a staunch advocate of students reading stories. These poor people are unable to read novels as they claim to be pressed for time what with stacks of books to read and the fear of examinations round the corner. When they have cleared all their examinations, they will hopefully have all the time in the world to read novels. But to enjoy these novels, they should be convinced that the material needs of life are of no consequence. Stories can be very empowering during one’s student days. When the contents of an ethics course wears out a student, he should quickly pick up a story and within a few minutes his headache will vanish

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and his mind will be refreshed. With renewed energy, the student will then also be able to engage with the science of language. This is an elixir of life and any student who tastes it once does not require any other source of entertainment. Just stir a drop of this elixir in water and sip it to feel fully refreshed; all distress in life will disappear. I would even go to the extent of suggesting that if attending a class makes you sleepy, take out your story and, without hesitation, place it on your desk. All drowsiness will vanish. Do not fear getting caught in the act as the teacher’s attention would be devoted to delivering his lecture. As for women, their lives would be difficult without stories. For them, there are no films to watch, no novels to read, and no strolls to enjoy. These deadly pastimes are forbidden to them as they are said to have indulged in many wrongdoings in the past. If they watch a film in the evening then who would cook the dinner? Since the mistress of the house is the menial doing housework, the master of the household has nothing to worry about. She is also needed at home to take care of the brood of naughty, energetic and quarrelsome children. Taking this brood out is not as easy as swallowing food or visiting an aunt. If men had to handle this situation even for a day, they would go mad. Thousands of them would immediately become hermits. The men who are ensnared in worldly pleasures would not be so rash as to become hermits but they would instantly drop a postcard to Chand for a book on child care. I cannot speak for others but should I find myself in these circumstances, I would prefer eternal sleep and so consume poison! Well, dear readers, if such things happened, it would be a curse on men and would announce the end of the world. The Almighty would then have to create another planet for his entertainment! But tell me, how does one

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tether these frisky calves? All of them cannot possibly be carried in one’s lap so a carriage would have to be engaged for them. Well, that’s a loss of two rupees. What’s worse is hunger striking them on the way, as it often does when children see a sweetmeat shop or encounter a hawker on the way? So, having set out at five, one somehow reaches the cinema hall around seven. But this situation seldom arises as, going by what I have heard and seen, women often lose their patience and return home halfway from the destination. Even if the family party somehow manages to reach the cinema hall, it is not the end of the problem. The real ones start afterwards. One child might topple over a chair, another might pinch a sibling, or one child will wail and weep incessantly. How can a mother attend to them individually? The younger children can be pacified with her threats but the elder ones, whom she trusts for good behaviour, also add to the commotion. Answering these children’s questions is an art in itself. Everyone in the cinema hall is shaken by the uproar. People suppress their annoyance and do not react. These are the days of the British but had it been the times of the rajas, his highness would have the entire family killed. The children continue their mischief in the cinema hall and the poor mother never gets to enjoy the film. All her entertainment is sacrificed at the altar of disciplining her unruly brood. When she returns home it is like reaching heaven. She pulls her ears and pledges never to even think of seeing a film. The ten rupees spent in this outing is like a fine imposed. If this is the tale of watching a film then a similar trip to a theatre would be as good as dying. We cannot avoid looking on at the rumpus these children create and there is imminent danger of our ear drums bursting. No sooner does a melody resonate in the film than one child begins to wail in the most discordant notes. Tell me, why

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should the audience not get irritated and hit their heads in frustration? In our country, two rupees do not matter much to government employees, especially those in the police and land revenue departments, but for ordinary people, one rupee is equivalent to one lakh. The goddess of wealth only deigns to favour devotees after they have sat cooped in workplaces for days on end and consequently, their eyes have been blinded, their backs broken, their brains about to burst, and their torsos dripping with sweat. Then how can such people allow anyone to spoil their hard-earned entertainment? There might be some who would tolerate all this silently but I am not one of them. I keep as far away as I possibly can from the commotion my own children create. But when I am home, most of my time is spent in slapping them. I have become so accustomed to doing this that each time my wife takes them for a bath, my hands itch to slap someone and it is an old servant who ends up getting a few raps. Given this situation in the case of cinema and theatre, how can a woman read a novel? Perusing a novel is forbidden fruit for her, as impossible as receiving a bouquet from heaven. From dawn to midnight, she has hardly a moment to spare. If the children’s breakfast is delayed, they seem willing to devour her alive. If she manages their breakfast somehow, there is always the chance of her husband hollering for tea if there is a minute’s delay in the process. His thunderous voice terrifies her as the walls of the house seem to shake and the earth seems to tremble. And why should the husband not shout; after all, he has the right to do this—otherwise what else is a woman for? She’s hardly done with breakfast when its time for lunch. Somehow, she manages to get that done as well. When the master of the house has left for work and the older children

48 Premchand on Literature and Life

have gone to school, its time for the infants to start with their accusations. Even a judge gets free after handing out punishment to the accused but in the mother’s case, there is no such freedom. If she pronounces punishment, she has to be prepared for reactions that will make her eardrums burst.

After adjudicating two or three cases brought before her, the clock strikes three and the older children return home from school. More often than not, they are home before one or two in the afternoon and it is rare to see them return after three. I really cannot say whether this happens because someone in school pushes the clock’s hands forward or whether the children flee from school before the closing hour. Every other day, there is a festival and so a needless holiday is given. So what is the reason for today’s holiday you enquire and pat comes the reply— Vyasa Puja. The answer could also be any of these sacred occasions— Mauni Amavasya or Nirjala Ekadashi. Nothing much happens on these holidays except that the mother’s work increases manifold. Other days merely cause headaches but on holidays she is as good as dead. Daylight hours pass somehow but the nights can get exceptionally complicated for a mother. One child might bring a friend over, another might develop a fever, a third might cry with the pain of teething, a fourth might start feeling cold. Only a mother can endure and attend to the hardships of bringing up children. She will spend sleepless nights caring for a sick child while her worthy spouse would be loudly snoring in his sleep like a growling dog. Even if the poor woman gets disturbed she dare not wake him up. Should the husband’s sleep be disrupted, he will not even open his eyes thinking that he has done his day’s job and does not deserve to be disturbed at night. This means she must

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face her troubles on her own. Most of the women live their entire lives in such circumstances. Great literature is of no help to such a distressed soul. It cannot do away with her anxieties; rather, it might add to them. A husband might say that a wife’s primary duty is to worship her husband and her household chores are secondary; only then will she have my blessing and see my real self as someone made for better things, not tolerating all this noise and commotion. Her anxieties keep piling up—dinner has to be prepared, the crying child has be pacified, it is time for the husband to return from work. Given such realities, women are scared of novels although stories can be their only companions through thick and thin. Water for tea has been put for boiling. There are ten minutes to go before it comes to a boil. The best way to use these minutes is to begin reading a story. Till the water comes to a boil, she will have travelled through a vast imagined world. While putting her child to sleep, she can continue traversing through the story. In reading a story there should be no fear of wasting time. It’s like the blessing from a holy man—you can seek it in your way and at your convenient time. We have forgotten those who find it difficult to spend their time. For them, time is a widow’s spinning wheel that keeps revolving without reaching anywhere. I associate three kinds of people in this category—the vaid, the hakim and the doctor. I do not speak of ‘doctor’ that is attached before the name of Rabindranath Tagore or Tegh Bahadur Sapru who were incapable of pulling out even a thorn from the flesh. In referring to ‘doctor’ here I mean a person who makes us swallow poison in order to save our lives, whose gradual progress in life unleashes such deadly viruses that human life becomes a playground for diseases. There is no doubt that this is Kaliyug, the epoch

50 Premchand on Literature and Life

during which death’s market is said to thrive. Even in these trying times, most doctors are seen sitting idle in their chambers all day, killing time, and waiting for their prey to arrive in the guise of patients. All day, they chant, pleading and praying to the Almighty to send them one such person. When a patient does turn up, even with a simple headache, he finds it difficult to get out of the clinic. He is first diagnosed with some deadly disease. His lungs are examined and then the doctor hurriedly declares the patient to have contracted galloping pthisis. On hearing this, the patient is very apprehensive and cannot ignore the diagnosed ailment. He allows himself to get drowned in anxiety at all hours of the day and gradually, the symptoms of galloping pthisis actually begin appearing. With the doctor’s prophecy coming true, the patient now resigns himself to the doctor’ treatment and care. With the freedom to do as he pleases, the doctor’s heydays have arrived. If the patient is unable to pay his medical bills, the doctor can mortgage his property and not let him slip away as such auspicious opportunities do not appear every day. My advice to these medical men is to put their time of waiting for patients to good use. They might ask—how, by reading a novel? My answer would be—definitely not as you do since concentration required for reading and your eyes are constantly focused on passers-by. In this strained mental condition, only a story can bring peace. So, pick up a book of stories; it will bring you dual benefit. Earlier, passers-by saw you sitting idle and considered you a needy person. Today, if they see you reading a book, they will consider you a great scholar who is a regular reader. This would add to your fame and should a wealthy person set eyes on you, your day will be made. You will be appointed as his family doctor and you will reap all possible benefits. Do remember that if you have a vast treasure of stories in

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your mind, you can treat your patients far better than just administering bitter medicines. But you must ensure that your stories for them are humorous.

It is life’s struggles that have made literature so melancholic. Pick up any book, journal or magazine and you will find its content so very depressing that it drives you to tears. Literary style echoes such seriousness that it resembles dirges. But I do not believe that the current scenario has made us so melancholic. After all, we do sit together for a good laugh or chat. We surely have not forgotten to laugh. But if our melancholic air continues, our capacity to laugh might be taken away from us or it might disappear on its own. Why should literary figures take to writing serious things? Things have come to such a pass that even when the younger generation wields the pen, they assume the sombre personality of a fifty-five-year-old. They perhaps believe that being humorous is not in keeping with the sobriety expected of a writer. If this is what the younger writers think, then it is a Himalayan blunder, as Mahatma Gandhi would say. If humour is not the most superior rasa or a prime literary principle, it surely is one of the prime ones. For me, humour is much greater than any other literary rasa. I fail to understand why ornamentation should be the prime rasa when it was non-existent seventeen years ago and will possibly die out in another forty. Why should we not consider humour to be the prime literary principle since it first makes an appearance at the age of six months in human beings and then remains active throughout life? Even people on their deathbeds have laughed just a few minutes before death. It is said that nobody laughs when in misery or when the stomach growls with hunger but we laugh only when we are contented. But I do not subscribe to such views. The conditions in our villages are so miserable

52 Premchand on Literature and Life

that they must be written about. Poverty-stricken peasants there toil from dawn to dusk, without once getting a full meal. They have neither clothes nor flesh on their bodies, and no food in their stomachs. These wretched people are at the mercy of landlords who constantly harass them for agricultural rent. They are folk drowning in the ocean of misery but even they have their moments of laughter when they get lost in hilarity and merrymaking. But our world of literature is so weighed down by self-deprecation and melancholia that humour does not touch the nibs of their pens. Can they swear that they have never laughed in the company of their friends or have they taken an oath against humour in a court of law or sworn over Gangajal, the holy water from the Ganges, never to speak in jest? I can only say that laughter is necessary for human beings. One must laugh, and that too spontaneously. Our guffaws should shake walls but I cannot fathom why our writers immerse themselves in an ocean of melancholia each time they pick up a pen! At least our younger writers can give primacy to humour in their works. It is very unnatural for young people to don the garb of seriousness. We, the older writers, are not there just to keep wailing in our writings and hoping that the youngsters join us. No gentlemen, we do not seek your support. We alone can weep enough to make a Ganga flow or an ocean heave. Our eyes are in no way inferior to those of sage Agastya. Younger writers aspire to intrude into our domain but we shall brook no interference. We shall not yield an inch to them and will fight to protect our space just like the European powers do to protect their colonial interests. We give these youngsters advice but make it clear that in case of confrontation, we know the law and are capable of greasing the palms of the police to file a complaint against them, bringing them to their knees. These young writers would then know what it

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means to show defiance. You are unaware about how greedy old men can be about their property. Let me give you proof for this. You possess great enthusiasm, new blood, fresh energy, intense passion, but if you are determined to be melancholic in your work, it will be catastrophic. If we do not give each other space, it would be hellish. Therefore, have mercy and leave us to depict themes that highlight vagrancy, hopelessness, and oppression while you focus on wit, banter and chivalry. With our mutual understanding, our dispute shall be laid to rest. I accept that the current scenario is not quite conducive for the development of humour. But this despondency must be replaced with optimism. We have enough to weep about in our homes so why carry our tears to the literary fraternity? Writers need to be energetic and confident. Many old people have asked me to write something which makes them laugh because most of what I write has had the opposite effect. The things that we lack in life are what we seek in literature. When we are disappointed in this then literature, too, becomes disappointing. Why do audiences roll with laughter when they see the antics of comedian Charlie Chaplin? Cinema halls are packed whenever his films are screened. The audiences are overcome with laughter because they hope to forget for a short while the distresses in their real lives. Take the case of any literature, its humorous characters are its life. Humour should be amiable and balanced, not exaggerated and cheap. We are caught in times of adversity today and are seeking a remedy that will remove our distresses, erase our anger, and lend us support. Only young writers can evolve this kind of literature. Adversities are not driven away by tears; in fact, adversity becomes deadlier when we cry. We can drive away adversity with laughter and laughter lightens the burden of

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distress. Just as a lost traveller in a forest scurries towards a pinprick of light in the darkness, lovers of literature should rush towards literary texts in the hope that the weight of their woes shall diminish, their sorrows shall recede, and happiness shall come their way. Humorous stories can be of great help in achieving this objective but their humour should be refined, moderate, and bereft of obscenity. There is a big difference between literary laughter and social laughter; the humour that might make one double up with laughter in the company of friends might be considered reprehensible from a literary perspective. The tales of Amir Khusro1 and Birbal2 are indeed very humorous but to consider them serious literary pieces would be an affront to literature. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

1

2

Abul Hasan Yaminuddin Khusro (1253-1325) is an acclaimed Sufi poet, scholar, mystic, and musician of India. He was a close disciple of the Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and is credited with the invention of the sitar as also the creation of an Indian version of the tradition of qawwalis or Sufi devotional hymns. The Persian couplet inscribed on a stone tablet in Srinagar’s Shalimar Bagh is believed to have been composed by him. The inscription was carved out on Emperor Jahangir’s orders and it celebrates Kashmir’s ethereal beauty. The couplet’s translation reads: ‘If there is Paradise on earth/ It is here, it is here, it is here’. Named Mahesh Das at birth, Birbal (1528-1586) was Emperor Akbar’s advisor and poet laureate in the royal court. He also served as a military commander. He is famed for his wit and humour, some of which was even directed at the Emperor. Tales involving him outsmarting rivals with his intelligent and witty remarks are legendary even today. He was one of the Nauratans or ‘nine jewels’ of the Emperor and was bestowed the title of ‘Raja’.

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Premchand’s Response to His

Honourable Critics

Premchand ki Premleela ka Uttar

A few years ago, a magazine propagating the Nagri script, published an article in Hindi that was based on a Marathi piece of writing. For me, it was a very interesting write-up so I did a rather poor translation of it in Urdu and got it published in Zamana with the title Hansi or ‘laughter’. I duly informed Zamana’s editor that my article was a translation as it was never my intention to take credit for either the Hindi or the Marathi article. In any case, this sort of filching and snatching gets no one any recognition and I am not insane enough to imagine that renown can be acquired through random translations. Anyone possessing only basic skills of writing does not engage in translation nor desires any acclaim through translation. In the early phase of my literary life when I was unable to compose anything original, I have done quite a few translations from English to Urdu. They have all quietly faded away as they lacked the merit to survive. But my article, Hansi, did not appear anonymously; there was really no need to do such a thing. Perhaps a month after the article was published in Hindi, my Urdu translation appeared in the prestigious magazine, Zamana, which I knew also had a wide circulation amongst readers of Hindi. Therefore, if the Urdu version makes no

56 Premchand on Literature and Life

reference to the article in Hindi, it can at most be considered a technical omission, not plagiarism. That article was an excellent piece but, at that point in time, I could not claim to be its author. The article’s subject matter loudly proclaimed it as the work of an outstanding philosopher. I can only say with certainty that no one could have ever believed that I was the writer of that piece. Everyone thought of it as a translated piece and I saw no reason to change their opinion. I am unable to now recall what exactly I had done at the time so I am willing to accept that I deliberately withheld revealing my identity. The reason for this could be that we do not normally highlight things which are so obvious.

These days, some of my honourable detractors are being especially kind to me. In the previous edition of Samalochak, one gentleman wrote to say that my piece, Hansi, was originally in Hindi, and declared himself as its Urdu translator. The fact that Hansi is a translation is obvious that it can hardly be contested. I only find it strange that this gentleman took so long to discover all this when all he had to do was to obtain the name of Hansi’s contributor from Zamana’s editor soon after the piece had been published. He would, thus, have saved himself the trouble of censuring me.

In the same article, this honourable man has also written about my so-called ‘plagiarism’ and worthless writings. Though there is really no need to respond to him, I must reiterate that I have never uttered, and shall never utter, the words ascribed to me in Sahitya Pathak as supposedly spoken at the annual function of the Sahitya Vidyalaya or school of literature. That I offered such advice, and that too at a literary forum, is absolutely inconceivable. I am shocked to know that this writer could accuse me of this. From his language, style and sentiments his composition

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appears to be the work of a schoolboy, of someone who has not read any of my works. I request him to do me the favour of giving my Rangbhoomi a patient read. Anyone who has perused both Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and my Rangbhoomi cannot have written such irrational things. No doubt Vanity Fair rises to such great heights that my work cannot hope to match, but then Rangbhoomi also has its own place. As for the charge that Tolstoy’s Resurrection has influenced my Prem Ashram, I can only say that I have not read the former, but if shades of Resurrection can be identified in Prem Ashram then it is a matter of great pride for me. If I live long enough I will be writing much more, and my idiom and ideas may have much in common with writers of eminence. When you read a good book, you might find in it similarities with one of my works. This happens because my plots are borrowed from life, not from books, and also because the realities of our world are much the same everywhere. Contemporaneity shares commonalities which no writer or writing can avoid unless it is detective fiction, or tales of magic and mystery. The political ideas that have made Russia restless today also find resonance in India. The same resonances and sensitivities are sure to be found in the works of contemporary writers from both these places. In the second section of the third number of Samalochak, a gentleman named Gulab has written to say that Rangbhoomi has been somewhat influenced by Vanity Fair. That may well be possible but I read Vanity Fair in 1903 and wrote Rangbhoomi in 1924. It seems quite difficult for me to have remembered the contents of Vanity Fair over such a long period of time, especially given my weak memory. However, I concur with the other points that he has made. What is original will forever remain original. Originality can never be erased. A piece of literature born out of the

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blood, sweat and tears of a writer cannot be undermined by an insensitive critic.

I do not like being referred to as the ‘monarch of novels’. I can swear that I have never aspired for such a title. If the gentleman in Sahitya Pathak can somehow save me from such embarrassments, I shall be greatly indebted to him. In the same edition of Samalochak, Babu Braj Ratan Das has spoken of the similarity between the plot of my story, Abhushan, and a tale by Thomas Hardy. The similarity certainly exists. Can a thought that struck Thomas Hardy not strike another writer? In the construction of Hardy’s plot there is nothing so extraordinary that a Hindi writer may not imagine the same. Can another writer not conceive of what Hardy imagined? Hardy was just another human being, not a deity. And when I absorb the realities of our everyday life, am I mad enough to be borrowing from Thomas Hardy? Those who are blind to what occurs before their eyes will forever continue to suspect such things.

I think it is necessary for me to clear another doubt here. It is quite possible to feel a pinch inside oneself on seeing a peer get ahead of us. So we like to somehow show them down. Some peers see yesterday’s little boy suddenly racing past them and desire to inflict humiliation. I only request such people not to see anyone as yesterday’s unfortunate child but to consider the person ahead to be an old experienced hand. In another three years, this ‘little boy’ will be fifty. For the past thirty years, his pen has raced across paper. After having said all this, I only hope that my age will be considered and due seriousness of critiquing will be accorded to my writings in future. P. S. Yes, Hansi was a translation by ‘Nawab Rai’, not Premchand. It so happens that they are one person but two names.

Translated by Kanika Gandhi

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The Need for Literary Clubs Sahityik Clubbon ki Avashyakta

The number of people in India speaking and understanding Hindi is not less than fifteen crores. People who speak Bengali number just five crores. But the sale of Hindi books and periodicals is almost negligible when compared to publications in Bengali. The best periodicals in Hindi are seen running at a loss, and the best books in that language lie rotting in godowns. Should a gentleman procure a book in Hindi, he will have dozens of people coming to borrow it, some covering great distances in this endeavour. Often the book disappears even before its owner can look at it and this experience makes him wonder why he ever got into this awkward situation. Had he not lent the book, his generosity would be at stake and he would be labelled ‘selfish’. Giving it away to a borrower means never getting it back. So, why buy books at all? The answer—it is our passion for literature. We want to read books but do not wish to save and spend on them. Even those with a reasonable income are not ashamed to beg for and borrow books. If this state of affairs continues, I do not see our literatures growing. With great enthusiasm, people enter the publishing arena but exhaust their capital in a year or two and go out of business. Many new periodicals make

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their appearance and after five to ten thousand rupees have gone down the drain, they disappear.

The opening of literary clubs is one remedy for this situation. Such clubs should be established in every town and village in the country. In cities, such clubs should be opened in every locality. If a few enthusiastic gentlemen were to muster courage, they can easily get up to thirtyodd lovers of literature to happily contribute four annas1 a month to their literary club. If books and periodicals worth a hundred rupees are bought by each of these clubs, it will be doing literature a great favour. The country would also benefit greatly if thousands of such clubs were to be opened. Club members should be entrusted the responsibility of ensuring that every year lovers of literature would spend at least a few rupees on buying books. In all civilized countries, such clubs are very active and this is the reason why their expenditure on even mediocre books is as much as fifty thousand rupees. I have great hope that the world of Hindi will give due thought to my proposal. Translated by Shuby Abidi

1

Approximately twenty-five paise in today’s terms.

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Lord Krishna and the World’s Future Sri Krishna aur Bhavi Jagat1

Since the earliest of times, mankind has sought happiness and inner peace. The history of human civilization is the saga of this eternal quest. Civilization advanced as more and more people sought to achieve this. Those who paid no heed to it were seen as uncivilized. People adopted different routes in their quest for inner serenity: some trod the path of yoga, others chose the avenues of meditation, devotion or knowledge. Whatever the choice, the most enduring and common feature was renunciation. Even today, renunciation is on everyone’s lips. It has been affirmed as the root of all happiness. Moksha, the eternal bliss, is the pinnacle of happiness and inner peace and it is only the lamp of renunciation that lights the different paths to moksha. What has been the result of these endeavours? Those devoted to faith have turned away from worldly affairs and sought refuge in forests. Many such people are found in forests even today. But our karma binds us to the world; we cannot escape it. All seekers of moksha remain committed 1

After Premchand’s death, this article, bearing his signature, was found in his papers. It is difficult to pinpoint when it was written and it is quite possible it was published in an obscure magazine.

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to their basic tenets of belief. Buddha placed a premium on renunciation and the adherents of Jainism also prioritize it. Buddhist monasteries were built far from human habitation and were called the abodes of nirvana. In Christianity, too, the Pope presided over kings, monasteries were built, and the clergy began to live in forests, at a considerable distance from cities. Islam also preached the distancing of self from the acquisitive world. Religious philosophers and holy men like Shankara, Ramanuja and Vallabhacharya have all worshipped the path of renunciation. But had ordinary men followed the path of renunciation, mankind would have been wiped out from the face of the earth. Lust, anger, materialism, and greed have always been impediments in the path of renunciation.

To Lord Krishna is due the credit for uniting the paths of renunciation and worldly attachment. He created the ideals of renunciation-in-attachment and attachment-in­ renunciation. Act, he said, but do not be tied down by your karma. Karma by itself does not enslave, but expecting rewards to accrue from one’s karma certainly is enslaving. This implies that an act which is faultless can never be enslaving, and it is such acts that form the basis of all happiness and inner peace.

Just think—what a lofty truth, what a basic ideal this is! It is difficult to see concord between renunciation and human nature. Those who tread the path of such a concord are extraordinary individuals. This is not the path for common men and so the only article of faith that remains is the varna ashram that has divided society into functional classes.2 It is this division that gives rise to the differentiation between 2

Hindu texts like Manusmriti classify society into four varnas/ classes, that is, Brahmins/priests and scholars, Kshatriyas/ rulers and warriors, Vaishyas/tradespeople and merchants, and Shudras/the lowly labouring classes.

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‘high’ and ‘low’ in society. Most of those who walk on the path of renunciation consider themselves distinct, if not superior, to others caught in the fetters of their karma. For mankind, karma is as spontaneous as seeing with one’s eyes, or as walking with one’s feet, or feeling the pangs of hunger in one’s stomach. The total extinction of karma is inconceivable. Meditation is karma and so is silence; even thinking is karma. Whether instinctive or rational, one cannot break free from karma’s fetters. So, if we are all bound eternally by our karma, the highest truth can only be gained from it. Serving mankind is also karma. In the light of all this, it clearly emerges that selfishness should not prompt our actions; rather, our acts should be guided by sincerity and selflessness. There is only joy to be derived from sincere and selfless acts; there is pain to be gained from deeds inspired by consideration other than this. Joy derived through karma makes no distinctions and creates no animosities. It is in such karma that courage lies.

It is, however, not easy to remain steadfast to the ideals of karma. Sitting and meditating in a forest is far easier than sacrificing oneself at the altar of duty. It is only the courageous who do not measure their actions in terms of benefit or loss and the world has very few people who think like this. Breaking free from attachment to worldly things is like escaping from the jaws of a lion. Ocassionally, wise men have emerged and struggled to break free from attachments of self-interest but they have often found themselves more deeply submerged in the struggle. Though the realm of self-interest stretches unhindered across the world today, there are some impediments in its path here in India. Here, it has failed to break loose from tradition and values. Anywhere else it is difficult to find emperors like Buddha and Ashoka, who discarded their thrones for the sake of gaining enlightenment. Civilization in India has been built

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on the foundation of faith, and our social structures and kingdoms have rested on it. But in Western nations, faith and daily life have had detachment and the result is that life there today is a fierce struggle as a godless civilization spreads out like an epidemic. There is mistrust between communities and nations, sometimes leading to hostilities erupting. Horrifying confrontations occur between master and minion, between the rich and the poor. The thirst for wealth and power consumes the world like a terrible monster. Strategies to salvage this situation have proved to be useless. Each nation is armed and waits to subdue another. Weaker nations pant for breath as the brute force of stronger ones smothers them. Man has been reduced to a machine. Superficiality in life increases. Greed for wealth consumes mankind and nothing is allowed to come in the way. Powerful nations strangle weaker ones and the powerful people strangle the weak. The resounding notes of battle echo all round. Peace and happiness can never be found in such a godless scenario. I do not think any other age has displayed such self-centredness. Intellectuals have presaged that will lead to catastrophe. The ensuing confrontation shall be a fire that will eventually reduce all nations to ashes.

