Mamta Kalia

Editor's Note
Those who have a passion for books, realize at some point in life, that the books they have read fall
into two categories; either they are too adult or not adult enough for them. In other words, we all
are either too young or too old to have read them. The realisation comes much after the moment
of experience. In summer time, when days are longer, reading or re-reading a book is the best way
to beat the heat. My suggestion is that a book lover can always give a second chance to a book
that he did not grasp in the first instance. Classics seldom fail their readers and they generate
enhanced vitality at every read.
Autobiographies have always been a popular form of writing. The amazing range and reach enjoyed
by Mahatma Gandhi’s book “My Experiments with Truth’ is a miracle of our time. The book is
available in abridged version for school students and strikes a chord in every heart. Autobiographies
of Nehru and Swami Yoganand, occupy the second row.
Dalit writing in Hindi has come of age. Its days of struggle have been long and painful. Significantly
dalit autobiographies reveal their dungeon world of dark and stark realities. History has hushed
unnumbered instances of atrocities on dalits. A few fearless souls have survived the social landslide
to speak out the truth. Their autobiographies are an expression of their predicament and problems.
We have focused on Om Prakash Valmiki’s famous autobiography ‘Joothan’ which exemplifies the
agony of an outcast child who has to grow up in a hostile social environment. Valmiki disrobes
himself to the nadir point only to announce the apathy of a society that boasts of its humanity and
compassion. Valmiki was much dissuaded by his friends from writing this confessional book but
he said, ‘why should one feel awkward in telling the truth? Only he or she who has suffered this
anguish, knows its sting.’ Joothan drew wider attention when it was translated in English by Arun
Prabha Mukherjee. It went on to win the New India Foundation’s best book award in 2004. We
carry a few pages from Joothan. Prof. Mukherjee writes about this book with empathy and
admiration, Dr. P.C. Joshi speaks about localism, nationalism and internationalism with special
emphasis on Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has since been made a separate state but the point Dr.
Joshi makes still holds true.
In discourse we have a comprehensive study of post modernism by Subhash Sharma. The article
on translation in language section reverberates with some of its contentions. It is always significant
to know about the survival of Hindi as a language or medium of culture in far off lands. Pushpita
April-June 2010 :: 5