City-based Hindi novelist’s work included in MA curriculum

The novel ‘Basra Ki Galiyan’ penned by city-based noted Hindi author Dr Ajay Sharma has been included in the curriculum of Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo. This makes him the first contemporary novelist whose seven novels have been incorporated into university syllabi.

‘Basra Ki Galiyan’ has been included in the MA curriculum of three different universities, which gives the piece of literature a unique distinction. The novel was published in 2004 and was included in the MA syllabus of Guru Nanak Dev University in 2006, marking the first step in his academic recognition. Soon after, it was also included in the MA curriculum of Punjabi University.

So far, Dr Sharma has written 17 novels, six plays and a collection of short stories. His novels have been the subject of 29 M.Phil and seven Ph.D dissertations. Several of his novels have been translated into various languages. ‘Basra Ki Galiyan’ has already been translated into Punjabi, English and Arabic. The Arabic translation is currently under publication.

Speaking on the development, Dr Ajay Sharma said, “Achievements like this are no less than an award. They inspire you to keep moving forward. When I wrote this novel, a war was going on and Saddam Hussain hadn’t been captured yet. At that time, critics and literary magazines regarded ‘Basra Ki Galiyan’ as the world’s first fiction based on that war. I myself didn’t expect the novel to gain such recognition. It received immense love from readers. After that, I wrote ‘Kharkiv ke Khandhar’ (The ruins of Kharkiv), based on war again — the first such effort by any writer.”

Dr. Ajay Sharma is a recipient of Punjab’s highest literary honour, ‘Shiromani Sahityakar Award’, the ‘Sahityik Saurabh Samman’, from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and a national award from the Central Hindi Directorate for his novel, ‘Kagad Kalam Na Likhanhaar’.