At a time like this, karma yoga, selfless action for the benefit of others, is the only path for the world’s deliverance. Keeping this in mind, we can break free from the tentacles of worldly attachments, selfishness and struggle. Just as fading darkness creates light, the disappearance of selfishness presages love. Violence and hatred have crippled the world for too long. Not much difference remains between violent democracy and violent monocracy. Since the vices of materialism have failed to bring the world any respite, the energy of spiritualism now

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needs to be unleashed. Materialism was invented by Europe. The tenets of India’s Charvak philosophy also advocate materialism but it is Europe’s godless pursuit of pleasure that dominates the world today. The utilitarian philosophy of ‘the greatest good of the greatest number’ is certainly a sound principle. It seems above reproach but until the implications of ‘good’ are clear, India cannot subscribe to its philosophy. The word ‘welfare’ being bandied about today appears to have no other meaning other than ‘self­ interest’. Man’s selfish mentality has turned today’s world into a confrontational arena. The widespread inequalities in society are the result of a selfish outlook. Till the principles of karma yoga are put into practice, mankind will forever remain in the clutches of self-interest. Karma yoga is the one philosophy that can erase selfishness and hoist the banner of altruism. Kant, Hegel and Schopenhauer and other philosophers have already sown the seeds of spiritualism in Europe. The direction in which the wind is blowing can be gauged from the enthusiastic reception being given to Vedic philosophy in America as also the acclaim being accorded to Indian preachers and philosophers. The greatest votaries of self-interest are now turning indifferent towards it. The intelligentsia in many nations is also becoming averse to foreign influence. Europe has tried and continues to erase the traditions of selfishness in its culture. Collectivism and Bolshevism are the new inventions with which Europe wants to usher in a new epoch in the world. European society could not move beyond this ideal but spiritual India is not convinced by it. India cannot sacrifice the eternity of paradise for selfish interests in the temporal world. The country had earlier moved away from spiritualism and consequently suffered slavery for a millennium. Now, when India finds itself

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rejuvenated, it must awaken the world and foster universal brotherhood that is the only means of peace and happiness in the world. This awakening will remove the distinctions of high and low, rich and poor, great and small. All over the world, the strains of non-violence and peace will then echo, and the divine Lord Krishna, as the father of karma yoga, will redeem the world. Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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Satisfaction Paritosh

Before Hans published its issue on autobiographies, Bharat advised people at Hans against it, saying that such writing was only an excuse for self-publicity. Bharat’s words were different but their idea was exactly this. Unfortunately, I am a staunch advocate of autobiographies and consider them an important form of literature. I realized that Bharat’s advice reeked of the denigration of autobiographical works and it made me furious enough to express my opinions in a short note that appeared in Jagran, a fortnightly journal published from Kashi. Though the editor of Jagran was surprised to read my comments, he decided in favour of publishing the piece but incorporated some of his own comments to stave off criticism directed at him. On seeing my published piece, I regretted having written it as disagreements are common in the world of letters and there was no need for me to have reacted so angrily. There is nothing unusual about Bharat not appreciating my opinions; all things cannot be appreciated and liked by everyone. Some may like what others do not. Such is the way of the world. Having slipped up, it was pointless regretting now. I had hoped that Bharat would forgive me but in the third issue, Pandit Nand Dulare Vajpeyi, editor of Bharat, responded to my note. On reading it, all my regret vanished because his reaction

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was a cannon ball in contrast to my small pebble of a note. This exchange, however, left me truly contented and very pleased. I realized I was not the only one who knew how to get furious and that there were others who had mastered this art. This is what Vajpeyiji had written: Premchandji’s novels are notorious for their propaganda and many eminent critics of Hindi literature have condemned it…. All commentators on Premchand agree that the greatest flaw in his literary creativity is his propaganda.

These words come from someone who had long been filled with jealousy and then found the opportunity to spew it out. I wondered if I should respond to him. All writers do indulge in some sort of propaganda, be it social, moral, or intellectual. Without propaganda, literature could not have existed in this world. Anyone who does not indulge in propaganda is intellectually dead and has no right to pick up a pen to write. I proudly admit to being a propagandist but I do oppose all propaganda undertaken to protect one’s fabricated prestige and honour, or to create one’s concocted renown, or to satisfy one’s craving for wealth. A man who has never committed the ‘sin’ of participating in any literary forum, and who compares a literary platform to the gallows, cannot be termed a propagandist. There is no ordinance anywhere that forbids propaganda or criticism. It is a matter of great pleasure for me to know that Vajpeyiji, as a student of psychology, has not only identified propagandist tendencies in my works but also derived satisfaction from it. One of his allegations has been proved right. Now pay attention to the second one which is really convoluted: I was not at all disappointed on reading Premchand’s appalling remarks on Bharat as I was lucky to get a glimpse into secrets of Premchand’s art. Even in my wildest dreams I could not

Premchand on Literature and Life 69 imagine how very furious he was. He should have had some consideration for the fact that I am older than him and there are eight years more to go before I reach the age of sixty and become geriatric. In the old style of novel writing, Premchand extols one group as religious and courageous supermen while the other side is portrayed as just the opposite. The story develops in the confrontation between these two sides while the writer shuts his eyes towards truth and is busy structuring his novel. Long ago, modern literature had abandoned this man.

This implies that I still follow the same old weather-beaten track of writing and it is only the famed editors of Bharat who are well informed of the latest literary trends. The latest European novels reach them as soon as they are published and are read with a critical eye. Who else is blessed with such good fortune? You think it is up-to-date editors like you in Bharat who expose this new writing to the public while conservative writers like me find it impossible to comprehend. Had I been convinced by this argument, I would be calm instead of furious. I only wish to enlighten my friend that the battle between truth and untruth, between fact and fiction, has raged since the days of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and continues even in the twentieth century. As long as literature continues to be written, this battle will continue. Just as human nature is consistent, the basic elements of literature do not change. Many readers of modern literature might not be able to identify the specifics of battle because modern writers seek to camouflage it in their craving for the fame of innovation. It is also no surprise that superficial reading is another reason for this. Literature is about the creation and narration of beauty. Just as light cannot free itself of the connection with darkness, beauty cannot be imagined without its link to ugliness. In all my works, I have also endeavoured to conceal this tussle

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between opposites so as to garner fame for my innovations. Had my friend Vajpeyiji read any of my novels, he would not have made such unwarranted remarks. There is also a possibility that he has been misguided by some of the socalled eminent critics or has not made the effort to read any of my works. These days, it is quite fashionable to criticize something without having read it but I have no complaints in this regard. The next issue that Bharat takes up is the editor’s selfpraise. From a lofty position, he majestically proclaims:

In literature, we aspire for a pure literary culture that is devoid of affectation. Whether it is a literary essay, a book, or even an institution, we assess it on the basis of certain fundamental principles. If we oppose Hindi literary conferences, it is because they cannot be considered literary conferences at all.

These words sound like some holy literary sermon as they resonate with false pride that comes from living in splendid isolation. Great intellectuals are known to have won the world with their words alone. If our worthy editor believes that he is one such intellectual, I have no quarrel with him. We all yearn to say something so unique that it has never been said earlier or to do something which is extremely difficult for others to match. Such yearnings could sometimes be genuine and well placed; at other times, they could be driven by vaulting ambition to somehow, anyhow, distinguish oneself. I see Vajpeyiji’s words as proof of a strong personality and remarkable talent. When he says that there is no Hindi writer worth the name, I am not shocked. One has the freedom to say things that are stranger than strange, are very unusual and previously unknown. I would not be shocked if someone did exactly this but then I would not budge an inch from my views either. Who could have ever imagined the uniqueness of

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Vajpeyiji’s words and the significance of his view that there is not a single writer in Hindi whose life deserves to be written about? Where everyone is given to trumpeting about himself, Pandit Nand Dulare Vajpeyi is the only exception. What astonishes me is how he could accept editorship of Bharat when his business is all about self-propagation. For a man as learned as him only a remote cave in the mountains would have been a suitable abode. Whether his conscience will accept it or not, each and every word of his essays and comments suggests that there is no one who can match him. Since Vajpeyiji considers his writings free from any faults, he considers them to be the jewels of literature. That is why he could not tolerate my views. Arrogance has made a laughing stock of numerous great artists who were far more remarkable than Vajpeyiji or me. There is nothing shocking about this truth. Vajpeyiji has now risen far above cloud nine and talks about the sanctity of literature’s objective and area. I agree with him, word for word. There is no denying that literature has moral facets and that it demands meditation and effort. But when a writer speaks in riddles that require a philosopher’s intervention, then such writing is worthless. Literature should be easy to understand and that is why one needs to take note of how convoluted Vajpeyiji can be: Where a writer’s individuality cannot locate any independent themes, there lie literature’s emotional catchment areas. There lies the state of dispossession, a place where no photographs are published. Voices are silent there; there is no joy in singing a saga. So, no sagas need to be sung. All the praxis that is uttered at such a high pitch is the consequence of selfmotivation.

Does he wish to say that literature exists in isolation? If so, then literature is dumb, speechless. Literature is not about internalization but about externalizing. Emotions become

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literature only when they find expression in words. The Ramayana is the expression of Tulsidas’ soul; had it been otherwise, no one would know him today. Meaningless verbal diarrhoea is to be found in many literary texts in India today. If true happiness lay in no articulation of words, the term ‘literature’ would not have come into existence.

What I have been able to understand from Vajpeyiji’s assertions is, quite simply, that writers should refrain from self-publicity. Nobody can differ from him on this issue but is the writing of autobiographies the same as writing paeans about oneself? Good and bad experiences are a part of existence. Those who consciously choose to enter the arid realm of literature in body and soul are simply not hungry for fame. Just because Vajpeyiji assumes an air of philosophical gravity, he considers others to be inferior but please note that all those who enter the field of literature do so because their souls drive them to it. Whether they achieve high acclaim or not is not a matter of concern for them. Just as all boys studying in school cannot hope to be a Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or a Gopal Krishna Gokhale, they cannot become illustrious editors of Bharat but to say each boy is pretending to be industrious can only leave us speechless. Nowhere have I claimed that the issue of Hans on autobiographical writing is set to become immortal. Had I dared to suggest such a thing—since I am a propagandist—the worthy editor of Bharat should have treated my words with contempt. But the fact is that immortal works are often created from literature’s garbage. Nobody can write immortal literature simply by resolving to do so; only those blessed with God’s grace can produce it. I would go to the extent of saying that it is from the lives of ordinary labourers that material can be extracted for the creation of immortal literature. A sensitive writer only needs to have eyes to see and a pen to write. To continue

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further, Vajpeyiji has said even more peculiar things:

Our country has no tradition of autobiographical writing. It is not ordained in our scholastic culture. In the freezing caverns of the Himalayas, our ascetics used to acquire intellectual affluence and they continue do so even today. Ancient India destroyed its own chronicles and autobiographies but it continues to reveal the mysteries of life to us today even though the creators of those narratives have disappeared. In our times, the autobiography of so-called stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi underscores atonement, which in itself is a negative philosophy. So there is hardly any need to mention the kind of autobiographies that Premchandji is espousing the cause of!

Here is again a grand parade of empty words, a display of ideas that are trivial and meaningless. Since Vajpeyiji says that India has no tradition of publication in the sphere of philosophy, why does he edit Bharat? There were numerous things in ancient times that are missing today and there are several things today which were non-existent earlier. No one had an MA degree in English in ancient times but why, may I ask, do you, Vajpeyiji, append ‘MA’ after your name? Is it there for self-publicity or is there some secret behind it? Indian ascetics might have frozen in the Himalayas in the past but they have left us an immortal collection of literature. We could not have had our Upanishads or Vedas, our Ramayana or Mahabharat, if it had not been for our ascetics. It was writers like Kalidas, Maagha, Bhasa, and Vyasa who created our immortal classics. Does the worthy editor of Bharat think that the real writers of these works did the vanishing trick while people like Kalidas and others appropriated the works for their own publicity and fame? Ancient India never ever destroyed its stories and they shine as bright as the sun today. The form of these ancient narratives was, of course,

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different. They were created in the form of oral mantras and stanzaic shlokas. Today, we prefer to write directly in prose. Literature comprises imagination and experience. The richer the experience, the more everlasting it is. The focus of autobiographical writing is the self’s experience with not a trace of imagination. Great people have great experiences but life gives us many opportunities to sensitively absorb the experiences of ordinary people. A sword cannot serve the purpose of a needle. Our friend also mentions another very debatable issue when he writes:

Only those who perceive literature as verbosity deny it any other significance or value. One such is Mr. Premchand who has critiqued Surendranath Banerjee and others. But I consider his views to be very pedestrian and juvenile. Doing good is not the criterion for literature and it can never assist in its growth. The days when dohas or couplets were composed are long gone. These days, Hindi writers need to evolve their own practices and their own styles. Some time in the future they can think of taking on the responsibility of doing good to others. And then, how many Hindi authors are capable of writing from a very basic philanthropic perspective? There are so many whose lives can influence the world of Hindi.

How does one respond to such sentences? Can one convince someone who is hell bent on repeating that the world is full of sightless people? Here is a man who bares his heart before you, who writes about misgivings and tussles within his soul, who relates his past in order to pacify his mind, who seeks your response to his endeavours, and you term it all linguistic acrobatics! Wisecracks and convoluted descriptions of women dressing up can only be called linguistic acrobatics, never autobiographies. If expressing one’s inner feelings, or describing stumbling blocks and defeats in one’s life, are merely linguistic acrobatics then

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literature itself is also linguistic acrobatics.

As for the issue of the utility of literature, I can only say that its foundation is built on satyam, shivam, sundaram, that is, truth, God and beauty. The chief ingredient of literature is human life with all its fixities and fluidities. Its multiple objectives stress the fact that it has been produced by some of the world’s greatest men. Their creativity could not have been without purpose; they could not have been so hollow. If they were truly seeking spiritual peace, they would not have composed literature. The birth of literature is beholden to the idea of values. An intelligent writer succeeds in subtly conveying values in his writing; others who are not as smart come across as instructors and become the laughing stock of the world. These values can appear as facets of life that are psychological, philosophical, practical, or purely humorous in nature. Literature’s pride is thriving on the values that it depicts. A speech, book or write-up bereft of values cannot be considered literature. In fact, it is nothing. Is there any doubt about Tagore’s Gitanjali, Tolstoy’s stories, Tulsidas’ and Surdas’ compositions being great works of literature? Are there no values that get reflected in these texts? The question now is—are there Hindi writers whose life stories can steer people along life’s arduous path? If one were to believe Vajpeyiji, there is not a single such writer. However, I believe that even a menial in my home can acquaint me with some mystery of life. The difference is that a menial does not possess a literary mind while a writer has the ability to reflect upon issues. What are the other ways in which a writer can progress? It can be through his own, or other people’s experiences. No human life is so insignificant that it cannot give food for thought to a sensitive writer. Indeed, great writers are made like this. Plucking a flower from a garbage heap is not prohibited. When someone once asked a holy man, ‘How did you become so wise?’, his reply was

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‘Because I associated with fools’.

Till here, we have only talked of superficialities. Now it is time for serious matters. The worthy Vajpeyiji has opined:

When Hans declared that it would certainly have an issue devoted to autobiographical writings, I had made some pertinent comments in response to which Premchandji had angrily retorted that Hans did not need my authorization. If Premchandji cannot adhere to literary etiquette, his intolerance threatens to assume forms of untruth and coarseness that shall damage not only his own reputation but also that of his journal. It is this that I fear most.

What is even more surprising is that Jagran’s enlightened editor did not feel the need to comment on such remarks. I was given advice but I said that I did not need it and would do exactly as I wished. I was not bound by Vajpeyiji’s advice. He opposed the issue planned on autobiographical writings. Others who were wiser and more sensible supported this issue and, if it is not discourtesy, I would have liked to include the editor of Jagran amongst them. I agree that I should not have been so terse in my sentences. I regretted it then and feel contented that the regret remains till this day. I would have accepted Vajpeyiji saying that I had paid scarce attention to his advice but proclaiming that I was dishonest and uncultured, and should be prepared to bear the consequences of this, is far worse. But when arrogance is hurt then even the most patient person is driven to fury.

In the end, I would very politely submit to Mr. Nand Dulare Vajpeyiji that I have lived through many ups and downs in my life. I have not been able to lay my hands on wealth during this time though I have tried very hard. I am now on the lookout for a wealthy elderly man to whom I could dedicate one of my works but you, Vajpeyiji, still have a long way to go and much to learn and see. Idealism is a good thing but some of the world’s greatest idealists

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have often had to make compromises. Do not suppose that whatever you know, Vajpeyiji, is the ultimate truth and everyone else is a buffoon. Difference of opinion is quite natural but do not have contempt for all those you disagree with. People you have contempt for will never respect you. Toss away your anger. Your mind was calmed by getting angry; I derived pleasure from your anger. Come, let’s shake hands now. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

Literary Ailments Sahityik Sannipaat

I have to commend the service rendered to the cause of Hindi by the respected journal, Vishal Bharat. In recent months, however, it has assumed the role of a literary physician and has taken to diagnosing literary ‘ailments’. I have heard that such a role is contagious and, as its wellwisher, I advise caution. Being our literary cohort, Vishal Bharat, should exercise caution and not be infected by the contagion. It needs to get the ‘vaccination’ for a liberal outlook. Translated by Jyoti Yadav

At Shantiniketan Shantiniketan Mein

Recently, my close friends, Jainendra Kumar, Makhan Lal Chaturvedi and Pandit Banarsidasji, travelled to Shantiniketan.1 I was also invited there but sadly, I could not join them. On returning from there, Jainendraji recorded his impressions of the place in the periodical Arjun. While thanking him, I reproduce these below. Amidst the heat and fervour of politics today, we have perhaps failed to properly assess the importance of cultural aspects in Rabindranath Tagore’s2 works. It is not for nothing that Tagore 1

2

The town in West Bengal’s Birbhum District. It is synonymous with Visva-Bharati, a Central University, located there. The institution was founded by Rabindranath Tagore and, prior to India’s independence in 1947, it was a college which had been conceived as an open-air centre of learning. In 1951, it was given the status of a university, having received great support from Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Visva-Bharati has contributed to the ideas that defined India’s struggle for freedom and the spirit of nationhood. With its motto of ‘simple living, high thinking’, it is one of the country’s well-known institutions Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) is one of South Asia’s most eminent writers, known specially for his poetry. His oeuvre also includes prose works that are recognized for his views on history, nation, travel, and life writing. In 1913, he was conferred

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earned international acclaim. He had a message to give. Though there is no inclination or mood to pay heed to his words in the enslaved India of today, his message is greatly beneficial and significant. We are given to being quickly shackled by bigotry and sectarianism, and this divisive tendency is deadly. Nationalism can easily be transformed into confrontation. It is essential for each individual to be aware of this and vehemently oppose it. Nationalism is less dangerous than sectarianism, but a man’s nationalism should not determine his greatness. After Mahatma Gandhi, this warning finds its strongest echo in Tagore’s words and deeds. We should not commit the mistake of viewing each individual through the same lens. Though Tagore does not reflect the vitality of today, his ideology is strongly reflected in his personality and his institution, Shantiniketan. This in itself is extremely valuable. Shantiniketan is now emerging as a meeting point for different cultures and viewpoints. Here they achieve a delightful synthesis. People from distant lands—like Germany, Japan, Tibet, Sumatra, China, Sri Lanka, and Denmark—and also different provinces— like Gujarat, Punjab and UP—come here to interact and bond together. Shantiniketan is also shaping aesthetic sensibilities that are devoid of provincialism; here simplicity merges with grandeur. This sensibility, at the very least, is gradually permeating deeply into the lives of Bengal’s people. Tagore’s genius has inspired many to think about such things. One such is the distinguished scholar, Shri Vidhushekhar Bhattacharya, whose simple life and spontaneous laughter are matched with profound intellectual erudition that reminds one of the Nobel Prize in Literature for his collection of poems entitled Gitanjali. He supported the nationalist struggle against the British, going to the extent of renouncing his knighthood after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. India’s national anthem has been composed by him.

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our ancient scholars who were rooted in Brahminical knowledge. For the last thirty three years, he has been working for the advancement of archaeology in India. Another inspired soul is Shri Nandlal Bose, an artist of international fame. For the last thirty-nine years, he has lived in Shantiniketan, enriching its storehouse of art. His lifestyle is so simple it is difficult to believe that this is the reputed Nandlal Bose. Similarly, for the last forty years or more, Shri Kshitimohan Sen has been compiling ‘Sant Banis’ or the sacred utterances of saints. Overcoming all kinds of hurdles, he now has in his possession a rare collection of these Banis. Forsaking easy fame, many other seekers of knowledge there are also actively engaged in adding to the treasury of knowledge. It is the power of Tagore’s brilliance that has persuaded and brought such people together to one place. Situated nearby is Shri Niketan, where a scientific temper is inculcated so as to address issues related to village organization and welfare. Dr. Sahai there gives special attention to these matters. And yes, I had a long conversation with Ravindra. He is not very fluent in Hindi. He spoke in English while we responded in Hindi but most of our conversation revolved round Hindi language and literature. He seemed really happy on that occasion. He was wearing a woollen kurta, a finely-woven dhoti with crimped edging, and chappals on his feet. A light shawl lay around his neck. He was physically fit but old age was visible; it can never really be concealed. The orientation in most institutions is of two kinds. The first kind is oriented towards teaching language and literature in a manner that reflects the ripples of life. At times this orientation can be dry and academic, at other times it can be a colourful canvas of linguistic styles and trends. The second kind of orientation is that of a ‘gurukul’ or seminary and is far removed from everyday life. It is rife with the dry, austere knowledge born out of meditation.

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Bereft of either of these orientations, Shantiniketan has a familylike atmosphere. As a result, its outlook is not narrow. Rather, it is broadminded, inclusive. Looking at Shantiniketan, one feels that simplicity and elegance, woven together, have been beautifully preserved. There is no ornamentation and adornment to be seen anywhere; everywhere its only art that the eye sees. Translated by Sarfaraz Nawaz

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Publications in Japan Japan Mein Patron ka Prachar

Japan has a population of around six and a half crores. About 1137 dailies and 225 weekly and monthly magazines are published there. Some of these dailies have a subscribership of around ten to twenty lakhs. The financial condition of these publications can be gauged from the fact that the office of the Osaka Mainichi was constructed at a cost of Rs. 33 lakhs. Almost the same amount was spent on the Tokyo Nichi building. The Asahi has constructed a huge building in Tokyo at a cost of Rs. 32 lakhs. Each of these organizations employs around two to three thousand people. The editorial department alone has a staff of about four to five hundred. There is not much difference in the per capita income of India and Japan but the latter’s population is just one-fifth of India’s. Japanese publishing is in an advanced state. There is hardly a publication in India that has more than fifty thousand subscribers. One reason for this could be that every province in India has its own bhasha or language. Though the population of Hindispeaking provinces is one and a half times more than the entire population of Japan, I believe that no Hindi daily prints more than twenty thousand copies. Most are limited to just four or five thousand copies a day. In such a situation, can publishing ever prosper in India? Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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Awards to Editors Sampadakon ke Puraskar

One often hears that in other countries, editors are conferred impressive honours and also rewarded in various other ways. Let me, however, give an example of how they are rewarded in India. The following letter was sent to me by a young man, and it is cited here as an illustration of the discontent and bitterness that unemployment generates amongst the youth. It is also an example of their mental state. Premchandji, Namaste.

It’s been perhaps more than a few weeks since I sent you a request in the hope that you would shed a few tears of genuine sympathy for an honest communication by a troubled soul. But my hopes were in vain, simply a juvenile delusion. Perhaps it was in 1916 that you had come to Hamirpur district and given me a book as a prize. At that time you were merely Sub-Inspector Dhanpat Rai but you had been so kind and gracious when, just a few days earlier, you had stepped out of your misery. Fresh in your mind then must have been the vagaries of time—like the death of your father—but things have now changed drastically. Can there be any comparison between an ordinary employee of

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the past and the ‘Emperor of Novels’ today? One man but two faces—one of Bhojva Teli, a local shopkeeper, and the other of Raja Bhoj, the medieval emperor and patron of the arts. I am saddened when I think of how Hindi literature can ever flourish in such circumstances. If a broken heart were to petition the Emperor of Novels, should the Emperor turn his back to avoid setting eyes on a disgusting supplicant? Thanks to publications like Rangbhoomi and Kayakalp, some people have raked in lakhs of money. Now they enjoy life and claim to be patriots. Why should I refrain from calling you selfish, stonehearted and godless? I say you are godless because you do not observe the rituals of religion or faith. If you had done so and feared the wrath of the Almighty, you would not have turned your face away from a helpless child. Thousands of Premchands like you have turned to dust and many more will follow. You are not even the smallest speck of Creation—then why this arrogance?

My young friend is mistaken. I am not a man of thousands, not to mention lakhs! I am simply a worker, exactly the same as I always was. I possess no wealth, so where is the question of arrogance? I have no reason to be arrogant and I have great sympathy for my young friend. If it were in my power, I would arrange for his employment at the earliest. But when the healer himself is ailing, what cure can he offer others? Translated by Malati Mathur

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Publications in Soviet Russia Soviet Roos Mein Prakashan

As education spreads far and wide in Soviet Russia, the publication of books, magazines and journals there is also rapidly increasing. Five years ago—in 1927—the Soviet State Editorial Office published seven crore forty lakh books on four thousand different subjects. The expense amounted to three crore forty lakh roubles in Russian currency. Acclaimed writer, Maxim Gorky’s works alone had twenty lakh copies printed. Russia’s population is about twelve crore, and almost eight crore books were published for its people. These details go back five years and if the figures of 1932 were to be obtained, they would surely be much higher.

Here in India, the reality is that there is scarcely a book that has even two thousand copies sold in a year. Though periodicals are also published here, they usually shut down within a few months or years due to disinterest and apathy. The chief reason behind this is the inertia that emanates from ignorance and disinterest in the affairs of the world and also an indifference to what is going on in their own town or country. There seems to be no enthusiasm in anything that is taken up. If in business, we might open a shop but leave the rest to God. If one has a job, the only

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interest is to collect wages at the end of the month. Students are only concerned with passing examinations. We lack the enthusiasm and passion that makes life so delightful. A strange air of defeated courage assails us. There are lawyers who earn Rs. 500 per month but when asked about how much they spend on literary books, their answer is ‘nothing’. If at all they wish to read anything, they borrow books from someone. I know an extremely prosperous gentleman, with an income that runs into thousands, literally begging for books to borrow. It only shows that, along with many other things, we have lost our self-respect and also lack many virtues. There is no a country in the world that is more impoverished than India and our problem is that the few lovers of literature are among its poorest. Those who are prosperous and free from the spectre of poverty lead lives of great indolence. Poverty cannot be blamed for their indolent existence. We are always conscious of the fact that we do not know how to live life in real terms. Had this consciousness not existed, our thoughts and actions would not be marked by stagnation.

Having expressed my views on the publishing industry in Soviet Russia, let me now compare that with our situation in India. Here, in 1930, two thousand three hundred and thirty-two books were published in English, and fourteen thousand eight hundred and fifteen books in the vernaculars. Can eight crore ever compare with fifteen thousand? India is poor and the proportion of economic disparity, when contrasted with that of Russia, might work out to be one is to two, or two is to four, or even one is to fifty, but the discrepancy should never be one is to one thousand. Translated by Jyoti Yadav

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The Growth of Literature Sahitya ki Pragati

Innumerable definitions of literature have often been attempted but I shall take up only one for my purpose. Definitions call for scholarly pandits. Engaging in definitions without knowledge of basic foundational principles is like trying to construct buildings with their foundations in the air and we have still to attain such a skill in construction. Literature is a critique of life; its aim is the quest for truth. Till today, we have been unable to decide what exactly is truth or untruth. What is truth for one could be untruth for another. For a devout Hindu, dozens of avatars are the highest truth. In his eyes, worldly things like wealth, land, sons, or wives cannot compare with this truth. He is willing to sacrifice not only himself but even his sons to uphold this truth. Similarly, compassion may be a truth for one individual but another might consider it to be the root of the world’s sorrows and, therefore, an untruth. Literature is the tussle between truth and untruth. Truth is the shared objective of faith and science, and both seek to attain it via the route of reason. Literature, poor thing, also treads the same path but it evokes solemn thought, requires articulation, and seeks to wipe away fatigue by playing its own instruments and singing its own songs. Since the road of literature must be traversed, why

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not enjoy the journey. Compassion is the truth on which rests the foundation of many faiths but today it is ridiculed almost as if mankind had challenged Lord Indra for his throne. The journey of truth and untruth began right from the time man’s spiritual self evolved. Prior to this, man’s entire energy was spent in battling Nature to procure food. When a man was stressed about what his children would eat on a particular day or have to worry about how to light a fire on a freezing night, could he philosophize about truth and untruth? At that of time in his life, the greatest truth was hunger and cold. Literature and philosophy are features of a highly refined existence, a phase in time when we can look far beyond issues like hunger. This explains why we think of delicacies like kheer and pakodas only when we are untroubled about staple fare like daal and roti.

