Man who modernised Hindi

After Geetanjali Shree, Vinod Kumar Shukla getting another much-adored international PEN award for his body of literature in poetry and fiction, shows that it is a coming-of-age phase for Hindi language in particular and South Asian languages in general. Let us hope that Hindi literature would never look back from here, as far as world recognition is concerned. For now, it is up to the custodians of Hindi language, including academics, to come to terms with this sudden burst of glory on the global stage.

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The interpretation of modern poetry always deserved better attention in the Indian languages. The PEN/Nabokov Award for 2023 to one of the most original voices in Hindi verse and narrative writing, Vinod Kumar Shukla, would certainly help this cause, as he optimises one of the basic values of modernity i.e. being yourself. Right from the beginning of his journey, first as a poet and then as a storyteller, his signature has been discernible for the inherent commonness of the content and informal and experimental diction. Look at the titles of his early poetry collections — ‘Lagbhag Jaihind’ (‘Almost Jaihind’) [1971] and ‘Vah Aadmi Chala Gaya Naya Garam Coat Pahan Kar Vichar Ki Tarah’ (‘That Man Went Away Wearing New Warm Coat Like a Thought’) [1981] are a wonder and completely offbeat.

Hindi poetry critics normally agree that it was Sudama Pandey ‘Dhoomil’ (1936-1975) who fundamentally changed the orientation and vocabulary of Hindi poetry. However, Shukla was actually doing it a little earlier as ‘Lagbhag Jaihind’ would suggest. Of course, Shukla was not as aggressive, attacking and disillusioned a poet as Dhoomil. The path Shukla took was attractive to many, but it ran the risk of being a ‘distraction’ from the majority ‘taste’, even as breaking away from tradition followed expected lines. Maybe he was trying to name a new set of meanings within a new set of syntax and metaphor. It is time to revisit the Hindi poetry of the 1960s and draw fresh conclusions.

This ‘new set of meanings’ is yet to be deciphered entirely, thanks to the inadequacy of the formal and informal literary criticism in Hindi. Of late, extra efforts have been seen in this direction, as is evident from the January issue of ‘Kathadesh’, a leading Hindi magazine on fiction writing, which focuses on Shukla. Anyway, it would not be an easy task as, in the first instance, one would have to grasp in toto the innovative life Shukla has been leading, almost shattering the shackles of a clichéd artistic milieu. Living throughout in small towns or in the capital of a young state like Chhattisgarh, did he manifest that dilemma announced by the protagonist of Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh’s famous poem ‘Andhere Mein’ ‘(In the Darkness’): “Kahan Jaoon/Dilli Ya Ujjain?” (“Where to go/Delhi or Ujjain?”). Perhaps not.

Although Shukla has constantly been a significant presence in Hindi circles of letters, he wouldn’t be or couldn’t be seen as a star like many of his contemporaries. For his own reasons or for the rationale of the sociology of literature in Hindi, he was never a rage at literary festivals, flooding the length and breadth of the country. The vibes he possibly sent to his admirers consisted of humbleness and a low profile. It has been argued umpteen times that he is not a copy of somebody, just extraordinarily authentic and subversive. But, he couldn’t be copied either. That is the one clear message from his texts. He doesn’t appear belonging to any literary school or professing any sort of schooling to aspiring writers. And he is never ever arrogant. He has work at hand, trying to change the way poetry and fiction are looked upon or understood in his scholarly vicinity. He aims at altering its culture, unequivocally, indirectly and subtly. He has not succeeded so far.

In Chhattisgarh, he comes from Rajnandgaon, the same place where Muktibodh lived and taught in a college for a few years. It is just not a coincidence. If he is spiritually close to any living or dead Hindi wordsmith, it is Muktibodh. Reading through his short stories, one is reminded of Muktibodh’s stories and novelettes. Nonetheless, as a poet, Shukla comes out alone at the top. For the short stories, he seems to have a few companions — such as Raghuvir Sahay, Prayag Shukla, Muktibodh — known as kavi-kathakars (poet-fiction writers). In his novels, Shukla is an island — distant and beautiful. One of his novels carries the caption ‘Khilega Toh Dekhenge’ (Will See When It Blossoms). His acknowledgment as a unique world writer has finally flowered. Right now, he is in the community of great living authors worldwide.

There are not many great quotes in world literature as philosophical as succeeding sentences penned by him: “Ghar bahar jaane ke liye utna nahin hota jitna laut kar aane ke liye hota hai” (A home is not much of a place to go out than to come back). “Ghadi dekhna samay dekhna nahi hota” (Looking at a clock is not looking at Time).

Prof Vinod Tiwari from the Department of Hindi, Delhi University, makes a judicious comment: “He is not rhetorical and sentimental. He speaks with restraint, even though his basic human attachments are permanently intact. That is being truly modern.”

— The writer is former chairperson of Hindi Department at Panjab University