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The north-south bridge
The comparative anony mity of Dr Sudhanshu Chaturvedi, who has authored over 108 books, including 40 original works in Malayalam, is a classic case of a man of amazing literary achievements not getting the attention he deserves. For over four decades, Chaturvedi born in February 1943 at Madhonagar in Kanauj district near Kanpur, has been a solid bridge between Hindi and Malayalam literatures. His works include original writings in Hindi and Malayalam as well as difficult translations from Hindi to Malayalam and vice versa. He was once dubbed as a "Hindi zealot" and had the gall to tell Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that Hindi must be imposed on non-Hindi speaking people whether they were ready to accept it or not. The votary of Hindi imposition became a convert and how he made it his life’s mission to learn the "most difficult South Indian language, excel in it and become famous." He would not have dared to undertake this "difficult mission" but for the tongue-lashing he got from Pandit Nehru. "One can touch the hearts of the people only when one talks in their language." Chaturvedi was barely 19 when he was ushered into the presence of Prime Minister Nehru by his uncle, famous Hindi writer Banarsi Das Chaturvedi, in 1962. He had been turned away by Delhi University when he sought admission for Sanskrit MA two years earlier, because he was only 17, went back to Bareilly College under Agra University to complete his Masters in Sanskrit. Nehru mentioned that Hindi, the official language, will not be forced on anyone till the non-Hindi speaking people were fully prepared to accept it. He has insisted that Hindi must be implemented as the national language by the deadline (1965). This enraged Nehru so much that he said, "You are only a child and I have to satisfy all the people of India." Nehru also noted that "North Indians are fanatics and will not study a South Indian language." "He challenged me to study a South Indian language. I accepted the challenge and requested him to suggest the toughest South Indian language. Nehru told me to study Malayalam and become a famous writer in the language," Chaturvedi, recently in Delhi, recollected. He was in Delhi for a week-long discourse on Valmiki Ramayanam, at the Ayyappa Temple in R.K. Puram. Though Kerala had always kept itself abreast of happenings beyond the Western Ghats and the Vindhyas, the converse was not true. Chaturvedi had earned a name for himself as a Hindi writer when he was an undergraduate. His thorough grounding in Sanskrit gave him the confidence to learn Malayalam "which has 80 per cent Sanskrit words." After his meeting with Nehru, Chaturvedi took admission in the Department of Modern Indian Language (Malayalam) in Delhi University. There were ten students, nine of them girls, in the class on the first day. From the second day, the girls bolted from the scene, leaving Chaturvedi as the lone student in the class. But he had the company of two outstanding teachers — O.M. Anujan and Evoor Parameshwaran. "Once I got the feel of the language, it was easy going, thanks to the efforts and encouragement of my revered teachers," recalled Chaturvedi. Even while learning the language, Chaturvedi translated P. Keshava Dev’s classic Malayalam novel Odayil Ninnu (From the Gutter) and critic Kuttikrishna Marar’s travel book Bharata Pariyadanam (An Indian Journey) into Hindi. His own books were taught to Sanskrit BA and BA Honours and MA students in Delhi University while he was studying there. After his Masters in both Malayalam and Hindi from Delhi University in 1964, Chaturvedi enrolled with the Kerala University for a doctorate, following his appointment as Principal of the Hindi Training College at Paravoor (near Quilon).When it was time for him to submit his doctoral thesis on "comparative studies of problem plays" in 1971, the university authorities insisted that he write it in English. Chaturvedi would have none of it and insisted on submitting his thesis either in Hindi or in Malayalam. Eventually, he was allowed to submit his thesis in Hindi, and became the first doctorate awardee from Kerala University. He also completed his doctorate in Malayalam—the first North Indian to achieve the feat—to prove his proficiency in the language. For the next 40 years till he retired as the principal of the prestigious Keralavarma College in Trichur, it was Chaturvedi’s singular mission to popularise Malayalam literature in the Hindi heartland, and Hindi literature to Malayalam readers. It was rather easy for Chaturvedi to break into the elite company of Malayalam literary giants like K P Kesha Menon (freedom fighter and the revered founder-editor of Mathrubhoomi), G Shankara Kurup (the first Jnanpith Award winner in Malayalam), M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Thakazhi Shivashankara Pillai, Uroob, short story writer T.Padmanabhan etc. due to his own eminence as a litterateur. He got the Sahitya Akademi Award for the translation of Thakazhi’s magnum opus Kayar (yarn). His prodigious works in Malayalam include four volumes of Valmiki Ramayanam, one volume of Kalidasa Sahitya Sam Sarvaswam, translation of Narayaneeyam by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, collections of five novels in one volume, and 23 childrens’ books, published in three volumes. His Hindi translation of Swami Tapovana’s Himagiri Viharam, named Himalaya Darshan went into five editions. His Malayalam translations of acclaimed Hindi classics like Amrit or Vish (Nectar and Poison) by Amrit Lal Nagar, Bhoole Bisare Chitre by Bhagwati Charan Verma And Bara Ghante by Yashpal earned him much acclaim and many awards. When asked who was his favourite Malayalam author, Chaturvedi said without a pause: M.T.Vasudevan Nair. According to Chaturvedi, the Hindi Vidyalaya movement in the South flopped when the Union Government tried to institutionalise it. "Through this exercise, some officials benefited, but the people lost interest in learning the language as the officials milked the project dry", lamented the scholar. He said in the 1960s, the South, particularly Kerala, popularised Hindi willingly, and giant national leaders like Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, contrary to popular perception, encouraged the teaching of Hindi in the South. Now, not only the Hindi movement in the South has died down due to official apathy, but the Malayalam department in Delhi University has closed shop too, causing immense hurt to Chaturvedi. Is anyone listening?
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