Initially animal instincts were dominant in man and brute force was considered a birthright. But as man grew weary of struggle and conflict in daily life, he evolved various practices that led to the formation of norms. New truths evolved, not as truths of Nature but as truths of man. By then, man had begun to chain himself to value systems. Castes and sub-castes were created, and society was classified on the basis of wealth. Initially, a man’s wealth comprised a few cattle and a small quantity of foodgrain. Subsequently, immovable property became man’s most valued possession and for its acquisition he made huge sacrifices and suffered great privation. To defend it, he was willing to risk his own life as well as the lives of his sons. Marriages were arranged in such a manner that wealth remained within a family. Since the very beginning of time, mankind’s history has been a chronicle of safeguarding property. Two major opinions emerged in society as a consequence of this. There were those who lost the battle for worldly possessions and sought solace in worship and

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spirituality. Having grown disenchanted with a world perceived as illusion, they sought new attachments and reached a point where their outlook narrowed into a prison of dogma. In the name of religion, innumerable hypocrisies invaded and enmeshed society, slowing it down.

Excess brings distress in its wake—such is Nature’s law. The very institutions established for the welfare of society became its fetters just as milk is an elixir of life when consumed in moderation but becomes a toxin if consumed in excess. Most measures that were designed to establish peace and harmony in society either became outdated and ineffective or turned too harsh and caused misery. Erstwhile courtiers became kings. Such was their power that they saw themselves as instruments of the Almighty and gave no one the right to ask any questions. This lust for power grew and led to bloodshed. Eventually, the spirit of revolt took over and, like cobwebs swept away, man broke free from futile and fatal constraints. He now desired to live in an atmosphere of serenity, integrity and freedom. This led to countless rebellions over time. The views that we hold today are symbolic monuments of these rebellions but the friction that was the prime stimulus behind them has remained unchanged. No one perhaps, dreamed of, or dared to lay a hand on, the power of wealth. The basis of all this chaos was cloaked in the amiable garb of religion, knowledge and morality, and was placed on such a noble pedestal that no one could have any reservations. But it is with instigation and backing that new restrictions are imposed on society, law courts, and centres of trade, all of which are symbols of power. Our diverse opinions are nothing more than toys invented to be played with. Caste and creed as well as the distinctions between high and the low are burning embers in society. Brothels, the leprosy of mankind, serve as spaces for diabolical pastimes; innumerable widows and

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thousands of labourers are left to live like animals. All are enmeshed in power’s magical spell. It has assumed such a suppressive, intolerant form that even an iota of dissent puts one in danger. Its regulations are far harsher, far more hazardous than martial law. There is no tribunal to appeal against it. To sum it up—life has been made so parochial, so complicated, so unfair, so self-seeking, and so artificial that humanity is stricken with fear and devotes all its energy to breaking free from its hold. Conventions and restrictions are stumbling blocks of falsities and untruths, dividing man’s vast consciousness of the universe into such tiny compartments that independent opinion has been lost. Today, our spirit is determined to break free from this compartmentalization and once again be harmoniously united with that vast consciousness. It is quite possible that in the endeavour to break free, we might disintegrate. It is also possible that, like the dangers that lurk for a caged bird set free, we might become morsels for human birds of prey. But this is far more preferable than being caged.

Man’s limitless craving to experience this world to the fullest extent was denounced by votaries of puritanism for centuries but it should now become a maxim for all. Restrictions on man’s aspirations should now be replaced with resolve to turn vice into virtue, untruth into truth, and imperfection into perfection. For hundreds of years, puritanical sermonizing has prevailed but now relief has to be sought by burying it forever. Lying, says the puritan, is a sin but why insist on only this opinion? If a lie is detrimental to society, it is certainly a sin but if it is beneficial for society, then that lie becomes a virtue. The existence of absolute truth is completely unacceptable. The puritan says theft is a sin but he has no compunction in monopolizing

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the wealth of the entire world. Prison or the hangman’s noose awaits anyone who as much as touches it. The only difference between us and such puritans is that they are accomplished thieves while we are not their equals in the art of thieving. Such puritan mindsets have dried our souls like seasoned wood, making us so bereft of sensibilities that no matter how delightful and expressive a poem is, it gives us no pleasure. For some puritans, however, poetry might even arouse our baser instincts. The puritanical outlook is very inimical towards all art. A puritan mind associates creativity only with the Almighty and considers human creativity as man daring to imitate God; should man indulge in this kind of imitation, he must be hanged or garrotted. History has no dearth of so-called holy men who have burnt down libraries, demolished art galleries, and banished aficionados of music. Demonic rituals at places of pilgrimage are the sacraments of puritanism. Today, India has five crore untouchables, nine crore Muslims, and perhaps one crore Christians. The discord amongst them acts as a hurdle in the nation’s progress. None other than those with the puritanical mindset are responsible for this. Their puritanism, however, is not as harmful in some other spheres of life. Their diktats about not consuming alcohol or meat do not harm society. In a poor nation, however, the misuse of money is absolutely unforgivable but the arrogance born out of extravagance is even more heinous. Sacrifice and restraint are admirable only when they keep a keep a check on arrogance but unfortunately that does not hold true these days. The more principled a person is, the more arrogant he becomes. That is why society looks upon such people with suspicion. An alcoholic or debauched individual, who is generous, compassionate, forgiving, and philanthropic, is far more useful for society

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than one who is mean, arrogant, and petty.

The puritan mind derives a perverse pleasure in destroying someone’s life in order to uphold its own tenets. It is always on the lookout for ridiculing anyone who has erred. Puritanical thinking and conservatism unite on the issue of sex, which becomes a no-holds-barred, explosive matter where no leniency can be shown. In its eyes, sexual pleasure is the greatest sin. We can be society’s most respectable members, swaggering around with honour even as we steal or dupe, commit perjury or crush the weak, betray our friends or assault our wives but deriving sexual pleasure is an unforgivable sin in a puritan’s eyes. It can never be atoned. In special cases, men may somehow atone for this sin but for women, all doors for atonement are closed and padlocked with Aligarh’s famous twelve-lever locks. The one ‘boon’ that our sisters and daughters receive every other day is being abandoned at places of pilgrimage, forced into leading a life of disrepute. We are never satisfied with punishing the sinner alone so we ostracize the sinner’s family, children, and even grandchildren. I do not support adultery by either men or women but what sort of justice is it to shame young unmarried women or widows for such a transgression when we fail to punish men for the same? Some fortunate women are allowed to go scot-free because circumstances favour them and society is powerless to punish them. There are men who have no qualms about committing adultery and wishing to cage their wives. But should a wife follow her natural instincts and break out from her incarceration, the husband would not hesitate to kill her. Such biases in society have become unendurable and are rapidly taking the form of rebellion. I have given a brief account of these social conditions to reiterate what I said at the beginning—that literature is

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a critique of life and its objective is a quest for truth and beauty. When the external world makes an entry into our minds, it creates another world that is marked by the varied shades of joy and sorrow, fear and amazement, fondness and aversion. A single concern evokes different feelings in different people. A man might be beating his son for lacking seriousness and neglecting his studies, and this draws all kinds of critical comments. One person’s observation might be—if a son treads the wrong path, his father has the responsibility of punishing him, which is an established tradition. Another man might disagree, saying—the boy became playful only because he was not taught with kindness, and this is his father’s fault. A third man might go even further and say—being playful is a natural instinct among boys and is their real education; no father has the right to create hurdles in a boy’s natural development. A fourth person might view the father’s punishment not as affection for the boy but as a glint of the man’s own selfishness, greed, and arrogance. This is the difference between people’s perceptions of the external world and a man’s inner world.

Writers are people who are influenced by the external world in very significant ways and aspire to see in their mind’s eye, a more beautiful and splendid planet. The sadness that ugliness evokes in them is equal to the joy that beauty brings. They are not satisfied with concealing their delight or anguish; rather, they desire to share these emotions with the world. Literature is making one’s emotions known to the outside world. Dr. Rabindranath, in his essay entitled Soundarya aur Sahitya or ‘Beauty and Literature’, writes: As the perception of beauty evolves, what delights us is concord in the place of discord, attraction in the place of

Premchand on Literature and Life 95 repulsion, and harmony in the place of disharmony.

To these sentiments, I may add: generosity instead of greed, convergence instead of divergence, and love instead of hatred. One can see that all these get reflected in the new literature that is emerging. This literature no longer conceives of the perfect protagonist; instead, it chooses characters from social classes that are despised by the puritan. European writers like Maxim Gorky, Anatole France, Romain Rolland, H.G. Wells, and Indian writers like the late Ratan Nath Dhar ‘Sarshar’ and Saratchandra, are broadening the vistas of our enjoyment by bringing literature down from the peaks of inaccessibility to the lanes and alleyways of the common man. Their writings do not turn their backs on drunkards, gamblers, and debauchery. Their humaneness helps them depict far more virtues in the fallen than in the torchbearers of faith and the high priests of chastity. In these works, the chances of seeing virtuosity in an evil person, and him being treated with affection and respect, are far more than seeing him being loathed and boycotted. Literature also reflects images of what is pleasing, vast, venerable, and deserving of pleasure in mankind. Literature should be the refuge of the many who are destitute, who are fallen, and who are bereft of any respect. A mother loves most her child who is weak, unwise and simple. She is proud of worthy sons but her heart bleeds for flawed ones. All her maternal affections rest upon her weaker offspring. In the past two or three decades, the prostitute was excluded from literature. If ever she was mentioned in any literary work, it was only to humiliate her. A writers’ puritanical mentality could not rest without punishing her. In literature now, she is no longer a figure of disgrace; rather she has become the object of admiration and love. If a man selling a cow

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for slaughter is a culprit, then its buyer is an equal culprit. If the buyer is venerated by society then why should the seller be reviled? A prostitute possesses the instincts of a daughter, a mother and also a wife; she has faith and devotion as well as tenderness within her. In fact, her entire life is dedicated to serving others. She has turned into a truism in society’s literary creativity. Her glory lies in being woven so deeply into narrative that literature becomes incredibly alive and intense. If truisms are strung together individually, their truth remains unchanged and society turns prosaic, unimaginative. If the Almighty exists, then devadasis, the women who have always given pleasure to others, would question Him on judgement day, saying, ‘We’ve always worked for others’ happiness, always tried to erase others’ sorrows. Sometimes, we’ve caused hurt but it was never to inflict pain; rather, it was to inject our love. What is to be the reward for our actions?’ I am convinced that God would have no answer to give. If in ancient times, heavenly nymphs were the apple of the eyes of gods and sages, how can we disrespect their daughters in the morally degenerate epoch of Kalyug? This is a good time to mention the Almighty. Progressive literature is getting alienated from Him. Considering the disasters on earth that were, and continue to be, wrought in God’s name by His devotees, this opposition should have surfaced long ago. There is hardly any space left for men to live in cities but massive temples are required for God, for God’s friends and God’s servants. People are starving to death but God has to be served the choicest food, has to be clothed in the finest garments, and must be provided the most pleasurable pastimes. God seems to have lost interest in His Creation and so literature, which was the people’s attorney in the court of God, openly declares, ‘This

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self-centredness of yours is at odds with your glory’. But strange are the ways of God—the more atheistic a person is in practice, the more of a believer he is in spirit. Till now, one was a believer in one’s utterances and an atheist only at heart. But now circumstances are changing, and true faith rises like a new dawn. Hatred has nothing to do with faith. God resides wherever there is concord, harmony and integration. Spurious faith only explodes with subjectivities. In addition to all this, promiscuity among young people is a feature of progress and I do not subscribe to it. Romance is not just a form of recreation; it is far more sacred and sublime. For both men and women, it is a surrender of the self. Contemporary European literature, however, is swiftly heading towards forms of unbridled passions. The trials and tribulations of marriage and the problems of marital intimacy are now being resolved in literature and this is merely to titillate the sexually satiated. Europeans have snatched the world’s wealth and are now carefree, so they have nothing else to turn to except promiscuity. For intellectual growth, recreation is absolutely essential, and only a weak and spiritless person disregards recreational avenues. Anyone who is healthy and strong seeks pleasure, but the difference between pleasure and promiscuity is being forgotten by Europe’s literature. After centuries of curbs and restraints, its appetite for promiscuity has become insatiable. Because of its predatory impulses, this literature is unable to differentiate, metaphorically speaking, between the edible and the inedible. Its men and women seek to escape from the responsibilities of marriage. If puritan rigidity had once crossed limits, then promiscuity in literature is now exceeding limits. Till recently, it was usually the male who exhibited this tendency but now the female also displays the same mentality. In Europe’s

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cold climes, perhaps the stimulating warmth of unbridled passion is sought in the face of congealed relationships. In our warmer climes, such stimulation is not required. Passion is the chutney that spices up life but without eating wholesome food, we cannot survive only on chutney.

Literature is a vast sphere. It cannot be defined in a few words. Today’s society is degenerate, and the world is a living hell rife with suffering and poverty, injustice and envy, resentment and emotional distress. Literature, along with sociology, is engrossed in addressing these very issues. Translated by Poonam Sharma

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The Sufferings of Life Dukhi Jeevan

The Hindu, as also the Buddhist and Christian view of life underlines suffering. Since times immemorial, the quest for happiness has been the main objective of man’s life. Mankind has such a horror of suffering that all his efforts are directed towards achieving happiness not only in this life but also in the life hereafter. Whether it is paradise or heaven, redemption or salvation, they are all creations of man’s yearning for happiness. We have tried to attain happiness and inner peace by declaring life to be futile and worldly existence to be transitory. But if life has no substance and the world is transient, why should we not turn our attention away from these concerns? We have not really thought about what it is that makes us sorrowful and impels our thoughts towards sadness. Let us now reflect upon and also decide whether there is a possibility of finding some light in the darkness of this pessimism. There are two reasons for our sorrow: the first being the shackles that bind us and our society; the second being our individual attitudes that make us narrow-minded and disallow the breeze of fresh thinking to impact us. I do not wish to argue about the shackles which are beyond our control since they are dependent on collective consciousness.

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But the practices emanating from individual attitudes are within our power, and my opinions henceforth shall be confined to this issue alone.

We often come across people who appear very unhappy because they have either ruined their health for lack of time or because they have lost the favour of Laxmi, the deity of wealth. But, truly speaking, neither wealth nor health is necessary for happiness. So many wealthy people are unhappy and so many ailing folk are perfectly happy. Even so, a healthy body is absolutely necessary for a happy life. Not everyone is a saint. Only a strong and healthy mind can survive in a strong and healthy body. Perseverance and penance might belittle this view but there certainly exists a cause-and-affect linkage between a healthy body and a healthy mind. Although present-day lifestyles have made living difficult, ordinary folks can keep their bodies free from ailments if they apply their minds and live in close proximity with nature. The body is a machine and, like any other machine that needs fuel to function, our body needs work. Unless put to regular use, parts of our body will soon get rusted. This issue does not arise in the case of those involved in hard labour; it only applies to those whose sedentary work has them sitting on cushions or chairs most of the time. They must get some regular exercise. We might not have facilities for cricket and tennis but we can surely do a hundred odd sit-ups at home. If we cannot spare even an hour for the sake of health, it becomes clear that we have driven happiness away from our doorsteps. Food is no less an important issue. More than ignoramuses, it is educated people who err in deciding what to eat, how to eat, and how much to eat. Most people whom one meets hardly know anything about this. The most important thing in life is food. It is the pivot round

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which the world revolves and yet we know very little about it. The first lessons of courtesy and discipline in children and etiquette and restraint in adults begin with food. It sounds amusing but, in reality, the first step in one’s spiritual growth is one’s diet regime.

Another major reason for unhappiness is being selfcentred and only thinking about oneself—to always think ‘Had I done this, that would’ve happened’ or ‘I ruined myself by studying law. Perhaps it would’ve been better if I’d taken up a job’. If already employed, then feeling regret for not studying law. If we do not have a son, we kill ourselves with worry about when we will have one. If we do have children, we complain why we have them at all and how comfortable life would have been without them. There are many who are dissatisfied with their marital lives. Some have cursed their parents for it while others have lambasted their maternal or paternal relatives for coercing them into arranged marriages and they hate the very sight of these kin. Every other day, they squabble with their wives. Their complaints about wives are numerous, ranging from having no refinement to having shabby looks or being clumsy or appearing lifeless and depressed or perpetually pulling a long face. They complain that on returning home after a long day’s work, their wives do not rush to intimately embrace them! Most in this category are newly educated young men from the writers’ community. They rue their fate and burn with envy when they set eyes on other men’s wives, exclaiming: ‘How accomplished she is!’ or ‘How cheerful!’, ‘What good taste she has!’ or ‘What elegance she possesses!’ Then there are some who want the whole world to keep praising them. They begin by praising themselves at the very first opportunity they get. They have no praise or affection for anyone else but

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they expect the whole world to pay them obeisance and sing their praises. Their temperament and behaviour reflect bitterness because they are obsessed with the thought that the world does not appreciate them. In practically every home there are people for whom life has become a burden in their pursuit of perfection. Hoarding, hoarding, and evermore hoarding—this is the crux of their lives. Such men are kept happy only by those who assist in hoarding and have nothing else to do. Such a man has no time for laughing or chatting with his wife, no time to love or spoil his children. Should anyone in his home incur the smallest loss, he would make life a hell for them. If his wife were to spend five paise instead of four on vegetables, such a husband would have an excuse to taunt her all night: ‘You are opening this house for daylight robbery! Do you have any idea how money is earned? Should I die today, you’d wander around begging!’ With offensive comments like these, such a man makes himself and others weep. If his son was to accidentally break a chimney, then serious trouble lay ahead for the child who would be beaten black and blue. Granted that the boy caused damage, agreed that you are poor and even a few paise are a big loss for you, but what benefit did you get beating up the boy? The broken chimney was not restored but the bond of affection was almost broken. This is what happens to people who are self-centred. The only remedy for them is to stop thinking only about themselves and show some concern for others. A beginning can be made by keeping birds as pets, taking up gardening, developing interest in music, enjoying conversations, or joining a social organization. To put it in a nutshell—the sorrows of those with tendencies of anxiety and apprehension can be erased only if they turn their minds away from themselves to something that lies outside them.

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Apathetic people, too, are often unhappy because they see the world as having no substance. This malady usually afflicts intellectuals who believe they have found the essential truth of life and there is nothing to live for any more. They see the world heading towards an abyss where love for mankind has vanished, where there is no compassion to speak of, where literature’s vessel has sunk, where love is met with betrayal, and so not a soul can be trusted. In such a situation, can there be found a brother like Laxman, Lord Rama’s sibling, or Hanuman, Lord Rama’s devoted servant? Such apathy is usually found in people who are wealthy and do not have to work hard for a living. They live indolent lives and enjoy its comforts. They were born only to complain and are of no use to anyone in the world; their sole aim is to find fault and show dissatisfaction with everything. The only cure for such people is immediate involvement in some work. If nothing else, they can start gambling at cards because a vice is better than whining. When has the world not hurtled towards an abyss? When the Kauravas tried to disrobe Draupadi before a royal court and the Pandavas sat as mute, helpless spectators, was the world not hurtling towards an abyss then? Is there a single epoch when brother did not turn against brother, when friends did not betray, when debauchery did not exist, when there were no drunken orgies, when no battles were fought, and no injustice committed? The world is still where it was ten thousand years ago. It neither fell into the abyss nor did it plunge into hell; it shall remain as it is till eternity. Scepticism is an essential element of life. It keeps surfacing in a healthy mind and has played a very crucial role in the world’s achievements and progress. Scepticism should not only lead to innovative initiatives but should also usher in literary creativity and philosophical thought. So what if the world is ephemeral. Why worry about it? Believe me,

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there are no cataclysms in most of our lives. If ever they should occur, there is no reason to panic as one will meet the same fate as those who have lived through them before us. So, just step out of your house and look around—fields are wrapped in greenery, birds pour out their melodies in the trees, moonlight dances on water. Do these sights not please us even one bit? Walk into a decrepit hut and see a starving mother lovingly clasp her baby to her dry breasts; observe a wife sitting beside her ailing husband, tearfully asking God to cure him and strike her instead with his ailment. Believe me, your encounter with such instances of service and sacrifice will be an eye-opener for you. If possible, reach out to help and learn to love. This is the best remedy for indifference and callousness. A new form of misery that has come into existence today is the struggle for existence. Its refrain is heard everywhere. In this struggle do not expect sympathy, forgiveness or encouragement. Everybody waits for their prey, claws drawn and teeth bared. Their hungers are insatiable, are far deeper than the Pacific Ocean. They sigh for the day to have forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four. At each dawn, the human-machine is cranked up. Its engine runs without pause till may be two o’ clock at night. Breakfast is eaten standing up, meals are consumed between rushing here and there, for friends one has little time, and there is no time for idle chatter. Speak only if you have something important to say, and keep it short. Each second is precious, resembling a gold coin that one cannot afford to lose. The mindset of viewing life as a battle has come from the West and is now spreading rapidly across our land. Big cities are already caught in its grip while small towns and villages are slowly succumbing to it. Life seems to have nothing more to offer than the highs and the lows or the rise and

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the fall in the stock market, and the ebb and flow of share prices. Some even dream of such things. Few have the time to read a book, they prefer to see a movie instead. Why read a thick novel, it is far better to be entertained by short stories. Yet we do not want to be seen lagging behind in any field whatsoever; the latest in literature, philosophy, and politics should not pass us by. Our love of learning and cultivating taste should be displayed through study tables creaking under the weight of the latest books. Once we somehow obtain the gist of a book, it takes only minutes for us to be able to hold forth on its contents. We can also get by with reading a critical commentary on the book and this is the reason why criticism is perused so enthusiastically. It gives us the authority to commentate on a text unread by us and no one dare call us ignoramuses in intellectual circles. What pleasures can one have in life’s mad race? Success in life is one such pleasure. Yet it is very important to rein in the swift steed of our success; it should not be free to carry us in any direction it pleases. It is insane to consider life a battleground and to imagine ourselves as wrestlers in a ring fighting only to defeat our opponents. Such views undoubtedly strengthen our will power but they totally destroy our judgement and conscience. The solution lies in understanding the basic connotations of contentment and peace of mind. Success in life at the cost of one’s happiness is like viewing a play in the theatre. The objective of success is to gain happiness. Success that enhances our pain or adds to our disquiet cannot be genuine success. Anxiety about the future is another significant cause of suffering. What if one were to die tomorrow without having made any arrangements for the family or failing to build a house or not having attended a grandson’s wedding. I may imagine that the moment I die my family stands destroyed;

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I might worry that my son is a spendthrift who cares neither about money nor the direction in which worldly winds blow. Such anxieties might keep a father awake on many nights and badly affect his health. These thoughts succeed in giving rise to new anxieties. There are some who suspect tuberculosis if their cough lasts for a few days; others fear a chronic ailment if low-grade fever persists for a couple of days. Some hearts are weighed down with the guilt of having strayed in youth and constantly fear all kinds of punishment for these transgressions. A son falling ill is sometimes seen as punishment and all sorts of vows and pledges are made for his recovery. Losing a case in a court of law is another punishment for wrongs committed and causes anxiety that weighs heavily upon the loser. Weighed down with all these anxieties, can one ever cross the mythical Vaitarani into the afterlife? The horrors of hell also render us incapable of enjoying life. Remedy lies in calm rumination and clarification of things in our minds. Why should a father imagine that his son will turn out to be more worthless than himself? Earlier, your father might have considered you a worthless fellow but you have proved your worth by managing your affairs so well till today. The time shall come when your son will do the same equally well. It is also quite possible that he will prove himself to be even more worthy than you. As for sin, it is a sham propagated by scriptures. For some, abstaining from alcohol is a virtue so it would be a sin in their eyes if I consumed it. But why should it be a sin for me when thousands of others consume alcohol regularly and very openly? For the latter, drinking alcohol is not a sin; rather, in their eyes, sinners are those who abstain from alcohol. Some families forbid the eating of meat but do I commit a sin if I eat it? My answer is that

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anything which does not cater to the well-being of anyone is a sin. If alcohol gives you a headache, or you begin to curse and abuse after having it, then it is a sin for you to have it. If craving for alcohol brings difficulties for your family, then it is certainly a sin for you to consume it. Better to give it up once and for all. Similarly, if eating meat gives you a stomach ache, then you should abstain from eating it. Let alone meat, even if milk upsets your digestion do not consume it. Why inflict suffering on yourself by getting bogged down in the rightness or wrongness of dharma, or imagining divine punishment? To slavishly adhere to words uttered by a religious figure, to conform blindly to them simply because they issue from the mouth of a holy man, is nevertheless an act of folly. This may get one great regard amongst people holding extremely orthodox views but is nonetheless an act of foolishness. Think for yourself as to what is really an evil deed. Deception in business, ill treatment of servants, torment of family, envy and malice for associates, false accusations against rivals, evil intentions, cheating and dishonesty—all these are indeed evil deeds. The law may not always be able to punish such things but they inflict great damage on society. When sin takes root in our mind, it results in the erasure of self-respect. When self-respect departs, all is lost. A person overpowered by guilt forever burns with jealousy, constantly finds faults in others, incessantly airs religious pretensions, never resting till he has exposed the sins of others and displayed his religious zeal. There are a few of my friends who are always anxious about people being jealous of them, of not showering enough praise on their writings, and their works being severely criticized. There certainly is a group which has made it a mission to discredit them but these friends are

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a category of people who always view everyone with suspicion, almost as if they themselves belong to some secret service. Anyone who fails to praise them is automatically considered an adversary. The only reason for such thinking is that they consider themselves far superior to everyone else. The world has other things to do rather than be doggedly after them. We have every right to consider our compositions invaluable but others will share our opinion only if they also consider them equally invaluable. When this outlook of superiority grows beyond limits, people begin to look upon their own offspring as rivals. At times, they even expect their son to care for them much more than his own children. This is so unnatural. No one has the right to forcibly drag another, even if it happens to be their own son, away from a path that is natural in order to satisfy their own vested interests. Translated by Sarfaraz Nawaz

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The Objectionable Conduct of

Periodical Subscribers

Pattron ke Grahakon ka Aapattijanak Vyavhar

Everyone is well aware of the condition of magazines and journals in India. In the case of Hindi, barring a few such publications, all the others are running into losses. The question is—if all publications are incurring losses, why do they not shut down? If there are no buyers for a product, why produce it? But then, are our schools, colleges and other educational institutions being run for profit? Their main job is to disseminate education, and they are doing this. Incurring losses for a noble cause is not a bad thing. It also holds true for magazines and journals, which should be prepared to disseminate ideas even at the cost of incurring minor losses. Schools and colleges might suffer losses when some students do not pay the monthly fees but they are not shut down in the face of this. Similarly, magazines and journals are dependent on subscribers for the dissemination of their ideas. By paying four or six rupees for a magazine, subscribers are not just customers; they deserve credit for being partners in publicizing the publication’s viewpoints. This relationship is not merely one of seller and buyer. It makes one sad to see readers failing to give a thought to their duty and responsibility towards publications.

