Sambeet Dash
The Bollywood actor of yester years, Raj Kumar known for his legendary style of dialogue delivery said this about his actor friend Dilip Kumar – “JAAANI, HAMAARI INDUSTRY ME WOHI TO EK ACTOR HAI, BAKI SAB BANDAR HAI (In our industry only Dilip Kumar is an actor, rest are monkeys). It sounded like deja vu when I got the news of the Award of PADMA BHUSAN bestowed upon the Odia writer Manoj Das, who I believe is the real writer, way above most of his writers fraternity.
Manoj Das is one of the few Indian writers and fewer Odia writers I admire. His writing is cool,crispy, original, lucid, elegant and entertaining without using many bombastic words. Ever since I read his book ALOKA O ANANDA RA KAHANI (Story of Light and Delight) published by National Book Trust (NBT) in 1977, I never looked back. A bilingual writer at ease with both Odia, his mother tongue and English, he is an excellent storyteller.
His winning of the Award reminded me of the adage – Too little, too late. No doubt the Award is well deserved, but the man deserves a lot better, lot earlier. Though these Padma-whatever awards are politicized beyond redemption, I am glad a brilliant writer from my state of Odisha finally got much his deserved recognition, adding another feather to his cap.
I always consider Odisha as the perfect graveyard of any creative pursuit. We Odias (the usual disclaimers apply) are poor appreciators of art, literature and proactive contributors to the society. We prefer licking the boots of petty Babus, Vassals and politicians. Coming from a feudal society, I heard folks eulogizing the Babus – “ARRE SE IAS OFFICER PEE KI BADEILA” (So and So IAS officer got drunk and beat some hapless folks). Rarely they acknowledge or appreciate entrepreneurs, artists and writers.
Unfortunately Manoj Das comes from such a milieu. He was conveniently ignored in a state where cheap detective writer Pramod Kishore Panda sold more books. Fortunately for him he relocated to Pondicherry where recognitions followed. Had Manoj Das been a Bengali he could have been put on a different pedestal. Glad he went out of Odisha, otherwise he would have rotted.
Soon his fame started spreading far and wide – from the far East Singapore who hired Manoj Das as their cultural consultant to far West America where his famous story ABU PURUSHA (The Hunchback) was published in a well known literary Magazine. Khushwant Singh regularly serialized Manoj Das’s stories when the former was the Editor of the widely circulated Illustrated Weekly of India, only such magazine of the time.
When many writers were dying to get published under Khushwant Singh, the Sardar selected a few and one of those few was our own Manoj Das. The two writers were a mutual admirer duo. Sri Das admired the witty Sardar as “JANE NIRBHIKA LEKHAKA” (One fearless writer).
Apart from writing some fabulous reads, Manoj Das is a vegetarian and spiritual person to core. His writing touches the simple truth and philosophy of life. He never hurts a fly. But Khushwant Singh never spared anyone, including himself through self deprecating jokes and mocking his own community and the religious Gurus.
One was known for his sagacious writing and the other for his salacious ones. Unlike poles attract each other. Manoj Das in his tribute to Khushwant Singh after the later’s death has described how liquor used to flow during evenings at the Sardar’s party, while Manoj Das would be sipping his endless glasses of Tomato juice in the literary company.
These two great writers formed a unique bond in diversity, of mutual trust and respect. The old Sardar kept writing well into his 90s and may Sri Manoj Das, who now in his his 80s and still going strong continue the magic flowing from his pen.
(Sambeet Dash is an Odia technocrat living in Georgia ,US)