Rooted in our times
|
Vivek Shanbhag feels that it's vital to stay connected with our own language and culture. The writer's new journal, Desha Kaala, hopes to help in this process, discovers DEEPA GANESH
|
Vivek Shanbhag: `If our emotional world is not shaped by the language of the street, then there is a chasm between us and what is around us.' — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
LANGUAGE no longer represents a community. As poet-translator A.K. Ramanujan so lyrically put it, he spoke three tongues: Tamil in the kitchen, English in his father's study, and Kannada on the streets. There is an increasing disconnect between the language of the home and the world. Cosmopolitanism, with all its baggage, is probably one of the reasons for a fractured society, engendering people out of sync with their own literary traditions and cultures. Despite the pan-Indian nature of our literatures, not much is known about the writings in the neighbouring State. Amidst such debates, Kannada's short story writer Vivek Shanbhag's new venture, the journal Desha Kaala becomes important.
In an essay titled Cosmopolitan and Vernacular in History, Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock talks about how regional literatures were initiated by the conscious decisions of writers to reshape the boundaries of their cultural universe. Of how they renounced the larger world for the smaller place, and they did so in full awareness of the significance of their decision. Desha Kaala too is an exercise of this kind that not just intends to talk of literature that belongs to our immediate time and space, but is also an effort to bring together cultural universes. In a sense, it is also Vivek Shanbhag's universe, for in his own writings, he creates a space for an encounter between seemingly disparate worlds.
Excerpts from a chat with the writer:
What will be the ideological concerns of Desha Kaala?
There is no stated ideology as such. It is a journal that has to do with literature and everything around us with which we could possibly get intensely engaged with. Because I am a literary person, it is centred on literature. But it will also have articles on films, music and various other cultural issues.
The name of the journal, Desha Kaala, is interesting. It at once suggests time and timelessness.
Desha Kaala is space and time. As a creative writer, it is the constant struggle to locate myself in a particular space and time. But then it is not just of real space and time, but also of the mind. A space and time of a people who have common concerns and interests, which in a way transcends time.
Most Kannada journals such as Sakshi, Sanchaya, Sankramana, Gandhibazaar Patrike and Rujuvathu are niche publications which interest a small group. In catering to a group that already has a Kannada sensibility, does it in some sense defeat the larger purpose of a Kannada journal? Does this `nicheness' also contribute to their short life?
I feel every journal has a life. Even the best of journals such as Jeevana Jayanthi, Rujuvathu and Sakshi. All of them have served their purpose, and very well. They have a life, because they live in a certain desha and kaala. It is neither a business enterprise nor a monument that has to last for 100 years. We must accept the fact that they have a life span. If Desha Kaala lasts for 10 years, I would see it as very successful. Through the journal we need to bring new writers and new thinkers so that it can influence our thinking collectively. That will be the measure of success for me and not in terms of how long it lasts.
Was the indiscipline that came with many of these publications also the reason?
Absolutely. It has to be brought out with rigour and responsibility. In the sense that there is a certain set of subscribers and once you commit yourself that you will bring it out at a certain time, it has to be honoured. Most journals haven't been able to do so. Partly because they haven't been getting the articles at the right time. If you look back, you also realise that many of these journals have relied on Kannada writers. Translations have been a part, but mostly from Western literature. Very little has been done in terms of bringing literatures of other Indian languages into Kannada. Times have changed. Now there is more interaction and availability of literary works in English from other Indian languages. If we cannot do a direct translation, the texts are available in English for us. Secondly, I also think that interaction between writers of different languages has increased. This makes it possible for us to have a greater inflow. For instance, in the first issue, we have introduced a Malayalam poet called Raman. Our translators spent three days with him and translated 10 of his poems. Then we requested a Malayalam critic to write about Raman, which none of the journals have done in the past. I think there is a lot happening in Kannada and mainstream papers don't have the space for it.
You have lived away for several years. So, is a sense of nostalgia Desha Kaala?
Could be. But this idea has been with me for long. Me and my friends almost started a journal 15 years ago.
Is it also memories of the journals that shaped your sensibilities?
I think so. Sakshi was a great influence on me. It is sad that there is so such effort in Kannada now, and so it was an ambition to work in that direction.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have a Lankesh Patrike and a Bhavana. Very different in concerns, they were an all-embracing effort in terms of people they reached out. Desha Kaala is going to occupy an altogether different kind of space.
Lankesh Patrike was not a literary weekly and Bhavana was a monthly of a different kind. Desha Kaala is going to be very different. But of course, it is going to be a journal that will identify new voices. It's going to identify the potential of these voices. In this regard, Bhavana and Lankesh Patrike too have done exemplary work.
Also, I feel that in the new writers in Kannada there is no rigour. They spend no time in improving language skills nor have they read our great writers. This is a dangerous trend. I hope the journal persuades them to write with deeper commitment.
In an enterprise such as Desha Kaala, it seems like it would be difficult to separate literature and language concerns. Particularly at a time when there is serious concern on whether languages like Kannada can remain the visage of its community.
This divide is more in urban places like Bangalore. What seems important now is to be engaged with the mother tongue which shapes our emotional world. If our emotional world is not shaped by the language of the street, then there is a chasm between us and what is around us. Since we do not have a stated ideology, these are challenges that one has to tackle with as we go along.
Desha Kaala will be launched at the Kannada Sahitya Parishath Auditorium, 10 a.m., April 9, 2005.
(Those who want to subscribe to the quarterly, send a cheque/DD of Rs. 300 to D-1, Victorian Villa, Alexandra Street, Richmond Town, Bangalore 560035)
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