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To be a subscriber is entirely your prerogative. Founders of magazines and journals always wish for a large number of subscribers as this reduces their financial burden. So they grovel before subscribers, who have the freedom to renew or discontinue their subscription. It would, however, be very nice if subscribers would simply decline renewal of their subscriptions on a postcard or through VP1, soon after receiving advance notice of the expiry of their membership. Experience tells me that, despite repeated reminders and requests for renewal three months prior to expiry, we have got no responses. When this silence is taken as assent for renewal of subscription and the publication is mailed as VP post, it is immediately returned without giving a thought to the expense incurred in postage and printing their copy of the magazine or journal, not to mention the office overheads. The sad part is that there are well educated gentlemen amongst such ‘kind’ readers. Is it any courtesy or kindness to avoid spending one’s own coins but get others to pay many times more? What else can one say other than it being the sign of fallen character which has also brought about the enslavement our country! God help a land in which the educated classes lack integrity, and where the quantum of selfishness has multiplied many times over. Translated by Urvashi Sabu

1

VP is ‘value payable’ post in which addressees pay postal charges on receipt of their mail.

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My Delicious Books Meri Raseeli Pustakein

Acharya Dwivediji had read out a speech about himself at the Kashi1 Pracharini Sabha, an event held to publicize the city. The same was published many issues of the daily, Aaj. It also appeared in the May edition of Saraswati. In one of this edition’s sections, Acharya Dwivediji has discussed his unpublished work, Meri Raseeli Pustakein or ‘my delicious books’. In the issue dated June 11 of the Allahabad publication, Bharat, Shri Pandit Krishnakant Malviya responded with an article in this regard. In a very respectful manner, he posed a few significant questions to Dwivediji who, it is hoped, will do the favour of answering them. About three or four decades ago, Dwivediji, under the influence of fair weather friends, trickster advisors and greed for money, wrote a book of poetry in which lewdness flowed like a river in flood. His friends had advised him to do exactly this—write something that would have a salacious title, attract a lot of money, and be given publicity that would draw readers like flies attracted towards 1

One of India’s holiest cities and a pilgrimage centre for Hindus. Situated on the banks of the Ganga River, the city is famous for the Vishwanath Mandir, a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Kashi is sometimes also called Banaras or Varanasi.

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festering sores or rotting garbage. Also on their advice, Dwivediji introduced himself in his book by stating that ‘My words flow from a tongue in an aged mouth, making me feel extremely embarrassed. As atonement for my sins and with a pure heart, I have chosen to title this work Suhaag Raat, “the wedding night’.”

The suhaag raat is considered to be very auspicious in civilized society. An auspicious date is sought for it, and various delightful ways are devised for its celebration. The night has great significance not only in the lives of the two individuals concerned but also find mention in ancient sociological treatises, which is only very appropriate. Ever since the significance of the suhaag raat has been overlooked, society has grown feeble and spiritless, overcome by vices. People opine that the significance of the suhaag raat got lost ever since the malpractice of childmarriage took root. Till the time marriage between adults was common, this night was considered very auspicious. Even today, marriages solemnized between adults are very well thought of. In communities all over the world, the wedding night is marked by auspicious rituals. If people have forgotten its significance, it is the obligation of the well-wishers of society to reiterate its bliss. Just as treatises have been written on all kinds of ceremonies and rituals, books also must be written on the wedding night because it has as great a significance as the ceremonies of marriage in human life. It is only the wedding night that can make for a truly happy marital life for married couples. Those unable to experience its joys and pleasures cannot ever attain wedded bliss. After having written a whole collection of poems on the important issue of the suhaag raat, why did Dwivediji experience remorse? He had first written a lucid Hindi

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book on economics as he was inspired to do something for the benefit of society. In that case, a book on kamashastra, or sexual knowledge, is as beneficial as a book on economics. The suhaag raat is an apt issue for kamashastra, which also addresses many other useful issues of domesticity. The lack of such knowledge is responsible for most of the brutishness in society today. After highlighting such a vital issue, why does Dwivediji consider it sinful to write Suhaag Raat? Even if one were to accept that his book of poems was filled with great vulgarity, it cannot be said that writing a book on the wedding night is a sin. One finds many crude books on celibacy but does this reduce the importance of being a celibate Brahmacharya? It also cannot be said that writing a book on the wedding night in Hindi is going to make its writer very wealthy. If, according to Dwivediji, the term ‘suhaag raat’ today suggests ‘vulgarity’, then in reality it is less a night of celebration and more a night of carnality. It is also impossible for Dwivediji to have written a vulgar book like Suhaag Raat thirty or forty years ago because he was very familiar with the tastes of the Hindi literary world in those days. He has also been familiar with the trends of criticism since its early days and cannot claim to be unaware of contemporary social conditions. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, he had become a wellknown Hindi writer and poet. It is truly a matter of great surprise that he wrote Suhaag Raat, a book that overflows with vulgarity. Coincidentally, Pandit Krishnakantji has also authored a really good book entitled Suhaag Raat. Its ‘Preface’ has been written by the late ‘Punjab Kesari’ Lalaji and it is perhaps the best book on the subject. It was a work greatly appreciated and, as it was not flooded with vulgarity, readers did not rush towards it like a swarm of flies. Pandit

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Krishnakantji’s Suhaag Raat has had only two or three editions brought out though going by its title it should have had dozens. So it becomes clear that this book did not make Krishnakantji wealthy. The predominance that Hindi enjoys today was not to be seen thirty or forty years ago. If Pandit Krishnakantji, after writing his Suhaag Raat, could not accumulate immense wealth at a time when Hindi was prospering, how could Dwivediji imagine that he would buy and drive around in a motor car after publishing and strategizing the sale of his Suhaag Raat in today’s nascent stage of Hindi’s revival! In these times, even dreaming of a car is astounding? It is quite possible that Dwivediji, now living in Bombay, imagines owning a car but he must also know that the demand for Hindi books is very limited these days. In these circumstances, it is difficult to understand what led Dwivediji into writing his Suhaag Raat. However, I am sure that Acharya Dwivediji will have a convincing response to give to all the questions raised by Pandit Krishnakantji in his article. The Hindi world eagerly awaits Dwivediji’s response. Translated by Kanika Gandhi

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The Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh Akhil Bharatvarshiya Pustakalaya Sangh

There is no major shortage of institutions and organizations in our country but their functioning is limited to approving proposals. The chief reasons for this are the absence of commitment and integrity amongst their members, and the lack of sympathetic wealthy benefactors. Added to this is the deficiency of quality education in the country that acts as a spanner in the advancement of these institutions and organizations. Despite all this, they have to make the effort of eradicating the ignorance that arises from the negative publicity given to education. The real shortage, however, is of committed workers and benefactors, which has resulted in many of these bodies becoming defunct. Such is the condition of the Akhil Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh, the AllIndia Library Association. I seem to remember that on the occasion of the Congress’ declaration of independence1 at Lahore, the plenary session of the Pustakalaya Sangh in question was held under the chairmanship of Acharya Prafullachandra Rai. A number of significant proposals were approved during 1

The resolution for Poorna Swaraj, or ‘total independence’ from British rule, was passed by the Indian National Congress on December 19, 1929, at its session in Lahore.

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this session. In his address, the chairman had proposed a very fine scheme for the organization of libraries in the country. I am not aware whether any effort was made to develop the proposals and put the scheme into action as there has been no discussion about this in any newspapers or journals. The general trend among societies and other such bodies is to sit silently the whole year and, at the end of it, create a stir in the papers about trivial issues like organizing the elections of chairpersons. The annual ritual is erudite speeches by scholars, approvals being accorded to suggestions emanating from their fertile minds, and no work of substance being done. Recently, the issues concerning the Sangh have become a topic for discussion as an important meeting is scheduled to be held in Calcutta in this regard on the 13th and 14th of September. It will be presided over by Dr. Thomas, the librarian of Annamalai University, and Mr. Abdullah, the librarian at Calcutta’s Imperial Library, will be its secretary. The delegate fee has been fixed at Rs. 4. There is not only hope but also conviction that this meeting will be successful in many ways. One expects that this time the event’s participants will be able to prescribe a course of action that can easily be put into practice. While praying for the success of their admirable efforts, I wish to place before them some significant issues. Without giving them some thought, I do not believe that the Sangh can be highly motivated and energized. I now spell out my suggestions. Most importantly, the office of the association should be centrally located. Arrangements should be made for this office to function on a regular basis. For it to happen, a few young people should be prepared to devote their services to it for a lifetime. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, pays obeisance to sacrifice and in the shadow of sacrifice

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dwells success. The sacrifice of young people can draw the attention of the entire country to the movement concerning libraries. In publications all over the country, some young man should take the responsibility of constantly engaging with discourse on the need for a national library association. He should keep requesting the editors of these publications to appreciate the import of his endeavours and assist him by writing commentaries and making appeals for the benefit of libraries. These customary practices of publication will keep the issues of the Pustakalaya Sangh alive in the minds of people. Another young man should publicize this body by travelling across the country for a year to seek people’s support, obtain assistance of affluent sympathizers, and prepare a report on the various libraries visited in the course of his travels. It is also my belief that through these efforts a list of libraries all over the country could be drawn up. With the help of this list, those managing these libraries can be contacted for affiliation to the Akhil Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh. The Sangh’s office should maintain a manual of libraries all over the country, along with records of their annual activities. The Sangh’s publications should necessarily include speeches given at the previous session and its annual report containing brief introductions to libraries all over the country. This report should be carried by the country’s daily newspapers. It is highly possible that the situation will improve over time, and then the Sangh can then select a spokesman. I believe that the suggestions above are not impossible to implement. Changes can be made as and when required. I wish to draw the attention of those who will be guiding the Sangh. In addition to what I have suggested earlier, I request Hindi journalists and readers to extend all possible assistance to the Akhil Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh. There is a

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pressing need in this country for an organization of libraries to carry forward the mission of promoting education. These libraries play a far greater role than today’s schools and colleges in spreading light from learning’s lamp. Libraries are the best means of disseminating education in the country and no one can deny their benefit. If one works with commitment in this regard, it is hoped that those who are well-off in the country will surely pay attention to, and also lend support, to endeavours undertaken for the better management of the Akhil Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

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Religion in Ancient Egypt Pracheen Misr ke Dharma Tatva

The ancient Egyptians were very religious and beliefs formed an integral part of their daily lives. They worshipped idols and also images of objects useful in everyday existence. Their invocations included water, earth, and foodgrains; the sky, sun, and moon; the Nile, celestial bodies and the spirits of the dead. The entire populace did not worship the same gods as each region had its own special deities who reigned supreme. Though their important gods had different forms, they were all really one in the eyes of the Egyptians. The city of Heliopolis, for example, worshipped the sun as the god Ra but his name in Thebes was Amun. In the two cities, the image of this god was also different.

It was believed that these gods were living beings who resembled humans but in terms of intelligence, knowledge, might, and valour they were far superior to man. They were also believed to possess desires and feelings like human beings and, therefore, had families. Their wives and children were also worshipped. Some cities worshipped female deities rather than male ones. Scholars, however, believe that the Egyptian elite were largely monotheistic. The most splendid of the Egyptian gods was the Sun. His appearance and ornaments were like those of kings.

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His head, encircled by a halo with a snake on it, symbolized his splendour. People imagined him being ferried across the skies in a coach drawn by mariners. When he appeared on the horizon, the dazzle from his eyes lit up the earth and gave its creatures strength and illumination. Each day, this god stood in his coach, fighting and defeating his foes. When evening came, it was believed that he descended to the netherworld to sleep. There was another god, Horus, who presided over the light of the sun. Every morning at dawn, Horus was said to appear in the form of a handsome youth wandering the skies and engaging in eternal combat with Sith, the god of darkness. After the primacy given to the gods of the heavens, Egyptians worshipped gods and goddesses who presided over foodgrains and fields, and made the soil fertile. As already mentioned, each Egyptian city worshipped many gods but, as time passed and Egypt came to be united under one ruler, the situation changed. Gods, then, became common within Egypt.

The chief among these were Isis and Osiris. Osiris was the god of light and was considered the enemy of his brother, Sith, the god of darkness. According to the myth of Osiris, he emerged each day from the sea of dawn and spread his light during the day. When night came, he was mutilated by Sith in a fit of envy. While Orisis’s wife Isis mourned over his corpse, Sith snatched power and darkness ruled over the world. But Osiris’ son, Horus, rose from the horizon to avenge the murder of his father. He killed Sith, spreading light in the world again. This drama replayed itself day after day. Many Egyptian cities claimed that parts of Osiris’s body lay buried under their temples. A special day in the year had been set aside to mourn Osiris. On that occasion,

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lamentation was heard across the land and women even pulled out their hair in sorrow.

Priests in the town of Sais would arrange tableaux depicting the life and death of Osiris. The famous historian, Herodotus, was witness to one such occasion but was forbidden from describing it in any of his writings.

The images of Egyptian gods were as extraordinary as those of our Indian gods. Some had the torso of a human and the head of an animal; others had a human head but the body of an animal. Horus’ head resembled that of a bird while the head of Isis was that of a cow. The god, Anubis, had the head of a jackal while Ptah’s head resembled that of a bull. Egyptians also considered most animals to be sacred and worshipped them. The most venerated were lions, crocodiles, cows, jackals, cats, frogs, and quails. Killing or inflicting any suffering on these animals was strictly prohibited. When the Roman Empire was at it peak, a Roman happened to kill a cat. As the enraged Egyptian populace prepared to avenge this killing, their Egyptian ruler, a vassal of Rome, tried very hard to protect the Roman. Eventually he failed and the cat’s killer was lynched. Practically every temple in Egypt kept either one or the other of these animals as pets and devotees lined up to worship them. A Christian priest has mocked the practice in the following words: When any man sets foot in a temple, its priests chant something with great sobriety and pride. Then they lift the curtain to allow the man an audience with the deity. And what does the man see? A cat or a crocodile or a snake or some such animal is revealed before his eyes, either sitting or lying on the ornate floor.

Traders in the city of Thebes had once even managed to make a crocodile wear earrings and bangles of gold. A

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Greek traveller, living during the time of Christ, had once had the opportunity of paying his respects to a crocodile and this is what he wrote: Carrying some sweetbread, fried fish and honey, the priest accompanied me to the lake. A crocodile was lying on the lakeshore. Two men forced its mouth open and then one of them first stuffed the bread in its mouth and then the fish and honey. The crocodile then slid into the lake, swam across and again lay down on the opposite shore. At that very moment, another traveller materialized from somewhere, carrying the same offerings. He was also taken by the priest to the crocodile, which again was fed with whatever this man had brought.

The inhabitants of the city of Mandas1§ are believed to have worshipped a goat. The god, Heliopolis, was a bird that later became the phoenix of Greek mythology. The Egyptians had strange stories to narrate about this bird. They believed that once every five hundred years, one such bird arrived at Ra’s temple, carrying the corpse of its father. There the bird shaped myrrh into an egg, inserted the corpse into it, and finally closed the egg’s opening. The bird could survive for centuries but when its end drew near, it made itself a cage of fragrant wood, got into it, and immolated itself. Once burnt, another bird—the phoenix—arose from the ashes of the first. This myth of rebirth late found mention in Arabic and Persian texts. The ancient city of Memphis worshipped a black bull that had a bright triangular mark on its forehead and thick hair on its tail. They called it Aphis. Egyptians believed that this bull was born of lightning. Whenever priests found a bull that matched Apis’ sacred features, they would venerate it. 1

The name of the city of Menouthis seems to be the closest to ‘Mandas’, mentioned by Premchand as the ancient Egyptian city where the goat was worshipped.

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But no bull usually lives longer than twenty to twenty-five years. If one managed to live beyond these years, the priest would submerge it in holy water and look for another bull to replace it. If it died before attaining the age of twentyfive, it would be mummified and buried. When Thebes became the most powerful city of Egypt, its deity Amun became the most venerated god. Omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, he was worshipped as the creator of the universe, and the deity also presiding over the world’s parents. He was invoked with the following prayer: Arise, O master of the sky’s horizons, O radiant one! As you roam the skies, may all your foes perish! Obliterate the bravery and courage of disbelievers! You are all powerful, your foes are weak; you tower above base disbelievers. O life, make our sovereign immortal, fill his coffers with grain and water, lend fragrance to his tresses. The world radiates with your light. Lightning issues from your feet; your foes tremble in fear when you roar like a lion. You are the son born every day and also the old man who remains forever immortal. You are the monarch of a place where no man can ever step.

Every Egyptian believed that when a person died, some part of him continued to live on. This was the soul. Outwardly it resembled a human body, internally it was a thought, invisible and impossible to describe. Egyptians believed that at the moment of death, the soul left the body through its mouth and hovered over the corpse. If the body was not properly preserved after death, its soul would wander endlessly. So, the greatest service to a dead man and his soul was to save the body from rotting or decomposing. That was the origin of mummification. Herodotus has described this process of mummification in great detail. He writes that every city had professional embalmers. The heir of the dead person would take the body to the embalmer, he would be shown different kinds of wood for mummification, and

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then had to choose the procedure of mummification that suited him. These were of three kinds—the superior, the ordinary, and the poor. Each was priced according to the procedure involved. When the heir’s decision was made, he handed over the corpse to the embalmer and left.

To embalm a body in the best possible manner, the corpse’s brain was first drawn out by pouring some special oil into the brain to soften it. Then a hook was inserted through the nostrils and the brain was pulled out. The corpse’s ribs were then struck forcefully to push out the stomach entrails. The cavity thus created in the torso was washed with alcohol and then filled with fragrant herbs. For seventy days, the body was kept in salt. It was then washed and wrapped in bandages soaked in a kind of resin. With mummification thus completed, the corpse was handed back to the dead person’s heir. He would then get a sarcophagus made according to the shape and size of the corpse, put the mummy into it, and keep the sarcophagus standing against a wall. For the ordinary process of embalming, a kind of resin was infused into the corpse’s stomach through a pipe, and the opening made for this was stitched without removing the entrails. This prevented the resin from oozing out. The corpse was then kept in rock salt for seventy days, after which the resin was drained out from the stomach. This would also bring out all the excrement from the body. After the long exposure to the salt, the flesh dissolved and only the skin and bone of the corpse remained. The poorest process of embalming was the simplest. Most poor people opted for it. The process simply involved resin being filled into the corpse which was then kept in rock salt. Egyptian burial grounds are full of such corpses and

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Europeans have carried them away by the thousands. That is how famous European museums have mummies on display.

The ancient Egyptians also believed that the soul required food and clothing just as humans did. The poor simply buried their embalmed mummies in the sand but the rich had a tradition of constructing separate tombs for them. These tombs had huge halls or very large rooms. Since the times of the earliest kings, they were constructed like a tower. Near the city of Memphis lies an area equal to the size of the city itself and is filled with such tombs. Some towers have been constructed in rows, very much like houses on a street. Kings lie buried in the higher towers while the affluent rest eternally in the smaller ones because they were less expensive to construct. Beneath sand or rock was built a crypt which had a small prayer room that opened outwards. A huge stone was made to rest against the wall that faced the entry into the prayer room. Near this stone was a tiny table that held the paraphernalia of prayer. The prayer room was the only place in the tomb where one was allowed to enter. The rest of the tomb was meant only for the dead and no one had the right to enter and disturb the peace of the dead. This is the reason why there were no doors to be found in Egyptian tombs. Behind the prayer room was a small veranda where the figurines of the dead were kept. Sometimes more than twenty of these were crafted for just one dead person. These figurines were made for replacing the mummy just in case it was destroyed. A small well with stone walls was constructed in a corner of the prayer room. A tiny path led to the bottom of the well where a cave was built. This was the chamber in which the dead slept. In the centre of the chamber was an altar of white or black stone on which lay the body in eternal sleep. Huge vessels filled with water, grain and meat were kept

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nearby and the only way out was walled up and the well was covered with rocks. No man could then enter the tomb. Till today, the wells are as they were four to five thousand years ago. The bodies also are so perfectly preserved that the hair, teeth and nails are all intact. Whenever the family members of the dead bought food and drinks, they left them in the prayer room because there was no way that led into the tomb. Sometimes, they burnt myrrh in the hope that its fragrance would reach the dead. As time passed, people began to believe that the dead did not require any material things; instead prayers were offered to the gods for the dead to be spared the pangs of hunger. After some time, such prayers came to be inscribed on the stone in the prayer room and one such entreaty says, “We prostrate before you, O Osiris, and pray that you grant the dead all things that anyone can require—bread, meat, milk, wine, clothes, and fragrance.”

After some more time had elapsed, the Egyptians began to believe that the soul would be content with just the images of life’s requirements on the walls of prayer rooms. Thereafter, these walls had images of farmers ploughing the land and sowing seeds, grain being transported to and fro from the granary, tailors stitching clothes, and cobblers mending shoes. There also appeared images of masons, dancers, singers, and magicians. The various situations in the life of the dead were also represented, sometimes as a man shown having a meal with his wife or hunting in the forest or fishing on a lakeshore.

For a long time, the Egyptians believed that the soul of the dead lived in the same grave as the body. Then this opinion, too, underwent a change and they began to imagine that all creatures gathered in the netherworld at the particular spot where the sun set. This was the realm

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of Osiris. Here he examined each creature’s earthly deeds and decided who could be permitted to continue living. It was said that when the soul departed from the body, it sat in a boat and entered the netherworld. There it saw many terrible demons who wished to devour him but, protected and assisted by the gods, the soul was taken to the seat of judgment. Here sat Osiris on a throne. Standing by were his forty-two ministers who assisted him in deciding whether the soul had committed any of the forty-two serious sins. The soul was punished according to its sins and good deeds. Sinning souls were whipped and flogged, and given over to be being bitten by snakes and scorpions. Good souls that were female were believed to cohabit with the gods, resting under shady fig trees and enjoying bliss till eternity. They would feast with Osiris on divine dishes prepared by heavenly spirits, and forever enjoy the divine fragrances that floated around. Egyptians greatly desired that a soul should be able to present its innocence and goodness when it faced Osiris sitting on his throne of judgment. To ensure this, a tiny book was placed inside the dead man’s sarcophagus. Inside it were written appropriate answers to the possible questions that could be posed by Osiris and his ministers. An example of such proof of innocence reads:

Never have I indulged in deceit, never have I cheated anyone. I have never troubled an orphaned widow nor lied to any officer. I have never shirked my duty, have never done anything forbidden by the gods, never killed anyone. I have never forgotten to give charity to temples and make offerings to the gods. I have always taken food and water for the dead, never cutting down on the food that I offered them. I have never appropriated another’s land, never ever sold grain for measure or money, never killed sacred animals, never trapped birds, never caught sacred fish, and never ever damaged or

128 Premchand on Literature and Life destroyed any canals. I am innocent. In fact, I have fed the hungry, served water to the thirsty, given clothes to the naked, assisted wayfarers across the river, made offerings at the altar of gods, and served food to the dead. O judges, exonerate me and speak no evil of me before Osiris because my face and my two hands are pure.

Such were the soul’s entreaties inscribed on the walls of tombs and, at times, even on the faces of the dead. Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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Festschrifts and the Common Man Abhinandan Granth aur Sadharan Janata

In the past few years there has been much talk of festschrifts. They have been dedicated to acclaimed poets like Gujarat’s Khabardar and Nahanalal Dalpatram, Maharashtra’s Narsingh Chintamani Kelkar, Bengal’s Rabindranath Tagore, and United Province’s Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Acharya Dwivedi. Many more festschrifts are still in the making. Pandit Gaurishankar Hiranand Ojha is about to have one dedicated to him; another is being planned for Shri Dayanand in view of his composition Muktatma. These festschrifts are auspicious signs of a flourishing literature. Felicitations are certainly due to all those committed to the cause of literature but a question that needs to be answered is—what benefit accrues to the common man from such expensive publications? It is only natural that the cost of festschrifts is rather high and ordinary people cannot afford them. It is even more difficult to find wealthy people who are as industrious, as passionate about literature, and as thirsty for knowledge as the poor. Among these ordinary folk are many seekers of knowledge and keen enthusiasts of literature. Handicapped by financial constraints, most of them are unable to access the luminescent jewels in our literature’s storehouse—the public libraries. In a poor

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country like ours, there are very few good libraries and expensive books are not to be found even in these. The general public is totally unaware that the world’s festschrifts are vast repositories of knowledge garnered from the best minds in and outside the country. If magazines and journals were to publish their own detailed introductions to such books, it would not only enhance the public’s knowledge but also be quite entertaining for them. It is quite possible that this will generate greater interest in these publications. Have festschrifts been brought out only to adorn spotless shelves in important libraries and wealthy homes? Is there no information in these books that can serve to enlighten and entertain ordinary people? There is no doubt that such information is available, but it should be made available to readers by magazines and journals. The rich knowledge produced by great minds should be published as affordable editions for common people. This task must be undertaken in public interest. Translated by Kanika Gandhi

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The Need for a School of Editing Sampadankala Vidyalaya ki Avashyakta

In the world of Hindi, new dailies make an appearance almost every day. Two or three new magazines make their appearance almost every month. In most of these publications, one sees the names of new editors. Many of these names that one comes across have never before been associated with writing. Often the look and content of these new publications leave me with feelings of both regret and surprise. It is the audacity of the young editors that evokes these feelings in me. There are so many of them who make their first entry into the world of Hindi as editors, and the result is quite evident. But given the speed at which Hindi is progressing, it must be said that there is a great need for new publications. As the domain of Hindi expands, the number of publications will also increase. Given this situation, it is only natural to feel the need for a well-organized institution that teaches the art of editing. Though new editors cannot be compelled to enrol themselves in such an institution, some arrangements can certainly be made to permit them occasional leave for acquiring editorial skills. It would have been excellent if the Akhil Bharatvarshiya

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Hindi Sampadak Sammelan, the national association of Hindi editors, had exclusively taken upon itself the task of reducing the daily increase in the number of inexperienced editors in the world of Hindi. This year, the Sammelan’s conference is to be held at Kashi, recognized as a hub of education and literature. Competent teachers for the planned schools of editing will be found here. Translated by Kanika Gandhi

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Celebrating Tulsidas Tithi Tulsi Smriti Tithi Kaise Manayi Jaaye

In this month of Shravan, or July, Tulsi Tithi1 is celebrated at many places. This Saturday, the twelfth of July, various towns and villages in this land will be organizing their own special festivities to celebrate Tulsidas2, the poet-saint of medieval India. Though he is constantly celebrated at innumerable places, but on this day, some significant event must be organized. Readers of Hindi would remember that the famous Pandit Mohan Malaviya3 had got an appeal published in newspapers for the renovation of Tulsi Ghat in Kashi. If 1 2

3

A day devoted to the homage and celebration of Tulsidas, one of South Asia’s greatest poets. He is credited with composing Ramcharitmanas, an AwadhiHindi rendition of the Sanskrit epic, Ramayana. This work was considered by Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, to be the greatest example of devotional literature. As a saint, Tulsidas is a devotee, or bhakt, of Lord Rama and is believed to have initiated the tradition of the Ramlila plays. Many dohas, or sayings of wisdom, as well as miracles have been attributed to him. Tulsidas is closely associated with the holy city of Varanasi, and his philosophy resonates with the spirit of assimilation and inclusion. Malaviya (1861-1946) was a political leader and an educationist. He was President of the Indian National Congress four times, and also served as Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.

