A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

Thereafter you need not write anything
in your entire life. They will go on pouring
awards and rewards and glory and
invitations for lecture and what not upon
you. Look at Arundhati Roy! She has written
only one novel and she is considered a
bigger writer than Rohinton Mistry. Look
at Alka Saraogi. She was given academy
award on her first novel. Did she write
anything worthwhile after that? During the
last sixty years not a single sahitya academy
award has been given to a short story
writer. During last sixty years not a single
Jnanpith Award has been given to a short
story writer. And this is when we consider
and claim ourselves as grand children and
great grand children of Premchand-who
was primarily a short story writer.
Pallav—Do you see any influence of
your style on your junior story writers?
Swayam Prakash—None whatsoever!
Pallav—How do you explain it?
Swayam Prakash—Perhaps they are
motivated by commercial success of one
of my contemporaries and have placed
him as their only ideal!
Pallav—Are you jealous?
Swayam Prakash—I am sad. You know
why? I think satire is a very useful weapon
to expose fallacy, idiocy and absurdity
of the system. I am sad because this element
is no more seen in contemporary prose.
People have simply forgotten Parsaiji. Satire
is something with the help of which you
stand erect in front of atrocities- even
cruelties. You are not dominated and
defeated as long as you have your faculty
to laugh intact. Losing it is...
Pallav—Defeatism!
Swayam Prakash—Exactly. I never
frightened my readers by picturing
callousness of market economy or
barbarianism of bureaucracy or wickedness
of politicians or crookedness of inteligentsia.
I wanted my readers to believe that they
can change the system. I am sorry but
now the will to change the system is not
seen, what to talk of confidence that the
system can be changed.
Pallav—Are you computer savvy?
Swayam Prakash—No.
Pallav—Do you ever visit Hindi sites?
Swayam Prakash—Not very often.
Pallav—Why?
Swayam Prakash—I find them boring.
Perhaps till date the net could not take
the shape of a forum for serious discussions.
Till date it is mostly an abode of those
who could not find a suitable place for
themselves in the print media.
Pallav—Are you a blogger?
Swayam Prakash—No.
Pallav—Have you seen Hindi writers
on the net?
Swayam Prakash—Most of them do not
update themselves regularly. I hate
74 :: January-March 2012