A life of creativity and humanity

Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending one of the gems in the exquisitely simple and beautiful garland that was placed around Bhisham Sahni writer playwright and actor on his birth anniversary at Delhis IHCOne of the most gifted writers of his time a man whose humanity ran like a deep river through his life and work a man who lived with quiet dignity and gentle kindness Bhisham Sahni wrote some of the finest books of his time books imbued with humanity compassion gentle humour and delicate nuancesBhisham SahniBut more than all of it he lived a life of such rich creativity and wisdom working quietly with such humility and grace that those around him never felt awed or humbled or were even conscious that they were in the presence of a writer ndash leave alone such a great oneI say this because I had the privilege of being part of his extended family My mother Usha had been his niece his sisters daughter the sister who having been the only daughter of the family to survive in to adulthood had tragically also died leaving behind four children and a widowed husbandFor my mother Bhisham Mamaji was her adored uncle as was his elder brother Balraj Sahni the great actor writer and activist both uncles who had such an enriching influence on their era through their striking creativity and humanityHis life and timesBorn in 1915 in Rawalpindi with a masters degree in English Literature from Government College Lahore and a PhD from Punjab University Chandigarh Bhisham Sahni was witness to Indias struggle for Independence followed by the horrors of PartitionSahni with wife SheilaHe participated in the freedom movement and was in the INC during Partition working tirelessly to organize relief work for the victims of communal violence Soon he was to start working with IPTA the Indian Peoples Theatre Association and this in turn led him to leaving the INC to join the Communist Party All along he supported himself and his family by working as a lecturer in various colleges in PunjabWith brother Balraj in MoscowIt was as a translator at the Foreign Languages Publishing House in Moscow that he worked next from 1956 to 1963 returning to India to take up teaching at the University again And while doing all this he was a loving husband to his wife Sheila and father to his children Kalpana and Varun his gentle ways and deep compassion imbuing every thing he didSerene pure and resonant with humane reassurancesHis voice both as a writer and a man was serene and pure and resonant with humane reassurances His immense popularity was not a result of any pandering to vulgar tastes but a reward for his literary meritsmdashhis sharp wit his gentle irony his allpervasive humour his penetrating insight into character his mastery as raconteur and his profound grasp of the yearnings of the human heart said Krishan Baldev Vaid the noted writer and playwright in a tributeThat Bhisham never paused never halted in such a long creative journey is a big achievement but what is bigger perhaps is that his life nurtured his work and his work nurtured his life both nurtured each other continuously said writer Nirmal VermaBhisham Sahnis name is etched so deeply into the twentieth century of Hindi literature that it cannot be erased There was no need to ask a general reader if he had read this or that writing by Bhisham This too is rare that the fame he received from Hindi should during his lifetime become the fame for Hindi itself wrote KamleshwarFrom acting to activismThroughout his life even while he worked prolifically turning out masterpieces like Tamas in 1974 his book based on the riots of 1947 which won the 1975 Sahitya Akademi Award for literature Bhisham Sahni also engaged in several literary and human rights organizationsActing as a villager in an IPTA playHe was General Secretary of the All India Progressive Writers Association 1975ndash85 and Acting General Secretary of the AfroAsian Writers Association and was the founder and chairman of SAHMAT the organization to nurture secularismSomehow he also found the time in the autumn of his life to turn out memorable performances in Saeed Mirzas Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho Bernardo Bertoluccis Little Buddha and Aparna Sens Mr and Mrs Iyer his humane and kind face etched forever in their viewers heartsCelebrating and rememberingThe moderator for Saturdays program was well known theatre director and actor M K Raina who had staged four of the six plays written by Bhisham Sahni including Hanush Kabira Khada Bazaar mein Madhavi and Muavze It was important for us to have people on stage who were closely associated with Bhisham ji rather than random characters said Dr Kalpana Sahni Bhisham Sahnis daughter former professor at JNU and herself a gifted writerActor Anis Azmi who had acted in Rainas Kabira Khada bazaar mein had read excerpts from Sahnis autobiography Aaj ke Ateet followed by a beautiful speech and song by my mothers younger sister Harshi Anand whod been an active IPTA member a moving eulogy by actor Parikshit Sahni whod flown down for the centenary a riveting performance by Bhisham Sahnis son the astrophysicist and classical guitarist Varun Sahni and his wife Rohini a noted academic amongst othersTill a few months ago Penguin was to have sponsored the Saturday event whereas Rajkamal the Hindi publishers were doing the Sunday one said Kalpana Sahni Both were going to release some new translations and books But Penguins top team resigned a few months ago and their plans got postponed whereas Rajkamal went into a silent mode she saidAnd so we decided after the initial panic that rather than cancel the program we would go ahead and make it into a noncommercial event one where family and friends could participate and share Bhisham ji and rejoice and celebrate his centenary together