The book might seem slow and much informative and detailed for those looking for a light read. For others, it is a rare escapism into the past.
Today’s Pasts: A Memoir
Bhisham Sahni
Translated to English by Snehal Shingavi
Publisher: Penguin Group
Pages: 434; Price: Rs 499
Life’s experiences couldn’t be considered irrelevant. These experiences provide perspective, improve perception, and affect a writer’s sensibility. I took courage from such notions.” – Bheesham Sahni
Sahni (1915-2003) was a writer — one of the icons of modern Indian literature — who transformed the landscape of Hindi literature. From novels, short-stories, essays to plays, he has delivered many substantial works. Proud recipient of not just the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975 for Tamas, his best-known novel that was subsequently adapted into an award-winning film by Govind Nihalani, Sahni was also awarded the Padma Bhushan(1998) and the Shalaka Samman (1999)- the Delhi Government’s highest literary prize.
The translator, Snehal Shingavi is assistant professor of English at the University of Texas, Austin, where he specializes in teaching South Asian literatures in English, Hindi and Urdu. He is the author of The Mahatma Misunderstood, and has most recently translated the iconic short-story collection Angaaray to widespread acclaim.
This is a vast chronicle of Indian and world history (especially of the Soviet Union) during the time of Indian independence and after that. Although the story starts much before independence, Bhisham, the younger brother of Balraj Sahni, an Indian film and stage actor, takes the reader on a journey from the lanes of Rawalpindi that is witnessing the first stirrings of the freedom movement, in the first few decades of the twentieth century.
When he was born, in 1925, there was no band to play infront of his house, unlike when his elder brother was born — a fact that was always brought up when they fought during their childhood. Mischievous and naughty, he jumped on to moving tongas and then jumped down from them, while growing up. To think of this mischievous young boy growing into a timid person struggling to develop a natural personality and self expression seems unimaginable but Sahni credits that change in him to being unconsciously influenced by the unique qualities of several others which was in direct proportion to him feeling insignificant himself.
This work is also a reflection of him upon his life, over the many things he had to let go or put an end to, like the end to the campaign to collect all of Premchand’s letters, end to hockey- a game he was exceptionally good at. Like people
who live their lives and go with the flow only to look back and wonder if they could change some of the things in the past, Sahni has given voice to his regrets bravely. To put it on paper for the whole world to read in itself takes sheer confidence and a generous dollop of this thing called ‘experience’.
Partition and its horrific effects drove him to Bombay, Ambala and finally Delhi. It also traces his life in Moscow.
This remains an essential reading for all those who would like to walk on the streets of Rawalpindi of the early twentieth century, to know what the neighbourhoods sounded and felt like; to understand the milieu of the youth at the time of Independence; to get a firsthand account of a man who joined the IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), one of the oldest theatre organizations of India, and worked as a performing artist. It is also an insight into the life of his wife, Sheela, who was a constant support in his life and kept the family together inspite of his addiction to wanderlust and his writing career that left him with little time for family responsibilities.
In a broader context, this book provides an insight into the success of the democratic Soviet system and Sahni’s opinion about the downfall of one of the greatest systems of his time. It also traces the journey of the Progressive Writer’s Association to which he was connected as an official for a long time.
Sahni, through his words, comes across as a man who tries to get a perspective by looking back at his own life. “I didn’t learn any lessons”, he says, and “so who am I to teach anyone?” And yet, here is a book that has got so much to offer to everyone who is caught in the midst of life, wondering how to make sense of it. It tells you that no matter how insignificant an experience, it all comes together to help you whenever you are faced with an adversity in life.
The translation did feel bumpy at some instances where the reviewer was left to translate some sentences back to Hindi in order to understand what Sahni would have wanted to convey to the reader. For readers alien to Hindi, some of the lines in the book might not convey the intended meaning.
But the intense research that Shingavi conducted and the way it has been presented is worth applause.
The book might seem slow and much informative and detailed for those looking for a light read. For others, it is a rare escapism into today’s pasts!
