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Of many genres

SURESH KOHLI

The Saraswati Samman is a fitting recognition for multifaceted author Jagannath Prasad Das.

Previously his talent and versatility surpassed the recognition he had received. But Jagannath Prasad Das's work now stands vindicated with the conferment of the Saraswati Samman by the venerated K.K. Birla Foundation, which honours writers in various Indian languages.

J.P. Das, or JP as he is popularly known, however, does not think the award is a vindication of his talent . "There was no doubt to be cleared nor was there any need to justify anything," he asserts. But the fact remains that some of his contemporaries have been elevated to greater pedestals than him, though their range and contribution have been less consequential. J.P. Das has successfully experimented in varied disciplines, like poetry, drama, fiction, art and literary criticism. He has also translated, not only his own work, but also Gulzar's work, into English. He has published ten collections of poems (eight of them are also available in English translation), seven collections of short stories (five selections in English translation) five plays, a book of poems for children and one of nonsense verse, apart from treatises on art.

Explaining the choice of different genres, he states, "I was generally writing poetry about life, death, nature, love because I felt I could not write about social problems. But I was concerned with social issues as well, so I started writing short stories. They helped me overcome my reservations, and I found I could bring in social realities into poetry as well. I always felt drama was a challenging medium. So I thought I might try my hand at writing plays as well and wrote two short plays as early as 1960, and have kept up with the medium since, writing every now and then. Then I veered into research about Oriya art. While researching about an Oriya artist of the late nineteenth century I read about Orissa , and ended up writing a historical novel about that period. That research led me to the missionary activities in Orissa in the early nineteenth century, and I converted that research into a play as well. But then I never discarded the muse . That's my lifeline. So I have been writing poetry in between and find no problem switching genres."

And what about the award-winning "Parikrama", or "Circumambulation"? He elaborates, "It is a series of lyrical meditations, on life and death, on the nature of timeand space, memories, love, man-woman relationships, on the very process of writing poetry. It was published in 1998, and reveals a complex modern sensibility. It celebrates a melancholy refrain without being morbid, or degenerating into self-pity." JP is selective in his choice of words, and excels in the economy of expression and intensity of thought. Latent lyricism is the hallmark of JP's poetry, but these qualities find adequate presence in his prose as well. "Parikrama" is a good enough example of these qualities.

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