'I have an uneasy preoccupation with God'

Much like how Kiran Nagarkarrsquos ldquotwo boysrdquo would be faced with twists and turns in his book Ravan and Eddie the riotous freehearted sensitive and multilayered ode to Mumbai it was becoming a challenge to veer the interview back to its template Every now and then talk would invariably trail off into a delicious detour Bombay Mumbai Chawls MarathiEnglish translations Civic issues Tolerance And GodKiran Nagarkar looks on at a city he feels is in his blood PicPradeep DhivarLiterary trailsWe were in the middle of a wonderfully unpredictable joyride as the Sahitya Akademi awardwinner regaled us with his views and insights Humble to a fault moments after we settle into his seafacing aesthetically charming sunlit drawing room he asks ldquoHave you read any of these young authors Chetan Bhagat Amishhellip I should read their booksrdquoAs the conversation flows itrsquos tough to forget his imprint on Indiarsquos literary landscape that pans iconic novels like Saat Sakkam Trechalis Cuckold Ravan and Eddie and Godrsquos Little Soldier and plays like Bed Time Story Kabirache Kay Karayche and Stranger Amongst Us And just as we soak it all in he throws a ldquoIrsquom not a known author just in certain circlesrdquoldquoSo how are the trains these days Better Worse Irsquove always believed itrsquos a great place to read the cityrdquo We couldnrsquot agree any more Mumbai ndash itrsquos our startoff point from where we were hoping to draw Nagarkar in After having chronicled the city for decades does he feel todayrsquos writers arenrsquot doing justice to its wealth of storiesldquoOf course not enough literature is coming out of the city I cannot imagine why one canrsquot find storieshellip just look out thererdquo he gazes into the distance ldquoWhen I was younger I would visit our BMC hospitals on various occasions We only lament their poor work But inside there are countless stories waiting to be told of survivors guardian angels and silent workers Looking back I wish I had written some of those amazing storiesAnother section that is neglected is that enterprising entity called the vendor what resiliencerdquoMother tongue debutTalk veers to his early tryst with writing ldquoThe happiest thing that happened to me was the accidental manner in which I started to write in Marathirdquo Nagarkarrsquos first published works was a short story in Marathi as a 24yearold for Abhiruchi a Marathi language magazine published by friend litterateur and painter Dilip Chitrersquos fatherAt that time Chitre was editing an edition for his father and was in search of stories when Nagarkar pitched in to write in a language he had never done before ldquoBeing educated in a Catholic school I had my nose in the air about being familiar in English I see no reason why There was this attitude of looking down on other languages if you were from an English medium schoolrdquo he chucklesldquoAfter I wrote that onepager story one thing led to another and the next I knew I was working on Saat Sakkamhelliprdquo His debut novel as we know went on to create literary history for its fine wordplay earning rich tributes and critical applause Saat Sakkam Trechalis was also translated into English as Seven Sixes are FortyThreeTranslation mattersAre writers touchy when their works get translated we prod ldquoMany people think Irsquove reinvented the language My punctuations are different I am a very sensitive person so I consider it a bit more than just translationrdquoWhile Saat Sakkam Trechalis was translated into English first most of his works have been translated into German ldquoIrsquom told my German translators did a terrific job They knew my mother tongue even Very fine translations make life easy I hear that my books like Godrsquos Own Soldier finds resonance among German readersrdquoHe shares how after nearly 40 pages of Saat Sakkam Trechalis were translated he felt he was being a nuisance ldquoSo I decided I should not check the translated worksrdquo before dropping a gem ldquothere must be openness and sensitivity to a culture of a country or region while attempting translationsrdquolsquoMy boysrsquoldquoI doubt I wouldrsquove changed much had I written Ravan and Eddie todayrdquo he replies after a pause when I ask if he would have approached the title differently in our times ldquoI would have still been set in a chawl Irsquom familiar with the settinghellip and yes there will be a trilogyrdquo He wonrsquot reveal any moreNagarkar thanks a film director who had requested him to write a screenplay after he heard that Saat Sakkamhellip was melodramatic ldquoThe guy lost interest after a few meetings but I decided to continue the story about lsquomy boysrsquordquo he smiles In fact the first 70 pages of Ravan and Eddie are written in Marathi After a 14yearbreak he returned to writing it this time in EnglishldquoThe transition was tough I was ridden with a sense of guilt for switching from my mother tongue to Englishrdquo Ravan and Eddie was published finally in 1994 ldquoI would love to write in Marathi now but Irsquove become lazy and old Irsquom also not sure if there will be a market for itrdquo he reasons in response to our prod if he has been tempted to return to writing in MarathiAbout God and humansThe poster announcing Kiran Nagarkarrsquos session at the First Annual David Sassoon Memorial Lecture this Saturday reads lsquoI am going to tell God everythingrsquo He says ldquoI was hanging on to this thought since 1975 I have an uneasy preoccupation with GodA dying Syrian boy uttered these words in 2013 I believe anything that happens in our backyard front yard in the US or in Iraq you and I are responsible To ignore a crime is to participate in it We often ask lsquoWhat can I dorsquo Few things in life are as given to as shrugging off responsibilities being apathetic and indifferentrdquoDriving home the thought he wonders ldquohow come that after 68 years of Independence we havent understood certain basics like not having toilets water or planned housing We seem to not be aware that the poor are primarily human beings too Why is this happening stillrdquo Alas lunchtime beckons in the Nagarkar household so holding on to the threads we take his leave We hope to hear the rest come tomorrowOn Saturday February 21 6 pmAt The David Sassoon Library Gardens Kala GhodaEntry Open to all