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attention can be paid to that appeal for just one day in the entire year then, in a few years, the renovation of Tulsi Ghat can also be completed. Should luck favour our wish, it can be finished in just one year.

Many places in Kashi are associated with Tulsidas but their condition is pathetic. On the premises of Gopal Mandir there is a small dark room which people say was his dwelling. In the entire year it is opened just once— that is, on the occasion of Shravan-Shukla Saptami, which is the seventh day of the fifth lunar month in the Hindu calendar. Is that all the regard which that small room gets, the place where Tulsidas spent months and years writing an extraordinarily refined composition like Vinay Patrika? The terrible condition of this place should fill Hindi lovers with intense shame. The same is the condition of Assi Ghatwala Tulsi Mandir, the Tulsi mandir with eighty ghats. That a language which has tens of millions of supporters should show such indifference to its greatest poet is amazing. You are most unfortunate, Tulsidas, for being a poet of Hindi in Hindustan. Every year, people all over the land organize Tulsidas anniversaries as Tulsidas Day. And what do they do on these occasions? Rural folk dump a few sers, or kilos, of ghee into the fire as a ritual offering or havan to the great poet. Along with the havan, Brahmins have to be fed, and somehow this is also done. After all this, people sing Tulsidas’ Ramayana to the accompaniment of dholak beats and clashing cymbals. For a few hours, people shout out speeches and then they are done with Tulsidas! Urban folk get a notice printed and distributed. People then get together at the venue decided, long speeches are given, articles are read out, and poetry is recited. Each one claims

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that Tulsidas’ verses say this, that or the other, and that we cannot match his benevolence. The same things are said year in and year out. How can anything new be said when hardly anyone engages in research on the poet? Those who do, never attend these events. And so, these annual events come to an end, almost like some burden being rid of. Nothing concrete can be achieved by doing all this.

This is not the place to describe the favour Tulsidas has done to Hindus and Hinduism. He has been a distinguished guardian of Hindu civilization and culture. Hindu society and literature should never forget the favour he has done them. Therefore, it is incumbent upon organizations like the Hindu Mahasabha to do something in this regard. Tulsidas’ compositions are also the shield of Sanatan Dharma, the faith that ordains common practices for Hindus irrespective of their caste, creed or sect. But Sanatan Dharma adherents are so busy creating hurdles in the path of their country’s interest that they have no time for Tulsidas, their exceptional guardian. The Vaishnav Mahasammelan, comprising devotees of Lord Vishnu, is constantly stuck in religious disputes. Despite all their accomplishments, these devotees have been unable to do anything for a distinguished Vaishnavite like Tulsidas and there is not much left to expect in the future from lifeless bodies like these. In the end, it is left to lovers of Hindi literature to take matters into their own hands and organize an appropriate tribute to this great and popular poet. A beginning has to be made, and it should be arranged for the 29th of this coming July. Tulsidas’ compositions have made many wealthy beyond imagination; in their homes are stashed huge amounts of money, and no one knows how long wealth will dog their footsteps. From amongst these people, I am

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not aware of one person today who would happily give up one per cent of his royalty to the cause of Tulsidas. The truth is that there is no one amongst us who has the ability to judge the jewels of their own language. Our heroism lies only in continuing to walk on the traditional path. It is pointless to repetitively do so, especially when the time comes to pay homage to an exceptional poet like Tulsidas. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

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Tulsi Birth Anniversary or

Tulsi Death Anniversary

Tulsi Jayanti ya Tulsi Punyatithi

The celebration of someone’s date of birth is called a jayanti. It might also be termed varshganth or saalgirah. The seventh lunar day of the month of Shravan is the day on which the famed poet-saint, Goswami Tulsidas, died and, therefore, the day cannot be celebrated as his jayanti. It would be more appropriate to observe it as the punya smriti tithi or the sacred day devoted to the memory of Tulsidas. It is far better to publicize the event as Tulsi Punya Tithi rather than Tulsi Jayanti. While it has been extremely difficult to establish Tulsidasji’s exact year of birth, it is next to impossible to determine the exact day of his birth. Since the saint specified the day of his death in a doha or couplet, there is not much doubt about that particular day. Given this situation, it seems most appropriate to use the term Tulsi Smriti Tithi or ‘Tulsi Memorial Day’. Forums like the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan and the Kashi Nagari Pracharini Sabha should try to put a stop to the usage and publicity of the nomenclature ‘Tulsi Jayanti’. Editors of Hindi journals can greatly assist in this endeavour. Now is the most opportune moment for lovers of Hindi to revise their incorrect nomenclature. Translated by Jyoti Yadav

What is an Interview? Interview Kya Hai

The publication of journals is one of the many things that India has learnt from Europe. Our journals have also adopted policies similar to their European counterparts. One European practice is that journal editors, or their nominees, meet eminent persons for noting and then placing before their readers the views of these important people on some important social, religious and political issues of the day. The specific purpose of such interviews is either to seek opinions or to voice decisions or to seek support for the interviewee’s viewpoint on given current issues. Appointments for such interviews are sought much in advance. Most interviewers also prepare their questions in advance. Responses given are taken down word for word. Once the interview is over, the entire noting is read out to the interviewee and his signature is taken on the document. Only then does the interviewer obtain the right to publish the contents of the interview. Great care has to be taken so that there is not one word or sentence that might create any misunderstandings about the figure of eminence. If, due to carelessness, any such thing happens, the important interviewee immediately seeks correction. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

Literary Depravity Sahityik Goondapan

Like businesses in this age of competitiveness, owners and managers of magazines and periodicals have to either show profits or resort to different tricks to ensure their survival. Europeans achieve these ends through rewards for answering riddles in newspapers or in lotteries that give subscribers the opportunity to try out their luck. But due to the dearth of money in the Hindi world, other modes of trickery are adopted—like controversies being engineered in publications or images of half-nude figures being displayed in the name of art or officials being flattered and obeisance being paid or even money being paid for not revealing secrets. All such machinations are grandly termed ‘the validation of truth’.

Sometimes, scandalous things are published in order to generate needless discussion about a publication. So, when two lovers of literature meet, the conversation turns to sensational writings. The guiding principle in their exchange is—notoriety has its own fame. The one aim of owners of publishing houses is to somehow increase their circulation and profit. Should the latter not accrue, a poor editor’s life can be made miserable with the threat of being sent home permanently. The question of bread and butter

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is, indeed, a very complicated one. To provoke sensation, an editor who is not well off, might kill his conscience and write a whole series of dubious compositions to tarnish some good man’s name. I have recently come to know of a magazine in the city of Prayag1 that was compelled sto fund itself by resorting to such a despicable act. In its July edition, it published an insinuating article on Pandit Banarsidas Chaturvedi in the guise of it being brought out as reminiscences. When people commit shady deeds during severe crises in their lives, they deserve our pity but when they do so after convincing their devious minds about tormenting someone, they deserve our censure rather than pity. Thakur Shrinath Singhji is the learned editor of that edition and also the author of that article. I strongly believe that he deserves neither our pity nor our censure as both would get him undeserved attention. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

1

The ancient name of the city of Allahabad, which has recently been renamed Prayag.

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But What Happened Here? Magar Yahan Kya Hua

An editor of Saraswati magazine, Thakur Srinath Singh1, held a new sort of interview. He first went to Calcutta and met the magazine’s chief editor, Pandit Banarsidas Chaturvedi, on his own. At this meeting, he demonstrated his devotion and proximity to Chaturvediji, and was perhaps swept away to the point of intoxication by his demonstration of intimacy. On returning home, the editor noted down whatever he remembered of his conversation with Chaturvediji, adding his own wherever memory failed him. Playing around with words was not a matter of any concern for him nor was there anyone to restrain his pen. His jotted down whatever he had wanted Chaturvediji to say. As it is impossible to remember everything that is said, only the essence of a conversation can be recollected and expressed in one’s own words. Great injustice can also be done in such endeavours. One man may say ‘Ram’s poems tend to be ordinary’ but by writing ‘Ram’s forefathers never wrote a single poem so what does he know about poetry’, the same sentiment can be given a distorted, twisted form. It appears that Srinath Singh had gone to Calcutta with the express design of using the interview as an excuse to 1

He was a harsh critic of Premchand.

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put such words into Chaturvediji’s mouth. This could, on one hand, lead to quarrels with some editors while, on the other hand, it could show Srinath Singh as the saviour and supporter of other editors. However, editors are not easily fooled as the manner of speech invariably reveals the character of the speaker. Should someone come and report to me that Pandit Devdutt Shukla was heard saying that the next time Premchand visits Prayag, he should be so horribly treated that he never thinks of writing again. Hearing this, I would assess the person reporting to me before I hastily planned a showdown with Shuklaji. Who trusts a man whose mind brims with criticism? It would be a mistake for anyone to think that he can earn the respect of those who speak ill of others, who indulge in humiliation, and who promote discord. Such people should expect nothing but contempt. Agreed that Chaturvediji might have said that so-and-so person did not possess the skills of writing, or that such-an-such person would have remained unknown had he not given him a push in the literary world, or that Mr. Andrews and Mahatma Gandhi were cordially disposed towards him. But should such things be written about? Not every person is cautious during conversations, weighing each word before uttering it. Most people say things that their listeners like to hear. If a scoundrel were to visit me, I would not talk to him of Vedanta philosophy. When someone visits us, we are expected to extend hospitality. If Mr. Andrews had gone to meet Chaturvediji instead of Srinath Singhji, he might have raised the subject of Indian expatriates. By writing contrived stories, Srinath Singhji has fallen face first into a pit of his own making even though Chaturvediji appreciates such missives. Had Srinath Singhji exerted a little more pressure, Chaturvediji would have revealed things he has kept secret. Is there anyone who has not, at some time or

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other, tried to poke and pry into other people’s affairs or given a few performances on the stage of whimsicality? By God’s grace, Chaturvediji is still a long way from old age though divine wrath perhaps has made him a widower. If Srinath Singh had exercised a little more dishonesty, he could have exposed Chaturvediji’s philandering ways which in no way behove the well-known editor of a reputed publication like Saraswati. Do readers buy this publication to peruse such articles? We do not have the right to bring to the public domain any private conversations that a speaker trusted a listener with. If one does such a thing, it is a betrayal of trust. So which problem, issue or dispute does the interview taken by Srinath Singh shed light on? At the most, the reader of the article can perceive Chaturvediji is a disgraceful person, totally affected, very arrogant, and given to boasting. If we succeed in spreading such notions about a person in the public domain, can we claim it as a great achievement? Is tarnishing someone’s honour a goal achieved without tarnishing oneself? Is it praiseworthy to create discord amongst people? Srinath Singhji has met me and said very many things about different people. If I were to write about it, his reputation would be considerably damaged in the city of Prayag, but saying such things is extremely despicable and it is worse to repeat them. With this sort of propaganda, Srinath Singhji is doing no favour to the cause of literature or to Saraswati or to himself; rather he is not only tarnishing Hindi editors but also demeaning them in the eyes of the world. His efforts will only make the world say that if editors in an acclaimed publication like Saraswati can stoop to such low levels, then the fraternity of editors is perhaps a depraved lot. Translated by Malati Mathur

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A Campaign for Libraries Pustakalaya Andolan

In Calcutta recently, a meeting was held with the aim of bringing libraries together and establishing a library association in India. It is not necessary to mention the vital role that libraries play in the life of a nation. It would suffice to say that libraries are more important than schools, being less expensive but far more superior. If someone today were to place a bet on whether schools produced greater scholars or libraries, the one betting on libraries would surely win the wager. Amongst the world’s greatest scholars today, most would be those who acquired their education in libraries. In India, however, almost no heed has been paid to libraries till now. Magnanimous people have only been favourably inclined towards schools and this has resulted in the public being deprived of one of the finest alternative sources of disseminating new ideas. Neither the government nor the local institutions have felt the need to be forward-looking in this regard. Now to quote from Mr. Leach Wilson’s opening remarks at the Calcutta meeting—

Just collecting books together at one place does not create a library. By themselves, books do not amount to anything. It is only when a librarian selects books, catalogues them, and displays them in an attractive manner, that a library is created.

Premchand on Literature and Life 145 This has not yet been understood by officials in our libraries, and explains why our librarians are not given the status that they deserve in society. Most librarians tend to think that their only duty is to guard books and, as far as possible, withhold their issuance so as to avoid their wear and tear. In advanced countries, the librarian’s post is only given to eminent scholars and it is a matter of great pride to be selected for this position. In India, however, any Tom, Dick or Harry can be considered suitable for the position of a librarian even though he does not understand the significance of his position and cannot offer any advice whatsoever to book lovers. At most, he believes that his duty is to get someone to locate the book that has been asked for. Till such time competent people are appointed to this post, the public will not be able to draw any particular benefit from the few libraries that are in existence.

Now, to quote from an organizer’s words of welcome meant for participants at the Calcutta meeting:

It is very disheartening to know that many of our students leave schools with an aversion to books, which is the result of the disgusting misconduct of teachers. If we need able and enlightened teachers in schools, we require imaginative and refined people in libraries, people who are well-read, who can advise readers, who can select just the right books on a particular topic, and who can inculcate an interest in selfstudy amongst the younger readers in the library.

Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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The Place of Hatred in Life and

Literature

Jeevan aur Sahitya Mein Ghrina ka Sthan

The significance of hatred in life

It is certain that censure, wrath and hatred are depravities but, remove them from human life and the world turns into a hell. The fear of condemnation reins in the depraved, the apprehension of infamy safeguards justice and truth, and only hatred can tame hypocrisy and deceit. Should the fear of reprimand be missing, or rage against terror not exist, or dread that springs from spewing hatred be absent, life would be chaotic and society would cease to exist. It is also true that if mercy and compassion, or praise and devotion are put to wrong use, they turn into offences. Recipients of blind pity lose their humanism, blind compassion shapes cowards, blind praise induces arrogance, and blind faith generates deceit. Whatever nature does is for the benefit of mankind. Self-preservation is the greatest impulse within living beings, and our senses as well as our minds satisfy this urge. Poison can destroy our life as well as save it; occasion and circumstance determine this role. In the course of progress, mankind has reached a stage of an instinctive hatred towards harmful things. Hatred’s violent form is fear; its refined form is prudence. Both forms represent the

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same thing; the only variance is in degree.

Hatred, thus, is an innate tendency in us created by nature. It is also a form of self-preservation. Bereft of hatred, we cannot survive for long. It is something so vital in life that it cannot be allowed to slacken. This would be like shooting oneself in the foot. If there was no fear within us, our courage would never materialize. In fact, just as fear is the intense form of hatred, courage is its most self-assured form. The only thing needed is for hatred to be abandoned and replaced with conscience. This means that we stop hating people but have hatred for their evil deeds. Why is it that we hate deceitful people? It is only for their deceit. If today they were prepared to forsake their deceit, our hatred for them would slowly fade away. We hate a drunkard while reeking of alcohol but as his intoxication recedes and the reek has gone, our hatred also disappears. We hate to see a corrupt priest deceiving innocent villagers, but tomorrow if we were to see the same priest serving these villagers, we would worship him. The sole purpose of hatred is to erase vice. The more intense our hatred for deceit, villainy, injustice, rape and other such offences, the more beneficial for welfare it will prove to be. When hatred slackens, we often repeat offences and again display hateful behaviour. Only those filled with intense hatred are ready to forsake their lives for protecting everyone from hateful behaviour and rooting out hateful people. An example is Mahatma Gandhi whose deep hatred for untouchability has made him courageous enough to be prepared to sacrifice his life for its eradication. The benefits of hatred in art and literature

When hatred has such significance in life, what can one expect from literature which is said to be the mirror of that life? Since ages, the human heart has been the theatre of

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both the good and the bad. Literature was created to kindle love for all that was good and beneficial for mankind, and to induce hatred for whatever was bad or duplicitous. Both art and literature share this objective. The battle between the good and the bad is the history of literature. Ancient literature inculcates a hatred for those opposed to faith and divinity, and inspires devotion and religious fervour amongst the faithful. Contemporary literature just as forcefully raises its voice against those sucking the blood of society, those who are hypocrites and swindlers, and those who are duping the ignorant masses for their own vested interests. Today’s literature is also endeavouring to forcefully create empathy for the downtrodden, for the Dalits, and for the victims of injustice. It is quite possible that this literature is swept away by sentimentality, dreaming of revolution in the world at large, and closing its eyes to the harsh realities around. It is also possible that such writing assigns all blame for the present wretchedness and brutality to those very people it perceives as its victims. Such writers are not that simple and innocent; rather, they are so lost in the idealistic dreams of modern times that they have no time to pay attention to any of life’s obstacles and difficulties. But can it be said that these artistes aim to spread hatred against an individual or against society? No, they are not the enemies of individuals and neither is their literary creativity born out of malice or jealousy. Rather, they are inimical to such tendencies and conditioning. They love people as they would their own brothers. The vitriol in their writings is directed towards mahajans, who live off usury, or mill owners, who prosper on the sweat and labour of their workers. Yet, seeing these prosperous people in crises, writers might lend them a helping hand. These writers are aware that those who exploit the poor are also mortified by their own selfishness and monetary

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greed; they might even sympathize with the exploiters but they are totally unwilling to make any compromises with exploitation. It is quite possible that some of these writers might also have suffered at the hands of exploiters or even been destroyed by them but, as true literary artistes, they would surely possess the strength not to direct their invective against any individual. It is quite likely, however, that their writing is more severe and biting insofar as mahajans and mill owners are concerned.

The person who writes these lines has been censured by a ‘kind’ critic for propagating hatred against Brahmins. The first thing in this regard is that this writer has never suffered at the hands of any Brahmin. Even supposing that he had gone through such an experience, with a Brahmin winning a case against him for conspiring to auction the Brahmin’s house or for publicly abusing the Brahmin in the marketplace, why would this writer turn inimical towards the entire Brahmin community? Each individual goes through diverse experiences in life. There is every chance that he will have friends and foes belonging to all communities, so why would he single out a particular community and spread hatred against it? Most of those grinding their axes in the name of religion—whether resorting to hypocritical practices in the name of faith or extorting money from devotees in the garb of faith (like those in Gaya who forced Muslims and low caste chamars to make ritualistic offerings)—unfortunately belong to a fraternity termed ‘Brahmins’. Such people are as far from Brahmanism as hell is from heaven, and that is why any writer who wishes for governance that fosters good practices, respects all faiths, and inspires national harmony, can never condone such acts. Any self-respecting Indian will lower his head in embarrassment and shame each

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time he runs into a particular person proclaiming himself a Brahmin and holding out a begging bowl. Such beggars not only bring a bad name to a community that has contributed significantly to life’s river of truth and ideas, they also defame those who have been the torch-bearers of Hindu society. To what depths has this shameless lot of beggars fallen? But one also knows that there is no shame in begging if one lives in abject poverty. It is my belief that amongst all the deficiencies in society, the most hateful is religious duplicity and deceit. Theft, wickedness, bribery, fraud, and lies are vices not specific to any particular society. There was a time when patwaris and kanungos, who were government officials maintaining land records, belonged to the Kayasth community, primarily from eastern Bihar, UP, and perhaps Bundelkhand. But now, things have changed and adopting names or titles like ‘Patwari’ and ‘Kanungo’ do not make one a Kayasth, nor does calling someone a Baniya suggest that he belongs to that specific community. Shopkeepers have become Patwaris, and erstwhile Patwaris are now shopkeepers. Unfortunately, Brahmin titles like ‘Pandit’ and ‘Pujari’ have also been adopted but it would be stretching things too far to say that anyone who spreads hatred against such dissimulative identities is opposed to the entire Brahmin caste. This writer’s disgust on seeing villainy take the refuge of Brahmanism is only exceeded by the disgust of genuine Brahmins. In his fifty-three years of existence, this writer has yet to meet a single Brahmin who does not view this hypocrisy with hatred. In the eyes of this writer, ‘Brahmin’ is not just a caste or community; rather it is a position of great eminence attained through sacrifice, service and noble action. I will not insult this position by calling every two-paisa pujari or cleric a Brahmin. The corrupt practice of dependence on religion does great damage at the social

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as well as the national level. This harm done to the nation is evident in the gimmicks of the organization called the Varnashram Swarajaya Sangh. No matter how much hatred is spread against this organization’s anti-social, anti-national and inhuman mindset, it would all be still too little. This hatred, however, should only be directed against the organization’s ideology, not against individuals, because the upholders of the Varnashram are my brethren just like that ‘brother’ of mine, the kind critic, mentioned earlier. I pause here as I believe there is no need to dwell any more on the issue of hatred as I have clarified my position. But even after this, if some gentleman persists in describing me as ‘anti-Brahmin’, I really do not care since I well understand the cloud of malice afloat in his heart.

My kind critic has also said some other interesting things about me—firstly, whatever is commendable in all that I have written so far has been borrowed from others while whatever is substandard is my own composition; secondly, I have flattered people into declaring me the emperor of novels or novelists (and it is quite possible that such a request of mine may also have reached my honourable critic). Others have suggested that, despite a friend’s request, I did not go to Shantiniketan as Rabindranath Tagore had not issued me his personal invitation and that no one in Bengal knows me. These are juvenile remarks to which I will not respond. However, I have just one request to make—if my honourable critic, or any of his friends, wishes to wear the crown of the emperor of novels, I shall be very happy to gift it to them. For this, there is no need to launch any special campaign or a protest. To tell the truth, I do not wish to hand over my precious crown either to my critic or to his friends. But should a deputation approach me, despite my unwillingness, I shall hand my crown over

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without any fuss because I am aware of the pace of time and also realize that it is not a thing to be coveted in these oppressive times. Translated by Sarfaraz Nawaz

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The Need for a National Literature

Association

Ek Sarvdeshik Sahitya Sanstha ki Avashyakta

At the national level in our country, associations have been formed for science and religion, for history and mathematics, for education and politics, but no such body exists for literature. Consequently, the general public gets no update on the progress of literature in the provinces, and the lovers of literature have no opportunity to interact with each other. We are familiar with a few writers from Bengal but we are totally unacquainted with our literary harvest in Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, or Malayalam. Besides English literature, we are somewhat familiar with literatures of countries like France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Sweden, and Belgium through translations in English. Apart from Bengali, we have no information about literary developments in the other languages of our country. Each of our provinces has their own language and organizes their own separate Sammelan or conference, all of which is very encouraging. There is a local council in each province but there is no centralized organization for our literatures. I do believe there is need for such an organization and if such a body was created, it would be doing great service to the nation

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as well as the Hindi language.

The outreach achieved by Hindi is the result of its own own efforts. It is the one language which is understood in all the big cities in the country even though it is not spoken locally. Had English not intervened, people in the provinces would have been interacting with each other in Hindi today. The time has now come to strengthen the linkages between provincial languages, and our literary traditions must be integrated in such a way that we forge not only a national language but also a national literature. The language of each province has its own special features. It is necessary for these features to be harmonized into a national language so that our languages can step out from literary provincialism onto the national arena. In this regard, the only and best way forward is through the assistance of people at the helm of each language. Now that quite a few Bengali and Marathi scholars are writing regularly in Hindi, it can be assumed that the field of Hindi will forever keep expanding. We can, however, hasten this expansion through a national literary association. I recently chanced to visit Bombay where I had the good fortune to interact with major aficionados of literature from Gujarat. I learnt how eager they were for such an association. In fact, I would say that the proposal for it came from these highly experienced gentlemen, and I would request the honourable functionaries of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan to put the proposal into practice. The propagation of Hindi must now spread all over the country. Should the Hindi Sammelan form such a body, I am convinced that writers from other languages would welcome it, and Hindi’s pride and outreach would be greatly enhanced. Is there anyone who is not aware of the growing

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regionalism in India? One reason for this is that every province has its own literature. The conflicts of provincial regionalism can be contained only through the exchange of ideas and opinions. The building of a nation lies in the hands of its literature. If this literature is provincial, its readers are even more so. Should an annual meeting be held for the lovers of literature in all Indian languages, conflict and contestation could be replaced by moderation and cooperation. It can be convincingly argued that the coming together of literatures will surely create affinity between provinces. This will result in us getting direct access to scholars whom we have only heard about. Their discourses will automatically put to rest many of our misconceptions and parochialisms. We are bringing out a brief report on PEN, the international literary association established in London in 1921. When various well-known foreign languages have felt the need for such an association, is it not appropriate for India’s provincial languages to be linked through a central organization? A nation’s soul articulates itself through its writers. A philosopher expresses his views, a scientist contributes to growth of knowledge, but a nation’s literature contains the essence of its aspirations. In our case, this great power of literature lies confined within the boundaries of our provinces where it is deprived of the fresh air and light from other literatures. This is the stumbling block in our literatures’ growth and development. The streams of our creativity have flowed along isolated paths, becoming narrow and sluggish. By synchronizing these streams, we can stimulate a surge of literary creativity. Such stimulation is the duty of a national literary association. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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The Rise or Fall of a Literature Sahitya ka Utthan ya Patan

There is a mushrooming of Hindi journals and newspapers these days. Simply expressed, this should ensure the rise of a literature. If, with a substantial fund of money, a sizeable number of first-rate publications can be brought out then it certainly signals a literature’s ascent. But this is not the issue here. The lust for fame today has people without means advertising the publication and editorship of their own newspaper. In their craze to appear as the publication’s ‘Chief Editor’, they befool a few friends for money or spend a part of their own savings. Today, all informed individuals know that publishing involves specialized professional skills but their hunger for fame disallows any thought on this crucial issue. The consequence is that their publications usually close down after a dozen odd issues being brought out. Printing presses are then left demanding payment of bills and subscribers are left angrily demanding the return of their subscriptions. No one gets the amount due to them. This recklessness has resulted not only in people losing faith in publications but it has also made things extremely difficult for meritorious journals. There is a certain gentleman who had edited a magazine eight or ten years ago but, unfortunately, its publication

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stopped after just a few numbers. Till date, however, this gentleman continues to publicize himself as the defunct magazine’s editor. He has gone to the extent of installing a signboard outside his house that proclaims him ‘Editor’ of such-and-such magazine. This is an example of the desire for fame. A short while ago, another gentleman had written to a friend of mine saying that he wished to publish a literary fortnightly matching the standards of another fortnightly, the well-known Jagran. My friend advised him thus: Brother,

You have taken on a very gruelling task, so please give it considerable thought before you proceed any further. You must first arrange for a really good editor. You should also ensure that shortage of capital or lack of adequate resources or absence of an expert editor does not bring about the premature death of your venture. Persisting with publication despite these hurdles resembles giving birth to a brood of children in old age. Publishing in these circumstances is not only a nation’s misfortune it is also a blot on Hindi’s forehead.

This humble request, however, did nothing to curtail the said gentleman’s hunger for fame. The journal came out. We saw it. It was very disappointing. Instead of a literary journal it was a printed text that could only be rubbished. There was not a single article by any acceptable writer. Some articles comprised sections copied verbatim from old journals but presented as the writer’s originals. The names of its editors had never ever been heard of by any person professing an iota of literary interest. The editing was really poor. Innumerable such journals are born and die due to the thoughtlessness and vested interest of people like this gentleman. The vital question that comes to mind is whether such things mark the rise or the fall of a literature. Translated by Shuby Abidi

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The Hindi Lekhak Sangh Hindi Lekhak Sangh

The esteemed Shri Satyajeevan Varma has published an appeal highlighting the efforts he is making for the formation of the Hindi Lekhak Sangh, an association of Hindi writers. He has also drawn up a detailed account of suggestions received in this regard. Now that organizations are being established in almost every sphere of life, there is no reason why writers should not also form their own group. My hope is that the writers’ community will appreciate the necessity of this and will read Shri Varma’s appeal and suggestions, giving an appropriate thought to the latter, become members of the Association, and come together to protect the interest of their community. Shri Satyajeevan Varma’s appeal to writers reads as below: Respected Sir,

You must have noticed that there is a lot of discussion in magazines and journals about the suggestion to form a writers’ association. Most people generally agree with this suggestion in some form or the other. It is not for the first time that such a proposal has been floated; you must also have felt the need for such an organization at some point of time. Many suggestions have been made about fulfilling this long-standing aspiration.

