Premchand, Shaani and communalism
June 30, 2017
The writings of these stalwarts reflected the plural character of Indian society Every year on the occasion of Id, I am reminded of Premchand’s heart-rending story “Idgaah” which celebrates a poor child’s love for his grandmother. While we find short stories and even novels — Amritlal Nagar’s “Shatranj Ke Mohre”, for example —focusing on the […]
Work
June 22, 2017
Kala Jal (Dark Waters) Kala Jal (Dark Waters) is the first authentic saga of that significant segment of the Indian society- the Indian Muslims. For centuries, the Indian Muslims have been portrayed as rulers, nawabs, courtiers and the cultured aristocracy. Shaani’s novel portrays them as they were, familiar, vulnerable people with their personal and […]
Life’s Journey
June 18, 2017
Shaani (originally Gulsher Khan) was born on May 16, 1933 in Jagdalpur, now in Chhattisgarh, India. He set an example in Hindi literature by striving towards perfection from a small town like Jagdalpur, away from the crowded Hindi literary scene across North India. He began his career by working in the Information and Publications Directorate […]
A conversation with Shaani
June 17, 2017
In the history of Hindi language, literature and culture, something occurred during the mid-18th century because of which not a single major Muslim writer writing in Hindi emerged for nearly 200 years. From this angle, Shaani can surely be considered the first Muslim literateur writing in Khari Boli Hindi, who emerged after a gap of […]