The Hindu : New Delhi News : How bright is the future of Hindi literature?

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Tuesday, Feb 05, 2008
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New Delhi

How bright is the future of Hindi literature?

Kunal Diwan

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Veteran filmmaker Muzaffar Ali with author and former CBI Director Trinath Mishra unveiling the book, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi", at the Book Fair in Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI: Like all ailing art forms declared irrelevant or redundant by pessimistic naysayers, any questions about the future of Hindi writing beget widely contradictory responses — from claims of its imminent extinction to cries of its undeniable resurgence.

“A decade or so ago, our readership was dwindling. Our publications were confined to straitjacketed genres such as novels and poetry, academics and fiction. As an experiment we came out with collections of ‘shayari’, including those by Kaifi Azmi, that proved to be a great success, even beyond my expectation,” said Arun Maheshwari of Vani Prakashan at the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan here on Monday.

Stationed beside a rack containing the pantheon of Western philosophical thought — neatly stacked Hindi translations of Russell, Marx, Thoreau and Machiavelli — Hind Pocket Books sales promotional officer R.P. Tiwari says he can sense the decline of Hindi readership even when he tours various places in search of business and if a piece of literature was not commercially viable, it would in all likelihood not be published.

Battling the two formidable adversaries of the Internet and English writing, the consumption of Hindi literature has long been restricted to school curricula and competitive examinations. Then there are some who accuse publishing houses of not putting in enough to propagate Hindi literature. “Hardcover books are expensive and beyond the reach of most Hindi readers. Paperbacks are released only after the hardcover has raked in enough profits. The publishers should take pains to promulgate this literature to places where it is sure to be voraciously devoured,” said Khalsa College student Brijesh Kumar, adding that another undeniable aspect of the scenario was Hindi’s limited scope in professional set-ups, particularly with the advent of the new MNC/BPO culture.

Another significant facet of the readership equation is the apparently increasing age of readers — Hindi books seem to be read only by people well into or well past their middle age.

Author Teji Grover, however, said to arrive at an accurate reading of the scenario, one would have to make a trip to the rural areas where there is a hunger for Hindi books that rivals the obsession with cinema. “I don’t think there is a readership crisis at all. If one diverts one’s gaze past the urban centres, children vie to read even the smallest scrap of paper they find lying around. I have chanced upon discussions comparing Premchand to Gorky in remote villages.”

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