Dr Sohan Koul
Biography is a genre of serious writing. Although confined to a detailed description of a notable person’s life and events but it has a reach beyond its classification. When history ceases to come forward with the events of a particular civil society, biographies take the place of history and get blended in particular time and space to describe the notable occurrences of that era like a live coverage of that event or series of events.
Biography is usually a nonfiction genre but it is the authority of a writer on a particular language which makes it as interesting as a novel or a short story. It is the oldest form of literary expression but always seeks to recreate in words the whole life span of a particular individual.
“Prawah Vitsta Ka’’, is a biography of Mr Ashok Jailkhani-a doyen of theatre and a well known film maker. A great television personality an excellent Actor and Director. As the title of the biography calls it the flow of Jehlum-allegorizing time and depicting the history with the gradual maturation of this personality. Finally this biographical material has emerged as the historical material and has made this biographical work a finish literary contribution of this decade. Biography and History are often concerned with the past as the evaluating and selection of sources are akin.
The very beginning of this biography is so interesting as if one starts reading a classical novel around Jehlum. Mr Ashok Jaikhani was born in Srinagar in 1953 and that too on the banks of Jehlum and luckily it was a Renaissance of cultural and literary traditions in Kashmir.
The state of anarchy was over and the new dawn of civilization had already begun. This was time for new seedlings to emerge from the old polity. In this backdrop Mr Jailkhani was born and the slow murmuring of vitsta went on feeding him with percepton, learning and reasoning. The time kept on initiating a well formed noesis in his growing personality.
These meaningful moments have been depicted with great skillfullness and knowledge by M K Shah, who is the author of this biography. With complete command over Hindi idiom, Mr Shah has explored the period with such a genius that the reader itself becomes a character of that 5D theatrical experience immersing you with in that period. In this colorful canvass some characters get introduced and these characters frame the basis of this biographical work.
Introduced as Ms Kunti Kaul and Mr Mohan Lal Jailkahani with some others. Ms Kunti Jailkhani is the mother of Mr Ashok Jailkhani and the book introduces the mother earth first and then its seedling. The treatment also depicts the rituals, the cultural saga and life style of Kashmiri Pandits living in that era. The story begins from the dust filled streets and compounds of Fateh Kadal where the values of life were almost novel and quite different from present day times. These dust filled streets lead to a famous Mohalla called as Jailkhani Mohalla. The initial canvass of this painting.Vitsta is a character of this biography and is a witness to all the rising socio-political currents of Kashmiri civil society. It keeps on documenting the best cultural nuances of life. The murmur of flowing water of Vitsta would teach the inhabitants of the city to love nature, to love time. People would cross Jehlum from one bank to other with small wooden boats, avoiding the bridges as it was a easy and comfortable way of transport. This journey has made the Kashmir to understand the time very accurately. Water keeps on flowing in Vitsta, Kunti Kaul gets married to Mohan Lal Jailkhani and the first child, an interpreter of aesthetics gets born. I would like to mention here about a scene when Ms Kunti Jailkhani travelled first time with her infant from Bana Mohalla to Fateh Kadal in a boat. The emotions, the aspirations of a young and innocent Kashmiri mother, depicted in between the lines are exceptionally mesmerizing. It was the spring in Kashmir and it reminds us Dostovyskean features of storytelling. There is another scene when the small boy is being admitted Tyandale Bisco School, when in we see Ms. Kunti Jailkhani and Mr M.L. Jailhani being interviewed by the Principal of the school for his admission and young Jailkhani is playing outside in the light and shade. This very gesture shows how much gifted the child was and later the time proves it, that with the use of lights, he created wonders on stage. The biography is filled with such cinematic scenes. He started this journey with Bisco School and ended it in the corridors of S.P. College and it is form this college that he started interpreting ideas through Plays. He became a legend of Kashmiri theatre. Directed noted plays like, “Santola,” “Hatya Ik Aakar Ki,” “Panchai Aise Aate Hain,” “Evam Inderjeet,” “Gidhi” etc and an equal number of serials on television. He became a house hold name of Kashmiri civil society. This is extensively covered in this biography.
The book gives full account of his life like that of a novel justifying every character, explaining every incident with historical perspective and authority. It is an authentic biography which cannot be summed up in few words. One should read it to better understand the history of Kashmir besides the life of a doyen of theatre and television. The book also carries his noted theatrical experiences, short sketches of book written by Mr Jailkhani. The book also carries some interviews with his contemporaries who share their experiences while working with the tallest person of this era.
The book is written in very subtle and fiction style which makes it an interesting. Growing and flowing with the time line Jehlum, which is a living allegory throughout the novel and pours in the technique of stream of consciousness by giving an account of historical ups and downs of the past. Spread over 144 pages, the book has an excellent get up with a designed cover page by Mr Anil Nakhasi. The book is worth reading and preserving in personal Library.
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