Cartographer of democracy

Satyapal Sehgal

Harishankar Parsai once said, “I am a small writer but a big danger” (Main lekhak chhota par sankat bada hoon). He was both a big writer as well as a big threat to the social and political establishment. Parsai was immensely popular across the Hindi heartland and in this regard, he was closer to his literary idol Premchand. Unlike him, he chose satire as his genre, which did not have a great lineage until he came on the scene.

Parsai’s career as a writer began in 1947, as India got freedom. He was a vociferous reader of world history and politics during his high school days at Timarni in Harda district (MP). He was charmed by the leadership and intellectual depth of Jawaharlal Nehru, although there was a strong infatuation towards the socialism brand of Ram Manohar Lohia and his followers. His first writings appeared in ‘Prahari’, a mouthpiece of socialists in Madhya Pradesh. His firebrand stories and essays made him a star in a short time. The love affair ended soon and he was back to Nehru and scientific socialism.

Before turning into a whole-time freelance writer, he served as a school teacher in private institutions for 12 years, mainly in Jabalpur. The trade unionist inside him founded the MP Shikshak Sangh during this period. Here, he came into contact with Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh, perhaps the greatest Hindi poet in Independent India. From him, he learnt intellectual integrity, truthfulness and the capacity to struggle hard; also, an unflinching commitment to justice and democracy.

Parsai was a person full of rare sensitivity and serious human concern. It is obvious from his essay ‘Premchand ke Phate Joote’ and memoir ‘Muktibodh: Ek Sansmaran’. He came up with volume after volume of satirical writings, filled with unparalleled humour and wit. Published in 1985, ‘Parsai Rachnawali’ is in six parts and contains around 3,000 pages. All his stories, short novelettes, mini stories, columns, editorial essays and interviews are included therein.

His passion for public education became his vocation. Regular columns appeared in newspapers like ‘Deshbandu’, ‘Nai Duniya’ and the journal ‘Sarika’. He spared none and particularly hit hard religious bigotry and middle-class opportunism. His boldness as a satirist is quite enigmatic, given the conservative and benign atmosphere of the Hindi belt.

Parsai forcefully caricatured world leaders like Richard Nixon to Morarji Desai, from film personalities to police officers, from avant garde poets to self-seeking literary icons. From Akali politicians to Haryana politicians. From ministers to government officials. From personal hypocrisy to illogical communal beliefs. Thus, he can be described as the cartographer and biographer of the Indian State, democracy and society.

Parsai was a product and maker of his era. Reading him makes one wonder at the kind of freedom and space he enjoyed to express what he really wanted to say, and as if, we are visiting a different age. It has been a point of discussion whether India is losing its capacity for humour and satire, except in some dark corners of social media.

Remembering Harishankar Parsai in his 100th birth year looks a subversive act. Parsai enriches and changes all his readers. His hilarity and razor-sharp sentences are amusement and instruction to everyone despite different ideological backgrounds. A great part of his creations focus on mythological divine characters and their devotees. His masterpieces ‘Bhola Ram ka Jeev’ and ‘Bhagat ki Gat’ can be mentioned here. Studying such fictional pieces, one is reminded of Premchand’s satirical story ‘Mote Ram Shastri’. Parsai rebelled against his socially-dominant upper caste background at his own cost. He became a crusader against superstitions, blind faith and saintly pretense. He was our Renaissance man.

Social media is always abuzz with his quotes. They are as good as the ones from Rasool Hamjatov in ‘Mera Daagistan’. Here are three in translation:

‘When a thing of shame becomes a matter of pride, then understand, our brand of democracy is working well.’

‘Even if somebody is a philosopher, a seer or a maulana, if he makes people fearful of the darkness, then he is trying to sell the torch of his company.’

‘The world over, language is used for expression. Here, it is used for riots.”

His tales like ‘Inspector Matadin Chaand Par’ and ‘Sadachar ka Tabeez’ were turned into full-length dramas and staged countless times. Most of his important works are available on Internet with professional renderings. He is a darling of the YouTubers. He is also a weapon in the hands of political activists and social reformers.

In 1957, he started a magazine ‘Vasudha’ (The Earth) with friends like Rameshwar Guru. The title symbolises his ideological moorings. Spirituality meant to him saving somebody in a riot, sacrificing one’s own life.

His enormous creative talent was articulated in fantasies like ‘Rani Nagfani ki Kahani’. His flowing language with short sentences had no room for ambiguity. He harped on logical clarity, even if it was controversial. He constructed a diction style more innovative and modern than his contemporaries.

Urdu poet Zauq (1790-1854) ruminates: “Who wants to leave the beautiful lanes of Delhi.” (Kaun jaye Zauq par Dilli ki galiyan chhod kar). So was Harishankar Parsai, who never left his karambhoomi Jabalpur, despite many lucrative offers. Gyanranjan, celebrated author, editor of ‘Pahal’ and a younger friend of Parsai, comments: “Like Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), Parsai would roam around his city on foot, with a bag on his shoulder, encircled by friends from all generations and professions. It is how he collected his extraordinary observations of human behaviour and life situations.” Parsai will be reinvented and reinterpreted in the current national setting. He shall remain our vanguard in the times to come.

— The writer is former Chairperson, Department of Hindi, Panjab University