Suman K Sharma
Mr. Ved Rahi needs no introduction to the people of J&K and beyond. Born in 1933 to Mr. Mulk Raj Saraf and Mrs. Gyan Devi, he spent his initial years with the All India Radio, Jammu and then as the Editor of Yojana (Hindi), a monthly journal brought out by the Union Government to highlight growth and development of the various regions of the country. ‘It was a cushy job, fetching me a handsome salary and a nice bungalow in Srinagar to live in,’ he reminisces, ‘but one fine day I decided to quit it. Disposing of my possessions, I set off for Bombay (Mumbai).’
Here he honed his creative skills as an assistant film writer and director under the mentorship of Ramanand Sagar. He has been associated with writing or direction of some four dozen films, including blockbusters such as Daraar, Aap Aaye Bahaar Aayi, and Charas. Doordarshan teleserials Katha Sagar, Zindagi and Gul, Gulshan, Gulfaam and many others bear his mark as a versatile writer and director. Rahi Ji has penned as many as 27 works of fiction, short fiction, prose, poetry and drama in Hindi, Urdu and Dogri, his latest being the novel, Anant in Dogri. Among the honours and awards showered on him are the Sahitya Akademi Award (1983) for his collection of Dogri short stories ‘Aale’, Maharashtra Gaurav Award (2000), Maha Pandit Rahul Sankritayan Puruskar (2011) and the 2009-Best Book Award for his Dogri novel Lal Ded. He has again been awarded by the Sahitya Akademy in 2015 for his Urdu translation of the novel ‘Lal Ded’.
The highly acclaimed writer, director, and author agreed to have a small chat on his writings and life in general during his recent visit to Jammu.
Sir, how did you embark on your writing career?
Laughs. Frankly, I didn’t have any option. My father, Shri Mulk Raj Saraf is called the ‘Father of Journalism’ in the State. His Ranbeer Weekly was the first ever paper published in J&K. When I was born, the paper was already nine years old. There was the printing press, books, journals and diverse reading material all around me. I started writing at a very early age….
You must have been a bright student.
Yes, I was good at studies. But then you know what happened? On passing the matriculation examination I told my father I won’t be studying anymore. He must have been jolted inwardly. He, a crusader for literacy in the region, and here was his son saying no to further education. But, to his credit, he never showed his displeasure to me. Instead, he took me to an educationist for advice. The man spoke to me at length and in the end suggested to my father that I should learn Hindi. I was tutored in Hindi by Shri Vats, who was slightly older to me. That I won the Maha Pandit Rahul Sankrityan Puruskar of the Central Institute of Hindi shows how ably he had taught me. In time, I acquired higher qualifications in Urdu and English as well.
Your much-acclaimed novel ‘Lal Ded’ is based on the life story of a real person. Anant too is based on the life of a real person. Both the novels are highly philosophical. But there the similarity ends. You have adopted different styles in them. Was it a deliberate decision to evoke the different milieu in the two works?
I write what comes to my mind and in the form it comes to me. In fact, it is the narrative that takes charge of me than the other way around. I become a mere amanuensis before the creative power that dictates to me. Ideas are born in my mind in their full effulgence. The theme itself speaks out to me. I don’t follow any fashion or a trend. I would rather say I abhor following the beaten path. I believe firmly that one should write only what one feels like writing. To put it in other words, only you and no one else could write what you have written.
What do you have to say about faith and God?
I would ask you a counter question. Why do you think India has been subjugated all these millennia? Why? It is because we people believe in something intangible, someone who cannot be seen.
There is a general feeling among the people in Jammu that they are at a disadvantage as compared to the Kashmiris, who are pampered by the powers that be. Do you agree?
I think it is a fallacy to think so. If Kashmiris were really pampered, you would not have seen the miserable conditions in which the migrants from the Valley have to live. No Kashmiri Muslim would then have to carry loads on his back on the sun-scorched roads of the plains. It is a big racket, I tell you. The myth of bias is spread by the corrupt politicians, whether they belong to the mainstream or otherwise. These men spread tales of oppression to foment trouble; while they themselves live in luxury and send their wards to the best institutions in the country and abroad.
Lastly, may I ask you how as a citizen do you support a mass agitation that disrupts life and puts the economy of a region in jeopardy?
I strongly feel that a mass movement can never be wrong.
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