Premchand on Literature and Life 159 Ours is an age of organizations and the entire world is engaged in forming them. Times have changed. People from different social classes are forming their own bodies, which is extremely desirable. In doing so, they not only protect their self-interests and ideals in some form or the other but also hope to be seen reflecting major opinions. Today, nothing can be achieved through individual effort. We cannot do anything till we have a common goal and objective, till we are committed to our cause and have a burning desire to achieve our purpose. It is for these reasons that we require an organization.

Now that the necessity of forming organizations in all spheres is so clear, the domain of Hindi literature cannot disregard this practice. The numbers of those who serve the cause of Hindi are constantly increasing. Each of them is involved in the service and concerns of the language, devoting to it their energies and opinions, their vision and ideals. This enthusiasm is undoubtedly encouraging but without harnessing our energies towards a common goal, we are not moving towards our objective. As there is no defined role before us, our writers are left to grope in the dark. Also, it is beyond the capacity of individuals to single-handedly create a suitable programme for collective welfare. Common good can be secured only through collective action. This makes it extremely necessary for Hindi writers to collectively draw up a future programme for the cause of their literature. Their efforts will be successful if they write constructively in a language that is appropriate for the community, for society, and for the country. The act of writing is also a kind of art. Appropriate knowledge and assistance are required for achieving distinction in this art. Till now there is no existing platform which assists Hindi writers in honing their literary skills or which stimulates their literary instincts. The writer alone has to take a personal initiative and make his way in the literary sphere. A considerable amount of his time and energy is lost in doing so. What he really needs is a pivotal organization that

160 Premchand on Literature and Life can help to make him skilled and successful in his vocation, which will respect him for his literary contributions, and will also share his trials and tribulations in life. The day is soon coming when writing skills will be considered a commercial proposition. Not everyone is well-off, and the issue of bread and butter is always on people’s minds as each one has their own financial requirements. Writers need an organization that protects their financial well-being and sustains them through good and bad times. Thus, the usefulness of such a body is definitely evident.

Hindi literature today is still in its infancy. Great efforts are required for its nurturing and protection. If restraint and foresight are not exercised in so far as current literary creativity goes, a day will soon come when we will regret to see that all our efforts have been futile. In contemporary times, when each action of ours is so clearly an indicator of our well-being or otherwise, we have to accept that all our endeavours in the sphere of Hindi literature have left much to be desired. We cannot say what the future holds but we can surely decide what we have to do in that future. Our experiences in the past, as well as the present, can help us decide our future course of action. Keeping in mind our literature’s past and present, and also hoping for the well-being of our compatriots, we have to chart out the future course of action for our writers and guide them through difficulties in their path. If we pay attention to the state of current writing in Hindi, we find it in a rather chaotic state. Critics and critiques have not put in a determined effort or specified their goals, and this is the reason for hurdles that come in the way of widespread dissemination of ideas regarding publications. It is our responsibility to keep an eye on current writing. Till now, writers themselves have personally managed their literary affairs but a writers’ association could be of immense help in this regard. In the light of all these factors, you will surely agree that an expeditious formation of the Hindi Writers’ Association would be very opportune. In the matter of its usefulness,

Premchand on Literature and Life 161 you would now be more convinced than I am. I hope you will extend your full cooperation to the formation of the Association and rightly take credit for this vital achievement. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

Teaching the Art of Editing Sampadan Kala ki Shiksha

Earlier this month, the Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, Shri Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, chaired a public meeting. Addressing the audience, Shri Mrinalkanti Bose, founder of the Editors’ Guild, stated that if the country’s universities took on the task of teaching the art of editing, the condition of newspapers and magazines would substantially improve. This would make jobs available for the educated youth dispense with unemployment as newspaper outreach increases each day and will continue to do so in future. My request is that our universities should deliberate on this vital issue and then arrange for the teaching of editorial skills. These skills will, in turn, inspire the country’s youth to tread the right path. The nationalist leader, Shri Subhas Chandra Bose, has very correctly stated that the country would benefit greatly if Calcutta University was to make the teaching of editorial skills its very own special mission. Translated by Malati Mathur

Bernard Shaw’s Advice to Writers Lekhakon ko Bernard Shaw ka Updesh

Bernard Shaw had something very significant to say to writers at a recent event. He suggested that if writers wanted to gain people’s regard and recognition, they should avoid making public appearances as their intellect was far superior to their looks, and the impression that people formed after reading their works often vanished when they met writers face to face. Very few writers have the good fortune of having their profound, original and elevated thinking match their good looks and energetic air. The anxieties of creativity make most writers resemble scarecrows. The reading public often imagines a particular writer has having an imposing personality—broad forehead, a large paunch, impressive looks, lost deep in thought, extremely intelligent—but on meeting him, they find that he is not at all what they imagined him to be. Such a writer immediately falls in the eyes of the public. I only wish to make a slight amendment to the honourable Mr. Shaw’s suggestion. Writers whom the gods have blessed with a good physique, handsome appearance, deep voice, and attractive manners should not heed his suggestion as public interaction would considerably enhance the significance of their works. Yet, another doubt arises in this regard. No one can gauge the impression that the public

164 Premchand on Literature and Life

forms after perusing a writer’s works—there is a possibility that a writer resembling a wrestler might figure as a saintly mahatma in the eyes of his readers or a handsome writer might be imagined as a bearded gentleman. Perhaps this is the reason why the honourable Mr. Shaw avoided getting photographed but could never refrain from speaking on public platforms. Translated by Shuby Abidi

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An Important Suggestion for the Sahitya Sammelan Sahitya Sammelan ka Ek Mahatvapoorn Prastav

The Sahitya Sammelan, or literature conference, has done a commendable job this time by agreeing to organize the Akhil Bharatiya Sahityik Sabha or an all-India literary conference. Such an event is indeed the need of the hour. While our country has institutions that promote science, economics, history and other subjects, the absence of a literary one is a serious lacuna. I am hopeful that the report of the Sammelan will not be confined to preaching but will actually be put into practice. Literary awareness is an important indicator of a nation’s lively spirit, and national language and literature can flourish only when eminent scholars of languages from our provinces get together to exchange ideas and give direction to the growth of literature. Literature and life grow more complex each day, and it has become difficult for each province to view this from a singular national perspective. We are constantly apprised of the progress of literature in the world through English and other Western languages but a responsible forum is required to determine how much of it is beneficial, or otherwise, for our nation. It is indeed laughable that in each province we are like frogs in a well when individuals

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formulate their own ideas about literature and literary creativity. By establishing a board of regional writers, the PEN Club1 has tried to compensate for such shortcomings to some extent. This Club is an international organization and it cannot really fulfil our needs.

The Sammelan should aim to conduct its business only in a national language. If scholars express their views exclusively in English and also exchange ideas in English, the Sammelan will not be of much use. The literary wealth of our nation ought to appear before the world in a national language. Only then can it get its rightful place in world literature. We need not don the attire of the English language when we venture out onto the world’s literary stage. Initially, it will be difficult to impose a national language but it is hoped that scholars from the provinces will adopt a national language in the interest of the nation. Only then will the time be ripe for scholars to write in the national language which, in turn, will truly symbolize the nation.

Translated by Shabeeh Rahat

1

Refers to the PEN International founded in 1921 as an association of writers all over the world. PEN stands for ‘Poets, Essayists and Novelists’. Members sought to establish intellectual exchanges and discussions across national borders.

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The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore Indore Hindi Sahitya Sammelan

In a letter commenting on the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan or the Hindi literature conference held at Indore, Shri Jainendra Kumar writes—

I believe that for the first time the Sammelan was properly able to assert its status as a forum espousing the cause of a national language. Hindi must no longer continue as a provincial language. It belongs to the entire country and the conference must continuously reiterate this. It is only under the stewardship of Gandhi1* that we can achieve success in this mission. The Sammelan has clarified its views about the form that words will take when Hindi and Hindustani are blended together. As the conference avoided taking a final decision on the question of the script, it is only proper that it formed a separate committee of experts to look into the issue. This committee will patiently consider all aspects before giving their final opinion. The Sammelan also took up the question of necessary changes and variations to be made in Hindi, given its closeness and similarity

1

The reference is to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869– 1948), more popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi. A lawyer by training, he was among the prominent figures who spearheaded India’s freedom movement against the British. Gandhi is remembered today for advocacy of ahimsa or non­ violence in that movement as also in any struggle to achieve one’s ends.

168 Premchand on Literature and Life to various provincial languages. Another important issue discussed was the fact that writers from our provinces were producing such good works that they also deserved to be termed ‘Indian literature’. These writers must be assisted in getting acquainted with each other to be able to exchange ideas and thereby bring about a communion between life and literature in our land.

The variety and uniqueness of provincial languages should stay secure but why can they all not assist in the emergence of an India that is united and strong? This cannot be achieved through the medium of English and if undertaken, there will always be a sense of incompletion. The Sammelan acknowledged and accepted the objective that all languages in the country should keep in touch through Hindi and that this requires a centralized effort. A committee has now been constituted with Bombay’s Shri Kanhaiyyalal Munshi as its convenor. I had many discussions with him on this issue and found him swift and enterprising. I am convinced that in the near future some concrete suggestions will emerge. Another proposal is to request Hindi writers to join PEN, which is an international organization of writers. All this is proof of support to the Sammelan’s broadening horizons and I welcome them.

As for the question of whether the current literature in Hindi is worthy of being called the ‘national language’, I can only say that Hindi’s prominence cannot be the only reason for it to be considered the national language. Rabindranath Tagore does not write in Hindi and this should be a humbling thought for the proponents of Hindi. If the language has fewer capable writers today then efforts must be made to increase their numbers tomorrow. When I see Hindi as the tongue of the masses, it might be considered my inferiority complex. It is not so much a language of tehzeeb or refined manners but it has always been the

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language of life. Today’s Hindi writer must realize that his readers come from distant corners of the country. Given this fact, he should avoid being communal and narrowminded in opinion or regional in idiom and emotion. Now that the criterion of national language is getting clearer by the day, the Hindi writer will have to rise to the occasion or not be in any reckoning at all. Hindi has found that the surest way of promoting progressive writing is by doing away with literary flab. If perceptive readers of other languages are dissatisfied with today’s Hindi literature, I shall request them to exercise patience. If the number of enlightened readers like them has increased then it will not be long before they witness an increase in the number of Hindi writers offering them material suitable for their taste. I accept that Hindi literature offers less of the enduring and more of the cursory; there is not much of the outstanding and a lot of the average. But other languages and their speakers should offer Hindi the opportunity to grow and enrich itself. There is no doubt that the Indore conference has made a commendable effort towards creating a national profile for the script, language and literature of Hindi. By organizing a literary event that brought our provinces together, the Sammelan has made up for a shortcoming that has caused unease for years. If this effort succeeds, our literatures shall truly be the country’s wealth. On behalf of the committee, Shri Kanhaiyyalal Munshi has initiated correspondence between the literary heavyweights of our provinces and circulated a letter suggesting that the format of the Sammelan’s programme be formalized. After referring to this suggestion, he writes:

Before the committee begins its work and consequent to the election of representatives of various provincial languages, it is necessary to give a good thought to the basics of provincial languages. It is

170 Premchand on Literature and Life my request, therefore, that letters be written to those who agree with this plan, asking for suggestions on the matter. I have full trust that all nationalist publications in our provinces will welcome the proposal. To carry forward this task, it is suggested that each provincial language shall have a section in an existing monthly periodical or in some new publication that is to be brought out every month. Hindi translations of these would also be published in the same periodical. These articles should be as concise as possible and should be written by the best scholars in each of the languages. Topics chosen could be on any of the following themes— An aspect of a novel, a play, an essay, history, or on new literature in any provincial language. A monthly overview of the progress made by a provincial language.

(a) A short summary of a novel or play in any provincial language.

(b) One or two poems published in magazines in any provincial language. A critique of some good composition written that month in any provincial language.

If you cannot arrange for these articles to be translated into Hindi, then arrangements for this should be made in Bombay, which is fortunate to have people familiar with the country’s various languages. In this way, we will have in our hands a periodical on literature from the provinces. Finally, I would request you to seek the assistance of writers who will, in your language, bring this plan to fruition. You can then inform me that (i) they shall put this idea into practice and (ii) send me their compositions every month. Please respond promptly so that I can send Mahatmaji a report as soon as possible.

If the programme outlined in the letter is put to practice, it will be a great service to the country. In some form or the other, cultural affinity has been present in India’s provinces since ancient times. Yet, it is surprising that in this day and age, when many possibilities exist for integration, we are

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unfamiliar with each other in a major cultural component of ours. The literature of countries like Russia and France, Sweden and Poland, Japan and Spain is accessible to us through English. We read these works, debate on them, and through them we satiate our hunger for literature. We naturally hope for resemblances and the same intensity and worth in our own writings but, in comparison, when we find our provincial literatures insubstantial. This evokes despair and feelings of inferiority. The truth is that we are hardly acquainted with the literatures in our country. The province is not the country; rather, the country is a collective of provinces. Till we demolish the differences between provincial languages, our national literature will not appear before us in complete form and shape. Its different colours that we see today—red, green, blue, and yellow—and when they all merge, only then will they acquire brilliance. When an eloquent speaker sees an excited ocean of listeners before him, goddess Saraswati, the deity of knowledge and speech, seems to grace his tongue. The smaller the audience, the similar the ratio in which the speaker’s enthusiasm wanes. Similarly, when the consciousness of a vast land guides a writer’s creativity, a new uniqueness is born. Ask a poet writing for some All-India poets’ convention and he will say his burning desire is to devote the entire might of his soul to his poem’s composition. Visualizing renowned poets seated around him there will spur his talent. One’s strength is built in proportion to one’s responsibilities. When our writers look beyond their own province at the vast country before them, only then can they produce literature with full concentration, preparation and devotion. These are not moments of preoccupation; rather, the canvas of their minds should be expanded in unforeseen ways. Scholars, who have either not received enough encouragement from regional languages or have not made an effort to write

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anything or they write in English should not think that writing in the national language is below their dignity. I am convinced that the world of Hindi literature will warmly welcome these developments, and our group of worthy editors will give a new life to our plans through critique, consultation, and blessings. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

Premchand on Literature and Life 173

The Tale of a Turmeric Seller Haldi ki Gaanthwala Pansari

On finding a small piece of turmeric somewhere, a man began considering himself an exceptional grocer of the tuber. The editor of Saraswati, Thakur Shrinath Singh, is a man with a somewhat similar attitude. He has somehow managed to write just one novel, Uljhan, in his life and now believes that people are writing stories and plays along the lines of this novel. I also wrote a story, entitled Jeevan ka Shaap, based on his novel but there were some variations.

After hearing about the absurdities of the Thakur for the past few days, I fear he suffers from palpitations or melancholia. On perusing his article, Premchandji ki Rachna: Chaaturi ka Ek Namoona, in the August issue of Saraswati, my fear has turned into conviction. I would humbly advise him to consult a competent doctor before his condition takes a turn for the worse. The manifestations of melancholia make its victims believe that their possessions and wealth are being grabbed by others and so, like a blind dog, they bark their fury at the grabbers. This Thakur has another unique trait—he first claims as his personal property the principles and ideals which have been the mainstay of literature since times immemorial and then creates controversies about them. In narratives, the power of love

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is not a new invention; it is as timeless as literature itself. But our honourable Thakur believes that such things are the creation of his mind and, at a recent Sahitya Sammelan, when Pandit Ramchandra Shukla alluded to the basics of literature, he challenged him, shouting, “This has been stolen from my article!” It does not strike this innocent gentleman that the esteemed Shuklaji is as well informed about literary principles as any writer should be and, by insulting Shuklaji, he is only insulting himself. But his strategy is to acquire fame through notoriety.

It seems that Thakur Shrinath Singh’s intention behind writing his piece in Saraswati is to shower such great praise on his own Uljhan that its innocent readers are beguiled into considering it a literary classic which inspired even Premchand so greatly that he wrote a whole story based on it. I only read the works of writers whose talent I am convinced about or those who seek my comments on their writing. Shrinath Singh has never ever gifted me his novel and I have never ever been convinced about his talent. I do not even consider him a creative person. His creativity lies in being just a competent publisher who gives Saraswati a good ‘get-up’ by translating works of English writers. This is my final summation of him. Amongst all his works, I have only heard of a poem about two siblings which has now been patented. It is with great pride that you, Shrinath Singhji, repeat this at each and every gathering but yours is either a translation or an imitation of some English poem. I have no time to read the compositions of every Tom, Dick and Harry. It makes one laugh to read of the likeness the Thakur has drawn between my Jeevan ka Shaap and Uljhan. If both works have heroes who are poor, wise, hardworking and contented, have wives who are foul mouthed, have side

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heroes who are wealthy businessmen with dissatisfied wives, then I would say that it is the Thakur who has lifted his plot, characters and complications from my Sevasadan. Uljhan also has a female protagonist who is disgruntled with her husband’s poverty and is given to frequently visiting Pandit Padamsingh Sharma’s residence. Even I had read Uljhan, I would not have criticized such episodes as they occur day in and day out, and no writer can claim to have exclusive rights over their narration. But our poor Thakur is constrained by melancholia and is helpless. Both Sevasadan and Uljhan contain scenes in a park which show the female protagonists sitting on a bench. So, it would be fair for me to say that Uljhan is a shoddy imitation of Sevasadan since Thakur Shrinath Singh has not only read Sevasadan but also praised it. He can now go ahead and critique it.

The complication presented in Jeevan ka Shaap has not quite been understood by our honourable Thakur. Uljhan might depict the problem of incompatibility in marriage like Sevasadan, which it imitates. But the problem in Jeevan ka Shaap is entirely different and beyond the Thakur’s comprehension, so how can he claim to have devised it? The wives in Jeevan ka Shaap have not forsaken their husbands; rather, as is usually the case, they have chosen to continue living with their spouses. The foul-mouthed wife returns to her impoverished but wise husband as also the flirtatious wife, who rejoins her wealthy spouse. The real problem becomes apparent in the words that the foul-mouthed wife reserved for the spouse of the wealthy gentleman:

Go silently and tell Shireen Bano to stay comfortably at home. There’s nothing like perfect happiness. Fate cannot be prejudiced. Roses have thorns too. If happiness is to be relished, then its frailties also have to be borne. Science hasn’t yet come up with a way to separate the thorns from the blooms of happiness. Those used to opulence in life can

176 Premchand on Literature and Life think of nothing but sensuous pleasures. What sort of wealth is it that doesn’t seek to buy all the world’s pleasures? Aren’t the doors open for Shapoorji, the wealthy husband, also open for Shireen, his wife? Tell her to live in his house, to enjoy his wealth, and to forget she is Shapoor’s wife just as he has forgotten that he is Shireen’s husband. Tell her to snatch her pleasures, and to forget the jealousy and resentment that are the sacred offerings of wealth. If the wife of a husband seeking sensual pleasures also does not hunt for similar pleasures, then it highlights her cowardice and she deserves to be scorned.

The conversation continues with Kawasji replying in astonishment: ‘But aren’t you also a worshipper of wealth?’ Embarrassed, Gulshan responded, ‘Yes, that is the curse of life.’

This example will clarify to readers what has been termed the curse of life. Excessive wealth is life’s curse, and it constantly draws people towards licentiousness. Gulshan does not trust even her impoverished husband when she claims: ‘If today you were to get money from anywhere, you will surely become another Shapoor.’

Doubtfully, Kawasji responds:

‘Then you, too, will perhaps tread the path you have carved for yourself?

Gulshan replies:

‘Not “perhaps” but “definitely”!’

In one of my major works, Kayakalp, and also in many short stories, I have brought out the fact that wealth is indeed the curse of life. Wealth and licentiousness are twins that cannot be separated. Happiness in life lies not in wealth but in contentment and restraint. This view is not my new invention and our literature is replete with such themes.

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There are many truths in life that remain constant and, no matter how often they are repeated, their core remains unchanged. I have only used new ways to present them, and this has always been my constant aim.

In the end, I will only say to my friend, Thakur Shrinath Singh, that he should not make a laughing stock of himself by writing page upon page of utter nonsense. In fact, he is an embarrassment to all those who write in Hindi. He resembles the single rotten fish that contaminates an entire pond. The status of Hindi literature falls in the eyes of those who speak other languages when they see editors like him being ignorant about very obvious things in literary writing. A person like me who has written more than three hundred stories, around twenty-five novels, and hundreds of prose pieces must surely possess some innate talent. When the day of my mental faculties slowing down comes, and I have to base my works on the likes of Thakur Shrinath Singh’s compositions, I will simply stop writing. Uljhan shows the resolution of a marital problem—the exchange of wives—which replicates the shallow ideals of the West. Not a thought has he given to the pros and cons of the issue. Perhaps, the Thakur is incapable of this. He denounces me for being a minion of the West but I have never forsaken my ideals. It is a sign of one’s own shallowness to consider sacrosanct everything articulated by modernism. Happiness in life does not lie in exchanging wives. A woman who is a goddess in your eyes today may well fall in your eyes tomorrow; a man who appears god-like today can turn into a demon the day after. Such marital issues can only be resolved only through patience and perseverance. Thakur Shrinath Singh should know that renown comes through a blend of diligence, perseverance and divinely bestowed talent. It cannot be

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achieved by tarnishing another’s reputation or honour, or through defamatory interviews, or by creating a scene at well-attended gatherings. If Thakur Shrinath Singh lacks any of the three prerequisites of renown, why should he unnecessarily hanker for literary fame when he can earn a lot more just by canvassing for himself? Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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Partiality Towards Women Writers? Kya Yeh Lekhikaon ke Saath Pakshpaat Hai

A young writer recently sent one of his compositions for publication to the editor of a periodical. The editor returned the manuscript. The writer then sent it to another editor. It was again returned. The writer then thought of a strategy. He put a woman’s name on the manuscript and despatched it to the first editor. This time, the honourable editor immediately acknowledged its receipt and it was published in the very next issue. The writer then taught this editor a lesson. He narrated the story of this preferential treatment to another well-known editor who gave a piece of his mind to the first editor, saying—Your attitude is condemnable enough to make all editors hang their heads in shame. But I do not consider all this to be a matter of great shame. The young man did commit a shameful act by hiding behind the identity of a woman. What could be more shameful than a young man with literary inclinations choosing to satisfy his ego by donning a woman’s attire of choli and sari! Most men are, and should be, compassionate and gentle with mothers and sisters. There is nothing wrong in displaying that the core of one’s being is filled with reverence for women. Everyone is happy to see an elderly man do this but should a youth resort to the same no one

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would extol him. It is quite an ordinary thing for a young man to pass an examination but it is extraordinary for a girl to do the same. Some time ago, even the standard of examinations for boys and girls was graded but today that has changed. This difference exists only in examinations in some subjects. Wherever culture has a pre-eminence, women are given more regard. However, in the world of business, there is no space for chivalry and women are paid less than men. But this situation is rapidly changing. While our trade and commerce seek the cradle of protection as they are never able to stand on their own feet, our women are soon going to reject protection of any kind. In a few years time, the youth will realize that their ploys to use women for advantage are not effective any longer. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

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The Hindi Sahitya Parishad at Patna Patna ka Hindi Sahitya Parishad

After many years, Patna grandly celebrated its annual literary convention, the Hindi Sahitya Parishad, between September 21 and 22. Shri Maakhanlal Chaturvedi, the ‘magician of Hindi’, presided over the event which was a gathering attended by good number of writers. I did not have the good fortune to attend as I had fever since Friday evening and it subsided only on Monday. So, I was left fretting. Till Sunday, I was hopeful the fever would disappear and I would be able to attend the Parishad but sadly it departed only when the event was over. I suppose it is better to be bedridden here in the holy city of Kashi than to have been in bed in Patna. Also, elders advise and scriptures instruct that it is better to be in the vicinity of Kashi during illness—a course of action appropriate from perspectives both worldly and divine. So, I’m hopeful that my literary fraternity will forgive my absence. Ill health snatched away such a favourable opportunity and I shall certainly extract my revenge on fever even if I have to break my faith in ahimsa. Reading the address of the Parishad president was like eating leftovers, leaving me to imagine what it must have been when delivered fresh. This makes me want a face­

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off with honourable Sir ‘Fever’ who has now disappeared without trace. His address has vitality and, for lovers of literature, it carries a message, showing the way forward and suggesting ways to better serve the cause of their literary interests. However, I do not subscribe to the idea of shouldering the burden of our ancestors. In fact, I believe that we carry this burden so much more than is necessary and it crushes us. We are so used to living in our past that we hardly care for the present or the future. Europe and the West consider us as creatures living five thousand years ago, whose real place is in museums or cages. They did not collect and carry off our manuscripts and our artefacts in the hope of acquiring knowledge; it was done to display them in their museums and derive the pleasure of triumphant arrogance. This is like ancient times when victory in war was followed by the display of plunder and the parading of the defeated populace. If the past gives us values and shows us the way, it also creates stumbling blocks and blind faith. That is why Lord Rama and Lord Krishna have been reduced to entities in the performance of Ramlilas and Raslilas, and Buddha and Mahavir have become God. What else but burden of the past lies in the fact that even today innumerable people, most of whom are educated, bathe in rivers to purify their minds. The past is, and should be, a matter of great pride for all those nations and communities who have been enriched by the dynamism and achievement of their ancestors. Why should people shed tears for ancestors who handed them a legacy of humiliating defeats and numerous hurdles? What is the point of having ancestors who considered themselves so intellectually superior that when Bakhtiyar Khilji defeated Bihar, he found entire cities and citadels resembling one huge library? In those times scholars enjoyed the patronage of their rulers and, sitting in their humble huts, would be

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lost in ancient texts. They were least bothered about what was going on around them or the pace at which the world was moving ahead. Had Bakhtiyar not created a diversion, these scholars would perhaps have continued their way of life, uninterrupted and totally immersed in their perusal of ancient treatises, revelling in the pleasure of scriptures as they headed towards their destination of immortality. While our forefathers were endeavouring to discover the path to salvation, explorers in the West were overcoming storms at sea and discovering new worlds. While the West achieved what it persevered for, our forefathers had not much to gain from their perseverance—a fact which holds true even today. Some see this world as an illusion that is the abode of sorrow and if this is what our literary world also perceives, there should be no cause for complaint. We should rest assured about the heavenly bliss that we will surely achieve one day. To quote Chaturvediji, ‘We are so used to being bound by scripture that instead of seeking salvation in Lord Rama’s narratives, we seek to be bound to the Vedanta doctrines in the Upanishads.’ And why not, because what do we have besides scripture and its obligations? In the past, pandits engaged in intellectual pursuits while warriors fought each other, disgraced each other and, when free from fighting, indulged in depravities. Such is our culture and custom—so exalted in our literature, so contemptible and crude in practice. The picture of our current literary sensibility, as drawn by our honourable president, has each word ringing true—

What do we do about this practice of ours? If I hear of someone’s vices, I immediately believe them, rush out with this unverified information, and reveal it as vile treasure to his literary contemporaries. Without verification, I become a trusting believer in the world’s unverified vices and I want my readers to be like me and trust my public condemnation

184 Premchand on Literature and Life of another. Personally, when I hear talk of someone’s literary talent, someone’s originality, someone’s excellence, then I seek his approval before offering my comments on the same.’

