Although Hindi literary works have been translated into English and other language for nearly a century, the trend has gathered steam only in the last two decades. In view of this, it is a welcome development that Harper Collins has come out with the English translation of Akhilesh’s very significant Hindi novel “Nirvasan”, published by Rajkamal Prakashan in 2014, as “Exile”. It has been translated by Rajesh Kumar. The novel proved to be such a huge success that its second edition had to be brought out in 2016.
However, it was not very surprising because Akhilesh happens to be a unique storyteller who has, over a period of nearly four decades, emerged as a master stylist in the field of Hindi fiction. Born on July 6, 1960 in Kadipur village of Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh began writing short stories while he was studying in Intermediate class and his first short story was published in the Lucknow edition of the Hindi daily “Navjeevan” in 1977. Its title “Badalte Arthon Wala Prem” (Love of Changing Meanings) indicated the creative trajectory that Akhilesh had decided to follow so early in his literary career that is replete with writings that explore changing meanings of relationships, daily occurrences, and personal and social life. His impressive oeuvre is a testimony to his progressive and humane world view that permeates all his writings.
Very soon, Akhilesh’s short stories began to be published by prestigious magazines like “Sarika” and were enthusiastically lapped up by the literary world. He crafted a new creative language to express himself and it was immediately noticed by lay readers as well as literary critics because it was a dazzling amalgam of playfulness, serious reflective attitude and incisiveness. In his short stories, dark aspects of reality were illumined by human love and vice versa. The way his story “Andhera” (Darkness) treats love between a Hindu boy and his Muslim girl friend against the backdrop of communal prejudices and sudden eruption of a communal riot in the city is something that was perhaps attempted before him only by Yashpal in the first part of his magnum opus, “Jhootha Sach” (False Truth). However, Akhilesh makes a significant departure in this story in the way he deals with the entire experience. His playfulness can be seen even in such a dark episode. It’s a creative commentary on the way religion, communalism, politics and market have coalesced to form the cruel contemporary reality.
Although Akhilesh belongs to a middle class Kayastha family, his short stories “Grahan” (Eclipse) and “Wajood” (Existence) can easily meet the bench mark of Dalit literature. Both deal with novel subjects with such artistic grandeur and detailed embroidery that one feels completely dazed after reading them. Similarly, another short story “Yakshgaan” portrays the way a young woman is deceived and exploited by those in whom she reposes her trust and love, and the way she finds her bearings and raises the standard of revolt against the crushing reality. According to well know fiction writer Svayam Prakash, “Chitthi” (Letter) marks a turning point in the evolution of Hindi short story in the same way as Premchand’s “Kafan” (Shroud) or Gyanranjan’s “Fence ke Idhar-Udhar” (Across the Fence) despite its oldish form.
In 1983, Akhilesh’s first collection of short stories titled “Aadami Tootata Nahin” (Man does not Break) was published by Shravan Prakashan Mandir. Its second edition was brought out by Sahitya Bhandar, Allahabad in 2014. After that, there was no looking back and he has published five more – “Mukti” (Deliverance) from Vani Prakashan (1989), “Shaapgrast” (Accursed) from Radhakrishna Prakashan (1997), “Andhera” (Darkness) from Rajkamal Prakashan (2006), “Paanch Behatareen Kahaniyan” (Five Excellent Stories) from Vani Prakashan (2013) and “Pratinidhi Kahaniyan” (Representative Stories) from Rajkamal Prakashan (2013). In 1992, Radhakrishna Prakashan brought out his first novel “Anveshan” (Exploration) while his second novel “Nirvasan” (Exile) was published by Rajkamal Prakashan in 2014. He has also published a book of creative prose “Vah Jo Yatharth Tha” (That which was the Reality) from Radhakrishna Prakashan. He has also edited books, wrote documentary film scripts and penned critical articles. In short, he is a wholesome literary figure.
According to one critic, exile (nirvasan) is a motif that is present in all of Akhilesh’s writings. Little wonder that his novel “Nirvasan” (Exile) has received much critical acclaim. Well known fiction writer Mamata Kalia praised it for its “epic dimensions” because a large number of episodic stories have been strung together in this 360-page novel. One comes to know from the novel that not only people but also things are exiled and uprooted from their original places.
Explosive changes
For Akhilesh, creative writing is meaningful only when it offers a critique of civilisation. In an interview published in the special number of magazine “Banas Jan” that focused on him, Akhilesh opines that globalisation has brought about “explosive changes” in our social structure and the contemporary reality has been, as it were, metamorphosed. It is no longer a linear or autonomous reality and is an outcome of a complex process of interaction among different and often mutually conflicting realities. That makes it obligatory for a writer to explore much more deeply and traverse a much longer distance in his quest for truth. That, to some extent, explains why his short stories have acquired a tendency to become long. However, as Akhilesh firmly believes, it is the literary worth of a work, not its size, that ultimately matters.
The writer is a senior
literary critic
