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Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay believes that today’s Indian youth can aspire, dream and work towards achieving their goals, despite the trials and tribulations experienced on the way. Mulay has been an inspiration to thousands of youth, especially from the rural and semi-rural areas and small towns in India, through his book “Maati, Pankh Ani Aakash,” an autobiographical fiction that throws light on the first three decades of his life. It details his journey from a small village in Maharashtra to the Foreign Service. The Hindi translation of the book is being launched in the U.S. by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan May 8.
In an interview with Desi Talk, Mulay talked about the book, its impact on the youth and how it has helped achieve the “Indian Dream.” Following are excerpts from the interview.
What is the purpose of releasing this book in the U.S. after all these years?
The period covered in the book is from my childhood till I completed my first posting in Japan in 1988. In a way it is from 1958, when I was born, to 1988 – approximately 30 years. I wrote it when I was 35 – between the ages of 35 and 37 and it was published in 1997 when I was 39-40.
The immediate provocation [to write the book], was the constant desire, a passion to write. The path I had trodden was so unique, so different. It was a difficult but a very satisfying journey for me when I look back. At the same time I also realized that there were a number of struggling boys and girls all over – particularly rural Maharashtra, where I came from.
Basically, the purpose was to convey to them that such a journey is possible, feasible. These were early 80s when I joined the service. It was not as if people from disadvantaged backgrounds, people from rural areas, were coming in the higher services, so I thought why not inspire – at least why not note down my journey so that people understand.
The second reason for the book was my early realization about the importance of education in the making of my life. And I thought it is important for me again to convey this to the people from where I belong. My parents were uneducated – more or less – my father was class seventh pass and my mother was illiterate, so I knew the importance, inherently, of education, so I thought that this has to be reinforced in my writing.
The third things is the fact that a person of background came into the services, I thought, even at that stage, was a success of our democracy. That people anywhere can now aspire to dream, to come and occupy the positions – it’s not hierarchical, it’s not dynastic, it has nothing to do with family riches – here is a system called democracy, in front of the law, opportunities, everybody is the same- so not let’s take advantage of this. Let everybody know the success of the democracy in India – in the true sense of the term – no need to glorify. And if you’d seen my childhood – in a sense it was so ordinary, but in a sense it was very extraordinary also.
And I wrote it in Marathi for the simple reason that I was comfortable. I wasn’t comfortable in Hindi, which I improved much later and certainly English I wasn’t comfortable, because I didn’t know who my audience would be in English and also whether I’d be able to write few sentences which people would take as some kind of literary English. So it was easy for me to write Marathi.
Why now?
As you know I’m in the Foreign Service, so except for the publication of the book for the first time, I have not really been able to follow up on the book – where is goes, how it is handled – except that I’m getting regular feedback from readers. And what I see is that every year the readership is growing – which is very strange for a book. A book’s life is generally right in the beginning – there is a big splash – and then perhaps it goes up little bit and then then the curve plateaus and goes down. But in this particular book, what I have seen is more and more people have shown interest in the book – and of all generations – even though it is primarily inspirational to the youth, it makes a good reading. And more and more people now tell me that it also throws light on social structures, economic structures, cultural structures – the layers and dimensions of society – in those three decades. How the society was – whether stagnant or changing, what were the dynamics within the society – it all becomes very, very clear.
So when Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan said that they would like to re-launch the Hindi translation, I was a little reluctant. But they were very keen, because I think some people had read the book and they thought it was a good idea to introduce the book here. So as a writer I’m delighted that it is reaching a wider audience.
How do you think people in the U.S., or even the current younger generation in India relate to the book, because somewhere everything is changing – the structure, the values.
What remain constant are the struggles. It is also true that India being so large, there are still segments within our society that are striving to raise themselves. The good part is that education has reached almost all parts of India. But there are a lot of people still who do not know how to find their way.
What were my typical problems? Books were not available, there weren’t teachers who could tell me what civil services are, I didn’t have enough financial resources, though I was not starving, we had a happy farming family, we had some tailoring business in the village, and we were very well respected, but it wasn’t that I could have just spent a few thousand rupees on books from Mumbai or Delhi – going to Mumbai or Delhi or seeking guidance was difficult. These problems basically still remain. What has changed is maybe the syllabus has changed, the UPSC structure has somewhat changed, more candidates are participating. In our times there were about maybe 150 to 200 thousand, not there are 500,000 plus. Competition is more, the population is bigger, the awareness is bigger now. A lot of books are available; many guidance centers have been set up, even at district level. But even then the struggle remains.
There’s an entirely new breed of younger generation which has for the first time heard about the civil services through my books. Most of the civil service training centers in Maharashtra have made this book compulsory reading, or at least they read extracts from this book regularly to inspire their students. So that’s why it has remained relevant.
And as I said, while the journey might be older, the essence of the journey for many in the rural areas primarily, or semi-rural, or small towns, remains the same. And as a result, every year, throughout the year, I keep on getting lots of letters requesting for guidance, requesting for a way out of a particular problem, and I’m happy to do that because I know that my journey would have been slightly more easier had I had similar people that time – there was nobody around.