The president’s concluding remarks are also extremely touching:

Whether we are young or whether we are old, we sow the fear of death in every home and in each individual. For us, killing is not a sin but dying is. Today it is the responsibility of all well-wishers of literature to use their power and sensitise their generation to the fears of life and the flavours of death. This cannot be done by warriors. It is only the power of the pen that can do this.

Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and

Indian Literature

Bharatiya Sahitya aur Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

At the same time that Hans carried views on the necessity of establishing an association of Indian literature to bring together the country’s various literatures, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was also ruminating on the same issue sitting faraway in Almora jail. Though entirely unaware of what the Hans issue had to say, Nehru’s recent article has an uncannily similar orientation in Pratap, a collaborative publication of Hans. Such coinciding views prove that the nation’s stream of thought is deliberating on culture and literature with singularity of purpose. Nehruji is the life and heart of this nation, and centred in him are the aspirations and feelings of its people. Cultural and literary harmony is a vital factor in any nation’s development, and it is an auspicious sign for the nation’s future to have these concerns catch the attention of its citizens. At the beginning of his essay, Nehruji has rightly spoken about the mediocrity of the new literary writing emerging in Hindi while pointing out the historical and geographical reasons for Bengal and then Gujarat absorbing Western literary influence and getting ahead of other provinces. But for us in Hindi-speaking provinces, political consciousness

186 Premchand on Literature and Life

took a while in coming and, due to linguistic differences, we were unable to take advantage of Western influence. But if I am not mistaken, the developed languages of India are inconsequential when compared with the world’s developed languages. The chief reason for this is that the talent of the nation is spent in learning English. Those whose shoulders had to bear the weight of impelling the country forward, thought their own languages so inferior that they were very embarrassed. Even today, our fascination for English has not decreased even one iota. Another reason is the absence of interaction between the languages of our provinces and the nation’s literature seems to have been imprisoned in tiny cells. Our literature, deprived of its freedom, has become weak, enervated and spiritless. Nehruji has this to say: We must derive benefit from this experience and form linkages between the country’s languages. Our writers should have their own association which should occasionally meet. Instead of competitiveness, such a step will usher in mutual cooperation and our literatures will be able to assist in each other’s growth. Streams of thought shall emerge to spread quickly across the land and strengthen our unity. I have heard that some efforts are being made in this direction but I do not know much about them. I believe that an association of Indian literature will be a feast for all our languages. Hindi and Urdu are sisters—one body but two faces. We must bring them as close as possible. Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati are Hindi’s younger sisters. The languages of the South are the most ancient in our land. Besides these, all the other major and minor languages of India should come under the purview of the association. I will go so far as to press for English also being given a place in it. Though it is not our language, it is an important part of our lives. In a way it has become our linguistic step sister. I believe that English has become so very necessary in the

Premchand on Literature and Life 187 present circumstances that it does not require the support of any association or institution. It is less a step sister and more a consort of India’s languages, all of which beg for its benevolence. The condition of our educated classes is so pathetic that most cannot write one correct sentence in their mother tongue. It is sad that most of our so-called leaders are ignorant about their mother tongue. What we are witnessing before our eyes is the condition of a society in which there is a great distance between leaders and people because the bond of language between them is non-existent. And what is more—we are not even ashamed of being so worthless and ignorant that our future is bereft of any hope. In the guise of straight talk, such people proclaim—‘We find it far more convenient to speak and write in English’.

What Nehruji says about Hindi being the national language, and other languages like Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, and Gurumukhi being written in the Hindi script, echoes the opinions of the movement supporting the cause of Hindi. He writes: The second thing is that our writers should connect with writers across the world and join international literary associations. Without this, we cannot be counted amongst the world’s leading nations. We have to accept that in this modern age, new ideas are coming to us from Europe and America. Without understanding these ideas we cannot really face the world of today. The first thing that this new age teaches us is that our world is one and we cannot split it up into different parts. Those who think like this get left behind.

Nehruji’s statement is so very true but to join any international association, we first have to make our case with the support of a national language; we cannot enter an international arena on the strength of languages spoken in our provinces. It would be a huge mistake to imagine that each of these languages of ours have equivalence with the world’s developed languages. Every country needs to

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have a language in order to present itself at an international forum. A few translations in English of works written in the languages of our provinces can surely be presented to the world but this would be like someone displaying their borrowed feathers at a gathering. The accolades for such a translation, however, would be only for the translator and not for the language in which the original work was written. Today, international recognition has been accorded to Russian, Swedish and French works not because their translations were published in English but because these works were read and appreciated in their original languages. Only when they became famous were they translated into English, German and French. If we aspire for a similar place in world literature, we need a national language on the basis of which we can join the world’s literary organizations. We can surely hope that at some point of time, one particular language would be publicized as being known by all Indians but it is impossible to think that at any juncture in time, today’s twelve major Indian languages would achieve a status at par with the world’s prominent languages. In the concluding part of his essay, Nehruji has advised us to learn some of the prominent languages in the world:

Many of us should also learn foreign languages. They will be our windows to the world and the source of fresh ideas in our lives. English is already known to many of us, and we should benefit from this as it has spread far and wide. But knowing English is not enough; we have often been deceived for knowing only English. We have begun to view the world through the spectacles of English and do not realize that this is a blinkered vision. Even while politically confronting the British government, we have become slaves of their ways of thinking... If we were to read French, German or Russian books and newspapers, we would realize that there is more

Premchand on Literature and Life 189 to the world than English. It does not play that great a role as we tend to think.

Nehruji also accepts that it is difficult for many of us to learn the various languages of Europe when he writes: It would be appropriate that famous books written in foreign languages be translated into Hindi. I believe this is extremely necessary for us to understand the flow of thoughts in the world.

The works which we translate from English these days find few takers because most people know English and prefer to read the originals rather than their Hindi translations. But this would not hold true for works in other European languages because there are very few of us who can read these languages in the original. My hope is that our readers will ponder over this issue. I also hope that those who have the misconception that Hindi as the national language will damage the other languages of the land will understand the true nature of the relationship between Hindi and the languages of the provinces. It will be the responsibility of our national literary association to identify which works written in the provincial languages should be brought out in Hindi and the best ways in which these texts can then be placed before forums of world literature. Considering Hindi a separate language, and turning indifferent to it, will not be beneficial for the languages and literatures of our provinces but it will certainly be damaging for national literature. Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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Enriching the National Language Rashtrabhasha Kaise Samriddh Ho

I am delighted to observe the growing interest of our politicians in the national language. In Madras, Maulvi Jamal Ahmad, Shri C.Y. Chintamani and other luminaries gave speeches during the week devoted to publicizing the rashtra bhasha or national language. Though their remarks on the significance of cultural unity arising from the publicity and development of the rashtra bhasha were accepted by all, Shri Rajendra Prasad, who presided over the event, saw the issue differently. During a session devoted to south India, he said that the national language can be enriched only through publicity. In the interaction of the national language with the various languages of the provinces, the former shall see the entry of new words and idioms into its storehouse of vocabulary with each passing day. I quote below a part of Shri Rajendra Prasad’s speech given in English. My point of view is that Hindi authors and readers should be requested to give up their horror of un-Hindi idioms and uses. The desire must be to absorb as many varieties of expression as are available to them. Some of the articles appearing in these magazines, by their very nature, are untranslatable in Hindi except by a use of the local idioms. In such articles, such idioms have been retained with a view to make the language more effective. Hindi readers must develop catholicity of

Premchand on Literature and Life 191 taste and an anxiety to secure enrichment of expression by an absorption of expressive idioms of other provinces.1· Living languages keep increasing their vocabulary by borrowing from other languages. During my life, I have seen thousands of English words and idioms being constantly assimilated into Hindi. Even English grows at a fast pace because it is a global language. There is not a single language in the world from which English has not enriched its vocabulary. If today, an English writer wishes to paint a picture of Arab life, he would not face a shortage of appropriate words. Whether it be Mongolia or Brazil, Arabia or Africa, English keeps in touch with their languages by borrowing words and idioms from them whenever English writers decide to write accounts about these places. This is how the English language enriches itself day by day. The sphere of Hindi is larger than the other Indian language but, if it is to become the national language, it will have to take the assistance of languages from all the country’s provinces. Another point to be kept in mind always is that in its eagerness to enlarge its vocabulary, Hindi should not lose its distinctiveness. The Hindustani spoken in Hyderabad is a corrupted form of Hindustani and so we are compelled to call it ‘Dakhini’ rather than Hindustani. If Hindi met the same fate it would become Dakhini Hindi. It would be so much the better if we could enrich Hindi by retaining its basic form. Hindi will surely meet its end if it also comes to be written the way it is spoken in Bombay or Poona, Mysore or Madras, Dhaka or Orissa, or by people unfamiliar with it. Despite being in currency in various countries, the English language has retained its basic principles and no one has dared to contravene them. Hindi, too, has its own basic principles and no matter how far its outreach, these principles must be protected. Translated by Shuby Abidi 1

In the original article, Premchand has given his own Hindi translation of this portion of Shri Rajendra Prasad’s speech in English, which appears as given above.

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My Humble Submission to Triveni Triveni se Hamara Namra Nivedan

Triveni, a publication in English from Madras, has welcomed my proposal seeking the formation of an Indian literary association, the Bharatiya Sahitya Sangathan, and also brought out a brief note1· warmly acknowledging 1

This note is in English and reads: A Commonwealth of Literatures We welcome the efforts that are being made by Mr. K. M. Munshi to give an All-India status to our provincial literatures. Hansa, the Hindi magazine till now conducted by Sri Premchandji, will hereafter be edited co-jointly by Sriyuts Munshi and Premchandji. It will publish articles about the different literatures, with personal sketches of writers and poets, and translations into Hindi of the more valuable literary pieces. Triveni has similar aims, and since 1928, it has bestowed a great deal of attention on the literary and cultural movements in Andhra, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other linguistic units of India. In fact, this has been a prominent feature of Triveni, and it is not quite accurate today to say that we know the latest literary and cultural activity in England, but not that of our neighbouring province. While we readily recognize that it is useful to conduct a magazine in Hindi for the benefit of all Indian provinces, we believe that it is not less important that Indian literature should keep in touch with the literature of the world by the publication of articles on the Indian literatures and translations of poems, plays and stories, in an international language like English. There are so many ways in which Triveni and Hans can cooperate with advantage. There is however, a widespread feeling in South India that, in their zeal for the propagation of Hindi, the

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the publication of Hans. Since the very beginning, Triveni has upheld and honoured the ideal of India’s cultural unity and now it shares this objective with Hans. There is a difference, however, in their approach to this objective. While Triveni wants to place Indian culture and literature on the international stage through the medium of English, Hans favours bringing India’s varied literatures closer by erasing cultural disharmony to forge an enduring national literature and culture. My own opinion is that our literatures and cultures must harmoniously bond together before we try securing a respectable place in the international arena. Till we nurture the spirit of nationhood in our literature and culture, we cannot hope to rise to an international level. Nationhood is the stepping stone to internationalism and we can reach our desired destination only by covering this distance. Till literatures in India reach out to each other, the talk of a place in world literature is like India claiming to have joined the international community while still under colonial rule. Without conforming to the specificities of nationhood, nationalism becomes a rarity. In a nation lacking the spirit of nationhood, it is no surprise [propagators or] pracharaks are making exaggerated claims on its behalf, and referring to the literatures in Kannada, Tamil or Telugu with condescension. It is one thing to say that, as Hindi is spoken by the largest number of Indians, it might eventually serve as a medium of communication between province and province. It is altogether different to exalt it to the position of a national language and impose it on all provinces, to the detriment of the local language. We draw a distinction between a common language and a national language. There are several sub-nationalities in India, and to them their mother-tongue is the national language and also the prime vehicle of creative self-expression. Hindi is not inherently superior to Telugu or Bengali, nor is its literature as rich and varied as theirs. We respectfully warn Mr. Munshi against the subtle danger that lurks behind the Hindi movement. Hans must steer clear of it.

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to see it falling flat on its face while attempting to scale international heights. If mini-Indias continue to exist within the larger whole, and if each of these continues to defend its own literature and culture without trying to get closer to others, nationhood will elude us till doomsday. We must give up some of our provincial inclinations. Political concurrence is meaningless without cultural concord. The promoters of Hindi can be forgiven for making the mistake of trying to prove the superiority of Hindi over Tamil and other vernaculars. If people are not convinced about the superiority of an objective, they will not sacrifice their time and mental effort to achieve it. It is quite natural for some arrogance to creep in when one enthusiastically adopts a new idea. Wise men see it as a child’s enthusiasm. Hindi is not impatient to become the national language. I have no objection if one can convince oneself about the difference between ‘common language’ and ‘national language’. I only desire to make Hindustani the common language and I aspire to see it eventually serving as a medium of communication in all our provinces. Hindi has to be accepted as a common language not because its literature is superior to Telugu, Bengali or dozens of other literatures but because most of our people understand and speak it, and so it can serve as the medium for literary concord. Till today, I fail to comprehend how such an arrangement could possibly harm the languages or literatures from the provinces. Is it harmful for a literature to expand its area of readership and create opportunities to familiarize itself with other literatures? Would it be damaging for the great poets and writers of Telugu or Tamil if their compositions reach out to an entire nation rather than a single province? Or, would it be unfortunate if their readers got the chance to enjoy the finest compositions in other literatures? English language and literature familiarize us with the world’s

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literatures—is this also harmful for us? If it is not harmful then can familiarity with our country’s various literatures be harmful, or is it harmful simply because this familiarity comes through a destitute language like Hindi rather than English? If our endeavours were in English, would it be more gratifying for Triveni? Can our literary concord be achieved through any other language? If not, then is Hindi committing a great crime by undertaking this endeavour? For international transactions, we certainly need English; the vernaculars are there for communication between provinces. But for communication at the national level, the knowledge of Hindi has become essential. We may neglect Hindi today, but perhaps a time will come in the future when it cannot be ignored. Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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One Year of the Hindi Lekhak Sangh Hindi Lekhak Sangh ka Ek Varsh

The Hindi Lekhak Sangh, or Hindi writers’ association, has completed one year of its existence. Its main publication, Lekhak, has been in circulation for six months. The time has now come for us to assess both. There is no doubt that Hindi needs to have a writers’ association that sets itself ambitious goals and has a comprehensive area of operation. Compliments are due to the few people who have contributed to the Sangh’s achievements in a short span of time. Their energies till now, however, have been directed towards organizing and publishing Lekhak and scant attention has been paid to the literary and cultural responsibilities of such an association. This Lekhak Sangh certainly needs members but if all Lekhak buyers and readers are made the Sangh’s members, there is not much difference between the Sangh’s publications and commonplace magazines. The Sangh should exist exclusively for writers. It should have adequate resources to facilitate their interactions and highlight literary and cultural issues so as to foster cordiality and goodwill amongst writers. For achieving this, financial support and competent people are needed. The Sangh does not possess a paisa and donations by members are

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not enough for publishing Lekhak. As a result, the Sangh’s staff spends all its energies on safeguarding the association. The last six issues of Lekhak have been very informative for perceptive readers. Each issue has addressed concerns that are vital for writers, and Lekhak’s editors have not spared any effort in highlighting them. The one deficiency that causes unease is the fact that the critical perspective is very weak. The periodical should give it special attention and emphasis. As there is no dearth of critics amongst the members of the Lekhak Sangh, efforts should be made to form a club of these critics so that their unbiased and consensual views on new Hindi writing can be published. This will benefit writers as well as literature. I request the readers of the periodical Hans to also subscribe to Lekhak. Youth should be ready to imbibe and elders should be willing to impart. The latter’s responsibility does not end with the publication of their own works. Rather, it is their duty to show the way to those who are to follow in their footsteps. Translated by Sami Rafiq

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s

Disappointment

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji ki Nirasha

In the November issue of Vishal Bharat, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has written an interesting note entitled ‘Our Literature’. In an earlier issue, he had read that Hindi literature had made such great progress in the recent past that its very own Shakespeares and Bernard Shaws had emerged. Believing this, he got a few of his friends to send him some recent works in Hindi. But, as was bound to happen, he was disappointed with what he received and perused. Perhaps suspecting the quality of books sent to him, Nehru then requested people in the world of Hindi literature to publish a list of good books written in the last thirty odd years to give connoisseurs of Hindi literature a chance of assessing the literary progress made. I do not wish to debate on whether such a list was ever published in Vishal Bharat or elsewhere. The surprise for me was Panditji believing that Hindi literature had indeed made great progress. New writing in Hindi can hardly claim to be more than twenty-five or thirty years old, and most of it comprises letter-writing by women. This has happened because most educated people consider it below their dignity to write in Hindi, or because our leaders have scant knowledge of Hindi literature, or because people

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who have become a trifle proficient in English consider Hindi to be the worthless tongue of rural folk. In view of this, can we really hope for literature of superior quality to be produced in Hindi? With colonial subjugation shackling our talent and progress, and our educated class not wanting to have any truck with Hindi literature, can our literature ever be infused with growth and vitality? Can glory ever dawn on our literature while we fail to challenge Europe in any sphere of life, saying our Lenins and Trotskys, or our Nietzsches and Hitlers are yet to be born? There could hardly be any educated European or American who is not well acquainted with the literature and culture of their country. In fact, Trotsky has incisively critiqued every aspect of revolutionary literature and dwelt upon its perfections and imperfections. Such an exercise has also been undertaken by educated people elsewhere but many of us here, who are knowledgeable in Hindi, take pride in deriding our own literature. So it is not surprising to see Nehruji disappointed about something which seems to bother no one else. Good literature can flourish only when people blessed with talent and commitment step into the world of writing, when a well-written book is considered an object of national pride, when such books are discussed over cups of tea, when the virtues and vices of their characters are critiqued in scholarly discussions, and where intellectuals find pleasure in perusing literature. When expectations from a literature are belied and a society has lopsided literary tastes, one can only hope for small mercies. Unfortunately, those who serve the cause of literature in our society are people who have failed to find any other employment or are individuals who only read or write for amusement. Great literature can never ever make an appearance in a society that lacks literary taste. Translated by Malati Mathur

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London’s New Organization of Indian Writers London Mein Bharatiya Sahityakaaron ki Ek Nayi Sanstha

I am truly delighted to know that our educated and serious-minded youth has developed a penchant for renewing interest and enthusiasm in literature. The Indian Progressive Writers Association was established in London with this objective in mind. If this Association sticks to the manifesto it has publicized, one looks forward to the dawn of a new era in literature. Below are given some sections of their manifesto: Major changes are seen emerging in Indian society. Old opinions and convictions are being shaken as a new society takes birth. Writers in India also must articulate this transformation occurring in the lives of their countrymen and, thereby, assist in the nation’s march towards progress. To escape life’s realities after the downfall of earlier civilizations, Indian literature had sought solace in ‘upasana’ and ‘bhakti’, worship and devotion. The result is that literature had become listless and lifeless both in form and meaning. Even today our literature tends to brim over with bhakti and asceticism. Sentiments are flaunted, stances and insights are boycotted. The last two centuries, particularly, have produced only this kind of literature and mark an embarrassing period in our literary history. The aim of this Association is to extract our literature and other creative arts from the authority of priests, clerics and conservative sections of society so as to bring it

Premchand on Literature and Life 201 closer to the masses. Life and its realities should be woven into our literature in such a way that our future becomes brighter. While safeguarding our civilization’s traditions, we should also harshly criticize our country’s inclination towards declining principles. Through literature’s critical and creative works, we can put together all those ideas which will carry us towards our desired destination. I firmly believe that the nation’s new literature must bring to the fore basic facts like our bread-and-butter issues, our wretchedness, our social imbalances, and also our political shackles. Only when we comprehend these problems can our constructive energy get stimulated. Everything that takes us towards indolence, stagnancy or blind faith is vile. I consider to be progressive everything which fosters in us critical assessment and rational evaluation of cherished practices, that promotes industriousness, and gives us the strength to organize ourselves.

Keeping these objectives in mind, this organization agrees to the following proposals:

1. Establishment of institutions for writers from the various linguistic provinces so as to promote their mutual coordination and cooperation through conferences and pamphlets, and set up close linkages between the provincial, national and London organizations. 2. Encouragement to be given to building bonds between these literary organizations so that their objectives do not clash. 3. Assistance to be provided for the writing and translation of progressive literature which is unblemished from the aesthetical perspective, is far removed from cultural decline, and looks forward to the nation’s freedom and society’s upliftment. 4. Strive towards making Hindustani the national language, and work for the acceptance of the Indo-Roman script as

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the national script. 5. Protect the interests of writers and assist with the publication of their works 6. Strive towards freedom of thought and expression Appended to the manifesto are illustrious names like Dr. Mulk Raj Anand, Dr. K. S. Bhatt, Dr. J. C. Ghosh, Dr. S. Sinha, M. D. Taseer, and S. S. Zaheer. The address for correspondence is: Dr. S. R. Anand 32, Russell Square London

I warmly welcome this organization and pray for its long life. There is no doubt that the literature now needs to reflect these objectives. I have also adopted these objectives. The periodical, Hans, has been launched with these very objectives. It is true that we are not prepared to accept the Indo-Roman script as the national script. This is because we wish to make Devnagri our national script as it is holistic enough to be equally appropriate for all Indian languages. I also wish to state that this organization would be doing yeoman service to both literature and the nation if it arranged for the translation and publication in English of all our literature that conforms to its ideals. I request members of the Hindi Lekhak Sangh, or the Hindi literary association, to consider to my proposals and respond with their opinions. The objectives of the Lekhak Sangh are very similar to those of their counterpart in London, and there is no reason that prevents collaboration between the two. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Sahitya Sammelan ke Vishai Mein

Readers are well aware that this year, the session of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, or Hindi literature conference, is to be held at Nagpur during the Easter vacations. Preparations are on in full swing, and the welcome committee is in the process of being constituted. The chairperson has sent requests to scholars of Hindi asking for the titles of their articles that they intended to present at the Sammelan. I think that this year we should endeavour to have an allIndia literature conference rather than restricting it to a Hindi one. The organizers will be doing Hindi a great favour if they invite interested scholars from non-Hindi speaking provinces and also provide them travel allowance. For the growth of our literature at this point in time, we should seek the advice of the nation’s outstanding intellectuals to formulate a clear policy for ourselves. Now that we have published the manifesto of a literary meet in London, it is time for the Sammelan to consider such endeavours here. Personally presenting papers does not give any direction to literature. Instead, we need to formulate principles that can guide literary creativity. This must be done after giving much thought to the kind of literature we want to encourage, specially keeping in mind the difference between progressive and non-progressive literature. Such guidance is possible only when literary scholars from all

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over India arrive at a decision through open discussion and close collaboration. Translated by Ruchi Nagpal

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The Bihar Prantiya Sahitya

Sammelan, Purnea

Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea

Bihar’s Praantiya Sahitya Sammelan, or its provincial literature congress, was held between February 22 and 23 in Purnea. Shri Babu Yashodanandanji, an elderly wellwisher of literature, presided over the event. Despite the infirmities of old age, his acceptance of this responsibility is proof enough of his sustained love for literature. Delegates attended the Sammelan from all corners of the province and there was a buzz of excitement all around. Not a stone was left unturned by Shri Babu Raghuvansh Singh in warmly extending hospitality at the event. In his address, the honourable president spoke at great length on the Hindi language, literature, the Devanagari script, and related issues. His reflections on the publicity and progress of Hindi in Bihar made me very proud. Babu Yashodanandanji enlightened me about the fact that poetry in Khari Boli1 originated in Bihar and he also shed light on the reasons for the growth of Hindi during Muslim rule. In his view, Urdu was a form of Hindi, not a language 1

A language spoken in the Gangetic plain. It flourished specially between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries but resonates in the region even today.

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detached from Hindi. He declared that:

Muslim rule has assisted greatly in pushing Hindi along the road of growth and expansion. During that time, Hindi shad assumed three forms. One was pure Hindi written in the nagri script, which most people call Bhasha, Devnagri or Nagri. The second form was Urdu, which was a mixture of Persian and Hindi written in Persian script. The third form of Hindi is braj bhasha, spoken in north-central India. Today, Devnagri is the Hindi that deserves to be enthroned as the monarch of the national language. Devnagri and Urdu are really one, and this is the language of the region of Delhi.

As in the United Provinces, arrangements are also being made in Bihar for texts to have the same words written in both Hindi and Urdu at the primary level; the only difference would be the script. There is also opposition to this proposal in Bihar and Akhauriji, a delegate, said as much in his speech. Views like this will damage the cause of both Urdu and Hindi as the children who pass out after reading these texts will not be able to read literary works in the original. It has been accepted that Urdu is a mixture of Persian and Hindi, and Hindi is simply an alloy of Sanskrit and Urdu. By sifting out Persian from Urdu and Sanskrit from Hindi as far as is possible, Urdu and Hindi will become one and only the difference of script will remain. There can be no objection to keeping these two languages together. Wherever an alloy of the two becomes impossible, there should be no hurdle in separating them. Then why stress this aspect of separateness right from the start? The difference of script certainly exists but if we can erase the differences in idiom, it will be a gain rather than a loss. If learners in classes 4 to 7 are taught in the same language, Muslim children would inevitably be familiar with hundreds of Sanskrit words and their Hindu counterparts would learn hundreds of Persian expressions. This would then greatly

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facilitate mutual interaction amongst those who are fond of reading literature. After passing Class 8, these students would not have any deficit in literary reading as they will have read two or three books of literature in about four months of school. These days we cannot, and should not, prevent thousands of English words from entering our language. Similarly, the mingling of a few hundred Persian words with Hindi poses no danger to the latter.

A poets’ convention was also organized at the Sammelan. It was presided over by honourable Professor Manoranjan, who happens to hold a Masters degree. The professor himself is a good poet who understands the significance of poetry in our lives. He very pertinently pointed out that poetry is not simply a source of entertainment and does not need to be recited like a song being sung. Poetry is something which inspires hearts, transforms melancholic minds, and is not confined to emotions related only to women. If a poem does not have the power to awaken the reader, it is lifeless. Poetry should have the power of touching our hearts—sometimes like the gentle strumming of an instrument, sometimes like the moving song of a bird, or sometimes like the cry of a creature caged. Poetry has already wasted centuries in bemoaning the separation of lovers and shedding tears for the heartless beloved. We now need writers like the eminent poet-philosopher, Allama Iqbal2, to infuse life into our dead bones. I draw your attention to Iqbal’s imaginative lines that inspired 2

The reference is to Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), more famously known as Allama Iqbal, an important literary figure of South Asia. His writings reflect his felicity with both Persian and Urdu, and his legacy lives on today through his patriotic composition Saare jahan se achcha/Hindustan hamara … first published in 1904. It has been set to martial music and is now frequently played on occasions of national celebration.

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Lenin to make a powerful appeal to the Almighty who then instructs his angels thus: Arise and, in my world, let the poor be awakened,

Let the bastions of power be shaken,

Let rebellion’s fire flow in the blood of slaves,

Let sparrows be emboldened to battle the hawks.

The time now comes for commoners to reign,

Let remnants of the past be found and erased.

In fields that no livelihood offer,

Let each stalk of grain be burnt.

From the house of prayer, let that priest be banished

Who, between believer and Creator, draws a veil.3

Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

3

These are the opening lines from Iqbal’s composition, Farman-e Khuda, or ‘The Almighty’s Command’, which imaginatively takes up the cause of the oppressed in the face of oppression unleashed by those in power.

