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Marathi literature brings concern to political hearts

Maharashtra politicians on Monday expressed concern over the falling standards of Marathi literature and its failure to keep pace with the communication revolution.

Participating in a seminar on the concluding day of the 72nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, held in Bombay after a gap of 12 years, personalities cutting across party lines --Cultural Affairs Minister Pramod Navalkar, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sumitra Mahajan, former Union minister and senior Congressman Vithalrao Gadgil and former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi, who is also the chairman of the sammelan 's reception committee, said Marathi needs to be embellished with new words and phrases.

Setting the tone for discussion, Sahitya Mahamandal chairperson Vasundhara Pendse-Naik said politicians have always been virtually banned from attending such literary meets.

''Why can't we consider them as an individual entity? Politicians can be found in any field. We have to consider them as personalities working in the field of politics,'' she said.

The audience responded to the discussion that lasted almost two hours. Mahajan dwelled on how they grew up reading Kusumagraj.

Gadgil said Marathi literature was lagging behind when compared to English. There was no political novel in Marathi while English boasted plenty of such like Darkness At Noon, Letter From An Unknown Woman and Dr Zhivago. Historic events like the Goa liberation, the Samyukta Maharashtra movement or the Independence struggle do not find any mention in Marathi literature. Similarly, nothing has been written on the era of communication revolution in the country.

Navalkar, for his part, mentioned that Marathi literature lacked books on grammar. ''Instead of thinking about how much you read, we have to consider what impact the reading has made on you. Unfortunately, there are no works in the present time that would make a powerful impact on the reader,'' he lamented.

The speakers all agreed to one thing: that politicians provide good material to writers. Mahajan lashed out at critics, who opposed the participation of politicians in literary meets.

"Literature is the mirror of society", she said, "Are there less politicians among literary figures?''

She wondered why it was felt that only Dalit poets could understand the pain and suffering of the Dalits.

''Even Kusumagraj feels for them in his Pachola,'' she pointed out.

Reacting to two other meetings -- Sakal and Vidrohi -- being held in the city to counter the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the BJP's Indore MP said it was a place where new thoughts are churned out.

UNI

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