The book has become an anthem for the youth of today’s generation? Did you perceive it to be that popular with the youth?
I thought it would be useful, but I never thought it would be received so well. In fact, while I have been always writing, this book made me a writer in the public eye.
Why did you choose the genre of autobiographical fiction?
I wanted an element of truth in it and I also wanted readability. [The book has] a number of episodes – like when I leave the village, the things that happen inside the village, the things that happen in the school, in college, including interactions with the professors, the principal, friends, including girlfriends, some love affair during the college days – so all this I thought becomes true if you really are the protagonist yourself. When you make it fictional, people read it as a fiction, and I wasn’t comfortable with it. I wanted people to believe in the story, and not think that it is fictional. So the best way was to use various methods like stream of consciousness, storytelling, bit of poetic language, and also make it readable to all the generations.
Another reason for making it so is that there’s been a motto in my life that whatever I write, my mother should be able to understand it if anybody reads it to her. So it should be so simple. Even a subject like diplomacy, someone reads it to her, she should be able to understand what her son is doing. So that was the primary motive. Similarly there are a lot of my classmates from primary school who have been left in my village – they can read – but if I use some bombastic, difficult language, even within Marathi, it will be boring for them. They should find readability – which is ease of language and interest.
How is “Maati, Pankh ani Aakash” different from “Nokarshahiche Rang” – the autobiography you wrote in 2009? What parts of your life does it cover?
The two are totally different. “Maati, Pankh Ani Aakash” is about an individual’s growth, his appearance of the stage of the Foreign Service. While the second one – “Nokarshahiche Rang” – is about the craft. After reading the first book, a lot of them were curious about my work, so I thought I should write a book dedicated to just that.
Therefore I took one part – my stay of three years in Russia and Japan – and my work in both these places. What kind of people come and meet you, what do you do as a diplomat, what are the various structures in the consulates, embassies or high commissions. Because this is also public diplomacy – if you want to involve the public in government affairs constructively, you have to continue to empower them, to engage them through information.
And that has also been a common theme running in all my works, not so much in poetry, but almost in entire prose. The fact that I am outside of my country, my language environment, my family, friends and relatives network that need not cut me off from them. But I’ll get cut off if I do not have a link with which a large number of people can simultaneously relate to – and writing becomes that instrument.
The title of the book signifies a lot of hope – but also indicates that one needs to be grounded – is that something you believe in and follow in your life?
True. But in terms of symbolism used in the book and its link with the title – Maati really is the phase of my life in my village, in Maharashtra, basically, in Laat my village, in Kolhapur, my district, where I was educated, till 1979, when I completed my college – where I was rooted. Pankh is symbolic of education – wings – without those wings you cannot reach the sky. However, the bird constantly has to come to the nest, then only the relationship between the sky, and the earth becomes relevant. So while I soar high, if I do not know the strength on which I have come, and the reason which I am flying in that sky, then the purpose is lost. I become irrelevant; my being in the sky becomes absolutely irrelevant. And I was also very keen on not focusing so much on the pain of the journey, but on the joy of the journey despite the difficulties. That’s also a common theme – I do not mourn anywhere. And even when there are moments of disappointment, I get up again, try to gather myself and move forward. I wanted to reflect the positiveness in the title itself.
How do you think people will relate to the book here?
I think the Indian-Americans can relate to the book better because say in the last 50 years, each one of them has undertaken a journey to get here. They have had their own agony, pangs for their motherland, their family and close network of friends. Many people who have come from relatively less privileged backgrounds will perhaps take a new kind of joy in relating – it’ll be like a déjà vu for them. The book covers interesting facets of life, something everyone can relate to. The book will also uncover some aspects of my life that people here might not know. People will definitely find the book interesting.
How has the socio economic scene in Maharashtra changed since you wrote the book? Do you tackle issues of communalism, fundamentalism, casteism in the book?
When you grow as a child, your mind is very innocent. Yet during that growth itself you come across various issues of socio-economic and cultural inequities and those all have been touched in the book. For example, the book has how the caste system played out in my village, but has been written as part of the journey. The commentaries on these issues are not commentaries, but observation from the child’s point of view. It all comes in a very organic manner. How the classes treated each other, how my family dealt with people of the lower class, etc., is all touched upon in the book.
In terms of changes in Maharashtra– there are huge changes. There are phone lines now, WiFi, television – so the distance has reduced, communication has increased. Education has improved. Same is with infrastructure – that is improving too. And with that even aspirations are increasing. And these growing aspirations – among rural and small town youths – will dramatically change how India will shape up.
Have you thought about a sequel to the book?
I will have to write it but I will perhaps write it now after I retire in three-four years. I am taking notes, and it’s important that I encapsulate the entire holistic experience. Because one of the reason I wrote earlier, is because your impressions also change. As you mature in life you have a more evolved view of life. But I also wanted it to capture the midpoint – because things look somewhat different. Now I have a slightly longer experience, and I am exploring other ideas too. I have not done fiction yet – I have lots of notes.
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