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Institutions for Hindi Literature Hindi Sahitya ke Vidyalaya

Till two years ago, teaching Hindi literature to interested students was an exercise only in name. In the higher courses of Hindi literature, students had to study on their own at home and then appear for examinations. Institutions such as the Hindi Vidyapeeth at Prayag, the Bhagwandeen Sahitya Vidyalaya at Kashi, and the Hindi Vidyalaya at Sirsa imparted education in literature but admitted very few students due to paucity of funds and shortage of teachers. Teaching there was not properly organized and there were no arrangements for students’ residential facilities. Consequently, students from outside these towns, especially those from southern India, faced considerable difficulties. They would travel great distances and would return home disappointed on not finding suitable accommodation. So it is a matter of great joy to find that efforts by literature lovers have recently resulted in the opening of two institutions that make literature the focus of their attention. One is the Deoghar Sahitya Vidyalaya in Bihar province and the other is Khopapur Hindi Sahitya Vidyalaya in Gorakhpur. Deoghar, also known as Baidyanathdham, is a place of pilgrimage also known for its pleasant climate. Good arrangements have been made here for students

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desiring to appear for the examinations of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. Provisions have also been made for the study of subjects like English, Sanskrit, and skills in arts and crafts. A hostel is also available for students and they can get good meals here for a mere Rs. 5 per month. Arrangements have been made for their physical exercise. The founder of this institution is an enthusiastic gentleman from Calcutta—the honourable Shri Madanlalji Kaiyyan. The management of the school is in very capable hands, some of whom like Shri Janardhan Jha ‘Dwij’ (MA) and Shri Lakshminarayan Singh ‘Sudhanshu’ (MA, LLB) are very well known in the world of Hindi. I am particularly pleased to know that this institution also trains students in creative writing and editing. It has been just three years since the Khopapur Hindi Sahitya Vidyalaya opened its doors to students. Here, too, special attention is paid to imparting skills in Hindi and preparing students for examinations in higher courses of study. This year, arrangements have been made for awarding twenty-five scholarships to students from nonHindi speaking provinces like Andhra, Assam, Utkal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab. Along with this, preparations are also underway to teach English as well as two regional languages. In making such arrangements, the administrators have displayed a liberal outlook. Cultural evolution does not only mean giving our own language to others; it also means receiving theirs. Only then can mutual exchange have permanence. Queries and any other correspondence may be addressed to: The Hindi Sahitya Vidyalaya Khopapur P.O. Daideeha

Gorakhpur

Translated by Urvashi Sabu

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The Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad

In the last issue, I had expressed my opinion regarding the need for a Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, or a national council for literature. I am delighted that the Sahitya Parishads of Maharashtra and Gujarat have also acknowledged the need for such a body and have even launched movements to establish it. Each province in this land has its own language, and a cultural unity is present in all. The stimulus for all Indian literatures is also generally similar.

Ancient and medieval literature in all these languages was either highly devotional or greatly ornamented but today’s new literatures have initiated diverse trends in the provinces. These new literatures have their origins in new drifts of thought, in fresh possibilities, and in unusual perspectives that have impacted today’s complex life. Despite their unity of origin, one can so clearly discern streams that are so varied in subjects, styles, and outlooks. The time has now come for us to connect these streams. In earlier times, the writer was merely an ornament in society, someone who was managed by others. In modern times, however, the writer is not content with this role. He desires to intervene in refining society and wants to set right the lapses of politicians. What administrators seek

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to achieve through their knowledge of law and imposition of penalties, writers seek to achieve by awakening their readers’ atma or soul, and fulfilling their inner aspirations. The writer today has made a place for himself in society, and no developed nation can overlook this fact. This is why it is essential that there should be a parishad comprising writers of all languages in the country. In it, literary, aesthetic and cultural issues can be discussed, the benefits of personal experiences and tenets be talked about, and a well-organized course of action be undertaken. There are innumerable complicated social and intellectual concerns which we are failing to address in the absence of the exchange of opinions. In the absence of such mutual exchanges, parishads in the provinces are totally unaware of each others’ progress. The same work being carried out by them independently and separately is a waste of resources and labour. Can we not minimize this waste through coordination? Literature is no longer about devotion or embellishment. It is at once a text of sociology, theology, economics and everything else on which rests a nation’s existence. It is difficult to believe that for ages we were oblivious to this significance in literature. The distancing between our languages was, and still is, the reason for this but we can no longer postpone the formation of a literary organization.

Consequently, it was agreed that on the 3rd or 4th of April, a parishad of the country’s lovers of literature would be held in the city of Wardha for an auspicious beginning to be made. However, for various reasons we had to shuffle dates and now it has been decided that, on the occasion of Nagpur city’s Sahitya Sammelan or literature conference, the Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad will also meet on April 23 – 24. While lovers of literature in the world frequently hold international literary meets, writers from our provinces are

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strangers to each other. It cannot be a feature of our literary life to try and steal the limelight from a fellow writer or restrain the growth of our literatures. It is my hope that, on this occasion, known writers from each province will take the trouble to attend. The Sahitya Sammelan cannot remain indecisive about its duty to promote the Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

The Progressive Writers Association Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh

In an earlier issue, I have written about the Progressive Writers’ Association, specially enunciating its objectives and activities. I am happy to note that the Association has enthusiastically begun its work. Its main office is in Prayag but there are branches in cities like Aligarh, Lahore, Delhi, Amritsar, and Lucknow. In Allahabad, the Association has emerged as a vibrant literary forum which is very much in keeping with its nomenclature. Association members should actively foster the literary tastes and aesthetics that energizes society and also highlight the real problems of life. It has been decided to hold the Association’s annual session in Lucknow on April 10 this year. All those who share the objectives of the Association and wish to correspond, may please write to: Shri S.S. Zaheer 38 Canning Road Allahabad

Translated by Sami Rafiq

Publishing Books in Hindi Hindi Mein Pustakon ka Prakashan

By writing an article in June’s Vishaal Bharat, Shri Martand Upadhyay has drawn public attention to today’s sad state of affairs in the business of publication of Hindi books. There are many publishers who hand out commissions to buyers before the publication and sale of worthless books. The result is that buyers have now taken to demanding a commission on each book. Since they receive no commission to buy good books, they are quite happy to buy trashy ones. Publishers who are mindful of a book’s benefit to readers not only pay substantial royalty to the writer but also publish awarded books, keeping prices very nominal. Such publishers, however, find survival difficult and, if this situation is allowed to continue, good books will not find their way into the market. Martandji has done literature a great favour by writing his article. Things have reached such a pass that literature will suffer a great loss if nothing is done soon to control the situation. Publishers must meet to discuss this situation. They should also form some kind of publishers’ association to manage the marketing of books and think of appropriate means to punish defaulters. If the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, or the Hindi literary society, is willing to shoulder this

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responsibility, its influence and authority can greatly remedy the situation.

Under the circumstances, I do not think it proper to sit silently and put the entire blame on irresponsible publishers. We must think of ways in which the publication of good books can be publicized. Unless journalists and booksellers extend support, not much can be done with only publishers forming an association. It is a common complaint that books are either not reviewed in periodicals and journals or, if at all they are, it is usually done six months or a year after publication and even that is not without biases. It should be the responsibility of journal or periodical editors to assist publishers by publicizing good books, by expeditiously reviewing or getting such books reviewed, and also by lowering the advertising rates of these books. As it is, the world of Hindi literature is impoverished. On top of that, readers have no means of receiving information about newly-published books, so what do they buy? Dispensing relevant news is the work of newspapers. The sooner a good book’s review comes out, the sooner its market value increases. The benefits of reviews that accrue within two to three weeks of publication decline in proportion to delays in reviewing. Advertisements of books in periodicals and journals should be at special rates. Till publishers are given concessions and encouragement, they will not publish good books. Also, by forming associations of publishers, profits from books can be streamlined. Instead of publishers individually appointing agents, they can together appoint a few knowledgeable agents through their associations. Readers would then be able to differentiate between good and bad books, and they would naturally choose to buy the former. Bad products cannot be banished from the

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market but by making good books and reviews available, good taste can be inculcated amongst readers. This is how a market for good books can be created. Translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari

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Rashidul Khairi’s Social Narratives Rashidul Khairi ki Samajik Kahaniyan

It is imperative for a writer to show sensitivity and versatility, and possess a flair for style. If any one of these three is missing, his reputation would go for a toss. No matter how pleasing his style, his writing will fail to have an impact if he lacks empathy. Perhaps style itself is a form of empathy but there have been successful writers whose works possessed all the merits of literary style but lacked sensitivity. They could be praised for style and syntax but their writings did not somehow touch the hearts of their readers.

The late Maulana Rashidul Khairi1 had all three traits that marked the secret of his literary success. He was fortunate to have a heart that was compassionate and an inclination to side with the truth. Born into a middle class family, he was familiar with the lifestyle as well as the strengths and weaknesses of that class. Maulana Rashid’s characters were prototypes of people he had actually met—modest, selfrespecting girls like Saleha and upright, respectable elders like Kazim. Such individuals had made a great impression 1

Khairi (1868–1936) was an eminent Urdu writer and social reformer who vigorously espoused the cause of women. Ismat, a literary magazine for women, was started by him.

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on him but at the same time he had not been able to shut his eyes to the ills that plagued society, diluted its virtues, and vitiated the atmosphere. Khairi was not individualistic by nature; his instincts were inclined to be social.

Saleha and Kazim were not only individuals but also representatives of their social class. It was through them that Khairi wished to reform a society shackled in rigid tradition. Blind faith had taken the form of religion.; extravagance had become the bane of life; and British culture had destroyed the true principles of life with its ostentation and temptation. Generosity was fading away. These were times when few wished to shoulder the responsibility of supporting their families, when greed had soared sky-high, when the gratification of sensual pleasures took primacy, and when spirituality had truly waned. Women suffered after being stripped of their rights; they were crippled physically and mentally by all kinds of restrictions. A wife was no longer a life-partner but a mere object for her husband’s pleasure. Maulana Rashidul Khairi perhaps witnessed many instances of women’s humiliation and ruin, and his compassionate heart wept at their haplessness. He must have been impatient to alleviate their suffering, which is why his novels and stories echo the cry of a stricken heart reaching out to touch the hearts of his readers. Generally our poets or writers are devoid of physical energy. It is the world that serves to energize their thoughts, and their thoughts are dearer to them than what is happening in the world. The latter affect him only to the extent that they arouse his emotions. Beyond this, our writers hardly care about what happens to the world.

Maulana Rashid was not merely a writer; he was also a thinker and reformer. Urdu has had many writers who

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have talked about cultural issues but do not reflect the angst of life in their works. They have chosen themes like widow-marriage, purdah, or divorce either because it is easy to weave stories around such issues or because these stories are of topical interest for the public or because they are likely to bring them popularity. It does seem that the inner core of these writers remains unaffected by social problems and their stories lack the zeal to bring about any change. The stories of Maulana Rashid, however, reflect various facets of honesty, pain, anger, vulnerability, and frustration. It is almost as if the writer himself had suffered the insensitivity and callousness of society and is appealing to the Almighty for his words to push people into thought and action.

All his novels and short stories are passionate about social reform. In them, he relies on persuasion, advice, and style while frequently focusing on Islamic history and Shariah law. He wishes his words had the power and impact associated with archangel Israfeel’s trumpet that will announce the Day of Judgement. Besides the zeal for reform, Maulana Rashid’s writing also has flaws from the aesthetic point of view. The latter happens when his words read more like a preacher’s implorations rather than a writer’s creativity. It also happens when the reformer and the thinker get the better of the writer. But Maulana Rashid held truth very close to his heart, and his mind got so influenced by it that impatience would mark his narratives and the principles of literary creativity would vanish. In contrast to the world’s vastness, an artist’s view can only be very limited. There can be no comparison between the world of God and the world of Man. Every other day, there appear faces in the world of God that the world of Man can neither tolerate nor comprehend.

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Reality demands that the artist portray the world exactly as he sees it. There can be no deviation from a realistic presentation of life even though an artist’s personal feelings might get hurt or his sense of justice might be shaken. A creative artist cannot help being an idealist despite his perceptions of the world. Unless his imagination conceives of a picture perfect world, he cannot avoid being perturbed by the contradictions within his society. Unless we have seen Delhi, the stench of garbage in our towns and villages shall never disgust us. This points to the fact that only an image of perfection makes us aware of life’s imperfections. Genuine criticism can only come from someone who is aware of the truth of a matter. Literature, too, is nothing but a criticism of life. If we envisage a better life and a more sensitive society tomorrow, we have to push for reform and improvement today. Maulana Rashidul Khairi was an idealist. His cultured idealism stemmed from the earliest phase of Islam when people had fear of God and the radiance of faith in their hearts. It was a time when the warmth of hospitality was extended to all guests, when the spirit of brotherhood was greatly appreciated, and when tauheed or faith in one God manifested itself in its purest form. These were also times when women had not been deprived of their rights, when they were not imprisoned within the walls of their homes, and when they could voice their opinions even on religious issues. In those days, women were not only aware of their rights but also conscious of their duties and responsibilities which symbolizes two sides of the same coin. These women of a bygone era were so humble and demure, so serene and sober, so very contented yet also determined. They are known to have maintained decorum in the most trying of circumstances, and preferred death to seeking a favour.

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They even joined their husbands in the battlefield and attended to wounded soldiers. In the truest sense of the term, their writ ran within their family. Maulana Rashidul Khairi’s idealism stemmed from this golden age of Islam, and his writings have drawn inspiration from it. There is no doubt that he held antiquity in high regard. His aversion for the culture of vulgar display in his times made him set his sights on a life of simplicity and truth. The calibre of women from bygone days is not to be found now. The remotest possibility of this has been eliminated by the materialistic and pleasure-loving ways of life in the West. Women there prefer watching films rather than bringing up children, and contentment is sought by making oneself look attractive. These days, selfishness and irritability abound, the shrill assertion of rights drowns the voice of duties, education is proving to be more of a curse than a boon, and qualities like sacrifice, love, compassion, and humility have almost vanished. Nowadays dogs are loved far more than human beings. Each one of us wishes to enjoy life’s greatest pleasures even if it is at the cost of another’s pain.

Should the term ‘ancient’ be faulted merely for implying something that is old and outdated? Today we can see that the ancient is the favoured destination of the new as we seek the old brotherhood of yore and yearn for the simplicity and integrity that existed in yesteryears. The modern age is heading towards its ancient counterpart. Wrong interpretations of culture have generated illogical attitudes in society like women’s purdah enhancing aristocracy’s grandeur and affluence or outdated orthodoxies remerging as indisputable articles of faith. As we groped our way in this darkness, we were told that a new age had dawned and that we had taken the wrong path, that ours was the

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path of regression rather than progress. However, when the dazzle of the new age dimmed, we realized that our society’s old ways of simplicity and integrity in life were far better than the pomp and show which marked the new way of life. Intellectuals across the world today began reaffirming Rousseau’s earlier and much-criticized call for man’s ‘return to nature’. It is now accepted that mankind’s real freedom lay in reverting to nature. The result is that today we eat organic food, lead lives close to nature, and are inclined to wear clothes made from natural fibre even though our sense of the past considers these changes distasteful and vulgar. Caught in colonialism’s deadly subjugation, we in India have accepted that everything of ours—culture and faith included—is far inferior to Western culture and faith which now deserve our praise. It has taken us very long to realize that the West itself has not been able to break free from its cultural shackles and that is why its intellectuals and scholars search for new cultural moorings. Till now, the West has had its own ruling class of capitalists and imperialists who control its military, parliament and bureaucracy. This ruling class is the master; it always has had the last word. The masses have struggled to destroy this fortress of power for centuries but it has survived their onslaughts and remained invincible. Maulana Rashid’s love for antiquity was not born out of fear of the new. In fact, he welcomed the new but only to the extent that its impact did not harm society. His themes were not based on philosophical or psychological problems as his writing portrayed the ills of contemporary society with the aim of getting rid of them. He was very successful in achieving this. Needless extravagance, meaningless customs and rituals, blind faith, and sensual excesses have been the

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main reasons for the dire straits in which society finds itself today. Maulana Rashid’s writing has frequently attempted to root out these problems in his inimitable way and style. His familiarity with household realities was so deeply ingrained that perhaps only dowagers in aristocratic circles could match it today. In Hayat-e Saleha, he has given such minute details of Saleha’s bridal attire, with its beautiful golden braiding, that one would need a course in embroidery to fully comprehend the intricacies of an art that is slowly dying out. His writings have very few characters with extraordinary qualities; most characters are people we meet every day. They represent not an individual but a class. Maulana knows these people inside out and this gives them individuality. He does not dissect their psyche and we never feel its absence. The circumstances of life are so conspicuous in his writing that any attempt to expose interiorities seems superfluous. Maulana Rashid relies more on his experiences, less on imagination and innovation. That is why his characters are so natural, bereft of complexes and oddities. Only when a writer creates a character in his mind and has never confronted such a person in real life, it is obvious that he will have to rely on imagination and seek the assistance of psychology. It is also difficult for a writer to decide how a person with a particular temperament will react in a given situation and, therefore, his constant worry is that there might be discrepancy between the character’s temperament and behaviour. But Maulana Rashid’s characters are reflections of people he has seen in flesh and blood so he has no doubts about such discrepancies. Given the specific circumstances in which his characters are placed, their behaviour meets our expectations and their manners largely reflect the situations that the Maulana had envisaged. Most characters are people with a fondness for antiquities or a strong aversion to all things modern, no

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matter how beneficial they might be for society. In contrast, there are other characters who detest the old and are so bedazzled by the new that they are prepared to give up their lives for it. The way all these characters evolve is so very natural and so much in harmony with their environment that sudden changes in them do not disturb us. In Hayat-e Saleha, the changing persona of Saleha is so subtly done that it escapes our notice. This girl, who was the apple of her father Syed Kazim Husain’s eyes, loses all interest in the household and hardly cares about her beloved father’s comforts after the death of her mother. She just remembers her mother and weeps all day. The situation in the house goes from bad to worse as the children turn wayward and wild. With great difficulty and much persuasion, Kazim Husain agrees to marry a second time. But the young, bashful bride, Tameezan, casts such a spell over him that he forgets all about his daughter. The father, who was once ready to stake his life for his beloved girl, turns so hostile towards her that he does not think twice before marrying her off to a scoundrel.

After her marriage, life becomes even more appalling for Saleha. Her husband’s tormenting ways make her helpless. One day, her tormentor beats her so viciously that she almost dies. Even in her pathetic condition, the loving Saleha goes to meet her father. But Kazim Husain remains unmoved by her suffering and Saleha departs from this world, bruised and forsaken. These circumstances are similar to what we see every other day in life. The Maulana’s narration is so realistic that it does not seem we are perusing a story. It is impossible for imagination alone to have created a character like Saleha. She just happened to be one amongst the many girls that the writer had observed. For him, Kazim Husain was also

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a familiar figure who, despite being good at heart, was so carried away by the charming manner of his young wife that all his wisdom and good sense simply faded away. How could a man like him turn into his beloved daughter’s enemy after marrying a second time? Hayat-e Saleha is not merely a story; it is life itself with all the depth and reality of existence.

While Hayat-e Saleha presents the paradigms of womanhood, Toofan-e Hayat draws the portrait of a foolish, obstinate, and dishonest woman, Hajra. This woman is least bothered about her husband’s financial condition and spends lavishly, even while organizing the most trivial events. It seems almost as if she has treasure buried beneath her. Extremely superstitious, she considers mullahs and other holy men as her real gods. Her husband Inaam understands the world and endeavours to abide by basic principles. But he is essentially a weak man who is helpless in the face of his wife’s affection and obdurate extravagance. He loses his property and job, and his remaining assets are attached. Husband and wife flee from home but a decent elderly man pities on them and offers to help. In sharp contrast to her mother, Nasira, the daughter, is accomplished, efficient, very religious, and keeps away from all vices. Though the efficient Nasira brings succour to Inaam in the last days of his life, she is married off to a man who had gone astray and is obsessed with fakirs and holy pirs. There is discord between the couple. A Shah Saheb or fakir manages to get Inaam in his grip and gets Nasira thrown out of the house. In the end, this Shah Saheb is exposed for what he really is—a cunning, deceitful scoundrel of the highest order. He would exploit his blind followers and also ensnare innocent, gullible folk in the web of false piety. At the end, Inaam gets to know that this very scoundrel was responsible for

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poisoning his son and Shah Saheb is soundly beaten before being thrown out from Inaam’s household.

Inaam and Hajra are the protagonists of this story. Both are presented so realistically that we never question their credibility. The illusion of reality is well maintained throughout the narrative. The writer has created Hajra and Inaam with a specific purpose in mind, and their actions and words fulfil and conform to that purpose. At no point in the narrative are we at all conscious of perusing a story. Maulana Rashidul Khairi’s style is marked by a smoothness and spontaneity. He dexterous handling of the idiom of Delhi’s Begums is outstanding. Often, he expresses a single idea in a series of sentences that resonate with verbal musicality but lessen the pleasure of reading amongst mature, discerning readers. He has a remarkable treasure trove of proverbs and maxims and no one can compare with him in painting the most painful realities of society. In doing so, word and emotion are such a perfect match that every reader’s core of being is shaken.

The only complaints that the non-Muslims can ever have against Maulana Rashidul Khairi is that whatever he has written is meant solely for Muslims and the community he seeks to uplift is the Muslim community. Added to this is the fact that his stories sometimes tend to proselytize. Despite this, the literature he has put together in Urdu for women is everlasting. For this, Urdu willll forever remain indebted to Maulana Rashidul Khairi. Translated by Sarfaraz Nawaz

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Appendix Original Hindi Titles in Alphabetical Order with

Translated Titles and Publication Details

S. No.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Original Hindi Title

Translated Title

Abhinandan Granth aur Sadharan Janata Akhil Bharatvarshiya Pustakalaya Sangh Bharatiya Sahitya aur Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea

Festschrifts and the Common Man The Bharatiya Pustakalaya Sangh Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indian Literature The Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad The Bihar Prantiya Sahitya Sammelan, Purnea

Dukhi Jeevan

The Sufferings of Life

The Need for a Ek Sarvdeshik Sahitya National Literature Sanstha ki Avashyakta Association Proposal for an Edition 8. Galpaank ka Prastav on Stories Haldi ki Gaanthwala The Tale of a Turmeric 9. Pansari Seller The Hindi Lekhak 10. Hindi Lekhak Sangh Sangh Hindi Lekhak Sangh One Year of the Hindi 11. ka Ek Varsh Lekhak Sangh

7.

Publication Details

Editorial in Hans, July 1933 Editorial in Jagran, June 1933 Editorial in Hans, November 1935 Editorial in Hans, April 1936 Editorial in Hans, March 1936 Article in Hans, April 1933 Editorial in Hans, February 1934 Editorial in Hans, 1926 Article in Bharat, August 11, 1935 Editorial in Hans, September 1934 Editorial in Hans, December 1935

Premchand on Literature and Life 229 Hindi Mein Pustakon ka Prakashan Hindi Sahitya ke 13. Vidyalaya Indore Hindi Sahitya 14. Sammelan

Editorial in Hans, June 1936 Editorial in Hans, April 1936 Editorial in Hans, June 1935 Editorial in Hans, What is an Interview? 15. Interview Kya Hai August 1933 Japan Mein Patron ka Editorial in Hans, Publications in Japan 16. Prachar February 1933 Jeevan aur Sahitya The Place of Hatred in Article in Hans, 17. Mein Ghrina ka Sthan Life and Literature December 1933 Kya Yeh Lekhikaon ke Partiality Towards Editorial in Hans, 18. Saath Pakshpaat Hai Women Writers? October 1935 Lekhakon ko Bernard Bernard Shaw’s Advice Editorial in Hans, 19. Shaw ka Updesh to Writers February 1935 London Mein London’s New Editorial in Hans, Bharatiya SahityaOrganization of Indian 20. kaaron ki Ek Nayi January 1936 Writers Sanstha Magar Yahan Kya But What Happened Editorial in Hans, 21. Hua Here? August 1933 Article in Hans, Meri Raseeli My Delicious Books 22. Pustakein June 1933

12.

23.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji ki Nirasha

Publishing Books in Hindi Institutions for Hindi Literature The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Disappointment

24. Paritosh

Satisfaction

Patna ka Hindi Sahitya Parishad Pattron ke Grahakon 26. ka Aapattijanak Vyavhar Pracheen Misr ke 27. Dharma Tatva Pragatisheel Lekhak 28. Sangh

The Hindi Sahitya Parishad at Patna The Objectionable Conduct of Periodical Subscribers Religion in Ancient Egypt The Progressive Writers’ Association

25.

Editorial in Hans, January 1936 Article in Hans, March 1932 Editorial in Hans, October 1935 Editorial in Hans, May 1933 Article in Hans, June 1933 Editorial in Hans, April 1936

230 Premchand on Literature and Life

Prastav Sahitya Sammelan ke 36. Vishai Mein Sahityik Clubbon ki 37. Avashyakta

Premchand’s Response to His Honourable Critics A Campaign for Libraries Rashidul Khairi’s Social Narratives Enriching the National Language The Rise or Fall of a Literature The Growth of Literature An Important Suggestion for the Sahitya Sammelan The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan The Need for Literary Clubs

38. Sahityik Goondapan

Literary Depravity

39. Sahityik Sannipaat

Literary Ailments

29.

Premchand ki Premleela ka Uttar

30. Pustakalaya Andolan Rashidul Khairi ki Samajik Kahaniyan Rashtrabhasha Kaise 32. Samriddh Ho Sahitya ka Utthan ya 33. Patan

31.

34. Sahitya ki Pragati Sahitya Sammelan

35. ka Ek Mahatvapoorn

Sampadakon ke Puraskar Sampadan Kala ki 41. Shiksha Sampadankala 42. Vidyalaya ki Avashyakta

40.

43. Shantiniketan Mein 44.

Editorial in Hans, September 1933 Editorial in Hans, July 1936 Editorial in Hans, November 1935 Editorial in Hans, August 1934 Editorial in Hans, March 1933 Editorial in Hans, May 1935

Teaching the Art of Editing

Editorial in Hans, January 1936 Editorial in Hans, June 1931 Editorial in Hans, August 1933 Editorial in Hans, December 1932 Editorial in Hans, February 1933 Editorial in Hans, December 1934

The Need for a School of Editing

Editorial in Hans, July 1933

Awards to Editors

At Shantiniketan

Sri Krishna aur Bhavi Lord Krishna and the Jagat World’s Future

Soviet Roos Mein Prakashan Triveni se Hamara 46. Namra Nivedan

45.

Editorial in Hans, November 1926

Publications in Soviet Russia My Humble Submission to Triveni

Article in Hans, January 1933 Article in Kalyaan, August 1931 Editorial in Hans, February 1933 Editorial in Hans, November 1935

Premchand on Literature and Life 231 47.

Tulsi Jayanti ya Tulsi Punyatithi

48.

Tulsi Smriti Tithi Kaise Manayi Jaaye

Tulsi Birth Anniversary or Tulsi Death Anniversary Celebrating Tulsidas Tithi

49. Upanyas

The Novel

50. Upanyas Rachna

Writing a Novel

Article in Hans, July 1933 Article in Hans, July 1933 Editorial in Hans, 1925 Editorial in Hans, October 23, 1922

Translators Ameena Kazi Ansari, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Jyoti Yadav, M.K.R. Government Degree College, Ghaziabad, UP. Kanika Gandhi, research scholar, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Malati Mathur, School of Humanities (SOH), Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. Poonam Sharma, research scholar, Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Ruchi Nagpal, research scholar, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Sami Rafiq, Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP. Sarfaraz Nawaz, Department of English, Shibli National College, Azamgarh, UP. Shabeeh Rahat, School of Law, Delhi Metropolitan Education, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. Shaheen Saba, former research scholar, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Shuby Abidi, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Urvashi Sabu, Department of English, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi.