There seems to be no effect of writing…. What was the opinion of the famous writer Kashinath Singh about the writers?

The number of writers has increased. The number of people who publish has also increased and the number of publishers has also increased. Things are being read, there is no doubt about it. If they have an impact on someone’s personal life, then so be it, but there is no social aspect of it. We had not imagined the dangers that have come today and are continuing in the 21st century. Whatever Rahul Gandhi is doing, he/she has not done any fraud. he/she has not done any ideological fraud either. If not today, then tomorrow he/she may come in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

Kashinath Singh, author of classics like ‘Kashi Ka Assi’, is now 87 years old and is healthy. Prof. Anil Singh had a long conversation with him/her on time, literature, world and principles. Here are the important excerpts from the conversation:

Question: This year the birth centenary of Harishankar Parsai is being celebrated?
answer: Parsai will remain relevant. his/her relevance has increased in today’s context. The kind of things he/she used to write about, the problems of the common people and the way he/she used to attack political parties, all those things are still incomplete.

Question: You have been associated with the Progressive Writers’ Association all your life. Talking about parties, what do you think is the role of leftist parties, leftist politics or the Progressive Writers’ Association? How well are they able to keep up with the times?
answer: All political parties have abandoned the principles on which they were formed. All have abandoned them. All want direct participation in power and want to earn money. Everything is a kind of job.

Question: There is no initiative from writers’ organizations. People are running after popular politics. So much is being written, yet why is there no intellectual upheaval in the society?
answer: When there used to be literary politics, its principle used to be Marxism. Be it Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh or Jan Sanskriti Manch, their relevance has not ended, but has reduced.

Question: Firstly, politics has gone away from writers, then literature and culture too. Do you think that those who have come into leadership by doing Ganesh Parikrama have not been able to gain the trust of the people? Do the words of such people have any impact?
answer: There is no impact. This is because all these writers’ organizations have no contact with the public.

Question: The tradition of going among people as a cultural worker has ended. Now some people gather in Delhi, start a signature campaign and consider it the biggest resistance. Do you think this has made a difference?
answer: The number of writers has increased. The number of people getting their work printed has also increased and the number of publishers has also increased. There is no doubt that things are being read. Yes, if they have an impact on someone’s personal life, then so be it, but its social aspect is not visible.

Question: You have been writing for more than half a century. How much has the political situation in the country changed? How do you see today’s times?
answer:Look, these dangers that have come today and are continuing in the 21st century, we had not imagined such dangers. Now look at what Rahul Gandhi is doing, he/she probably walked on the right path honestly. he/she has not been caught anywhere. he/she has not done any fraud anywhere. he/she has not done any ideological fraud either. If not today, then tomorrow he/she may come in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela. I have a lot of expectations. If he/she brings change in the party, he/she can change the politics of the country.

Question: In 1967-68, when student politics was on the rise all over the world, your novel ‘Apna Morcha’ was published at that time. A direction of student politics is visible in it?
answer: At that time, there was a rise of student politics all over the world. In France, students themselves led the movement. There were movements in Japan and Korea. For these reasons, that novel was also translated into Japanese and Korean.

Question: People want something full of ideological or linguistic excitement. They don’t want the neutral creativity of a writer or an extension of language. Is that why people have stopped reading?
answer: Actually, the condition of literature in capitalist countries is the same as it is in India. You mentioned ‘Apna Morcha’, otherwise no one mentions it today. Yes, since Narendra Modi is connected to Kashi, some drama was done on ‘Kashi Ka Assi’, people are getting connected to it.

Question: How do you see the commitment towards literature and words in the new generation?
answer:We feel that the new generation has brought forward the things that were not being written about, about which we did not know. Like tribal life, public life, these things that are coming out from among them are attracting us, they look good. In the 60s when we too were tribals in the village, those things about the village people are coming out. But I am not interested in the knowledge that people are showing off in their poems.

Question: You had a long story called Mahua Charitra. There is a lot of controversy about it. One is a depiction of simple life and the other is politically loaded. What difference does it make?
answer:Anil, what’s the matter today? What mood are you in brother? We didn’t know whether you would be interested in me or in studying. It was nice talking to you. Most of the people with us have left. Gyanranjan is still alive. The rest have all left.

Question: What are you reading these days?
answer:I have not been able to read anything for the last five-six years. I am worried. Meanwhile, I read Subhash Rai’s book ‘Akk Mahadevi’. It is a very important book. I had presented a collection of poems in Shanti Parv. There are also poems of resistance. Some poems seem more personal.