28 August 1993 Sahitya Akademi & Abhinav Bhashabhyas Kendra invite you to meet the author Narayan SurveMarayan Surve is among the few contemporary Marathi po- ets whose works have been un- reservedly acclaimed by people from various walks of life. His poetry has struck responsive chords in the hearts of workers as wellas university academics and pavement-dwellers as also intellectual critics. When Surve’s poems started being published in prestigious journals in the late fifties, it was a revelation to the world of Marathi literature that a man who actually lived on pavements and worked in textile mills could produce such profoundly sensitive poetry. But long before Surve was acknowl edged by the Marathi middle- class literary elite as a poet of exceptional merit, his songs had already been on the lips of agi- tating workers and volunteers in social movements. Many of his poems today have passed into legends as folksongs and Surve cannot claim them any more as his personal creation. ‘Those were verses inspired by history, people, the environ- ment and the creative upsurge of the people. The titles of his first three collections of poems. appropriately indicate the con- fidence and fighting spirit of the oppressed in symbols that tran- scended the then prevailing jar- gon of middle class poetry. Inmoder Marathi poetry, Surve can truly be regarded as a pio- neer of a rebellious school that created space for Dalit poetry. Daiit here is being used as a broader term inclusive of all the downtrodden and the op- pressed irrespective of caste, creed and sex. Surve has never hidden his attachment to Marx- ism. In fact, he is among the very few poets in Maharashtra who boldly acknowledges that acquaintance with Marxism has helped him understand life and society better and has lent depth, breadth and a compas- sionate vision to his poetry. And that is why his poetry easily leaves behind the Marxist cli- ches and directly touches the hearts of prostitutes, middle- class mothers, shop-floor work- ers and drawing-room intellec- tuals alike. In Marathi, there is a long subal- tern tradition of songs and po- ems that expresses the agonies and anguish of the oppressed castes and classes. But they were mostly bound by stoic fa- talism and even defeatism that was the hallmark of the social structure then, In Surve’s voice, the oppressed founda new note of spirited determination, a readiness to fight for human rights and even the confidence that the future was theirs. It symbolised the post-industrial awakening of the masses inthis land. Surve’s was the first distinct voice of the oppressed in mad- em Marathi poetry much be- fore the emergence of the nowconventional Dalit poetry, which finds itself trapped in the cliches of castes and looped itself into an imagery of vio- lence which has lost its impact because of overuse. Surve's poetry has originated from the red-hot crucible of a factory-shop finding its suste- nance on Bombay's disjointed pavements and drawing its in- spiration from the metropolitan slums where humanity is the only capital that people have. However, it has refused to con- fine itself to the congested milieu of its origin and has soared high in the sky to relate itself to the universal concerns of humanity. It reveals to us the human creative spirit which sur- vives against all odds of life, sorrows, troubles, sapping ex- ploitation and disastrous ca- lamities. Andindeed, his poetry itselfis a melting pot of modern, post-industrial imagery and traditional symbols. It shocked and rendered speechless many sophisticated readers who discovered that the characters in Surve's poetry more often than not identify the half moon with a piece of coarse chapati rather than associate it with some conventional romantic scene. Tis not that love. romance and tenderness have no place in Surve's poetry. On the contrary, they are all there in abundance. But in Surve's poems, we con- front these emotions from a totally different perspective. In two of his masterpieces of con- versational poetry, aform which he handles with astounding lu- cidity and beauty, Surve hurls at us with all primordial turbu- lence the touching turmoil of a woman's heart. The poems are Money-order and Tumchach MNaav Liva... In both these po- ems, the woman happens to be a prostitute. In the first she dic- tates a letter to the near and dear ones back at home, a let- ter accompanying the money- order. And in the second, she is enrolling her child in a school when she asks the teacherin all innocence to write the latter's name in place of the child's father's. Most often Surve sees the woman as the mother or woman as the primordial fe- male power. But she figures also as a rornantic lover. The romance in his poetry always has the background note of a With Ramesh Mantri, Kusumagraj and A.J. Purohitfactory's rhythm or of the clut- ter of trams and trains, the ca- cophony of the slum orthebattle cries of an explosive social or political agitation. Surve's conversational poetry has an innate rhythm and his verses and songs reveal his mas- tery over language and metre, There is hardly any sickly self- indulgence in his poems, nor is there a loud advertisement of his social commitments. It has the mellow mellifluence of a romantic heart when it deals with ordinary situations and av- erage emotions. But it sears and bursts with explosive fury when it encounters oppression and exploitation, particularly of women. It hardly leaves a plea- surable ambience behind. It leaves in its wake, a profound cathartic sorrow, a turbulent emotional disturbance and a sorrowful heart wrenched with unknown sadness, and yet full of human pity, hope and deter- mination. Not only has Surve pioneered a new school in Marathi poetry, he has also signalled the begin- ning of a new era of modern Dalit poetry. His niche in the world of Marathi literature will ever remain unassailable. Surve's style of reciting poetry has also endeared him to the masses. He fetches crowds of poetry-lovers wherever he goes in Maharashtra. Surve does net know who his genetic parents were. For he was born an or- phan, his unfortunate mother having abandoned the infant almost immediately after giv- ing birth. But before the infant fell prey to the canine predators of Bombay's garbage dumps, it was taken to bosom by a woman, a textile worker her- self. Her husband too worked in a mill. The couple gave love and warmth to the child and raised him as their own son, The boy was named Narayan. ‘Surve’ comes from Gangaram Surve, the father’s name. Thus brought up in a textile workers’ family, Surve has a profound understanding of the labourer's mind. Being an ‘adapted’ child, Narayan was showered with love and attention by his mother’s women co-workers and his father’s colleagues. He knew the mill area like the palm of his hand and worked in vari- ous departments of textile mills. Surve grew with the working class movements of Bombay, imbibed their fighting spirit, has had schooling only upto the primary level and was naturally drawn into the freedom move- ment at an early age and then towards Marxism. A largely self- taught person, Surve started writing poetry and short stories as a growing child, participated in theatre and sang folksongs - sometimes his own - in chorus groups during freedom move- ment and workers’ agitations, and later in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. As he never forgets to emphasise, Surve drew his creative inspira- tion from the working class mi- lieu, from the freedom mave- ment and from the people around him. Some of his po- ems such as Dongari Shet Maaza Ga... constructed as. improptue songs for the pur- pose of workers’ movements, portray with deep sensitivity andBd E With wife and grandson understanding the authentic agonies and unending struggle for livelihood of the working class people, particularly wark- ing women. Surve worked as a fourth class employee in the Bombay Muncipal Corporation and so did his wife whom he calls his friend, philosopher and guide. He retired as a primary school teacher. Lack of formal educa- tion was never a handicap. To- day he is on the boards of stud- ies (Marathi) of Pune, Shivaji and Marathwada universities and is the chief editor of Lok Vangmaya Griha of Bombay, a teputed publishing house. His poems have been translated into many Indian and European Janguages and he has earned several honours for his creative contribution. He also had the honour of chairing the first work- ers’ literary gathering at Punein 1992. For the young and aspir- ing poets in Marathi, Narayan Surve is already a legend. A Select Bibliography Poetry AISA GA ME BRAHMA Bombay: Abhinav Prakashan, 1962 72p. 18.5 cm, MAZE VIDYAPEETH Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1966 74p. 16.5 cm. JAHEERNAMA Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1975 72p. 21.5 cm. SANAD Bombay: Granthali, 1982 144p, 21.5 cm. Essays MANUS, KALAVANT ANI SAMAJ Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1992 134p. 21.5cm. Translations TEEN GUND ANI SAAT KATHA Bombay: Lok Vanamaya Griha, 1974 116p. 21.5cm. DADAR PULAKADIL MULEN Pune: Varada Books, 1975 106p. 18.5.cm. Edited Works COMRADE DANGE: BHARATIYA RAJKARNATIL VADAL Bombay: Shalaka Prakashan, 1986. 204p. 21,5 ¢m DALIT KAVYADARSHAN Bombay: Lok Vangmaya Griha, 1992 60p. 215m. KAVITA SHRAMACHI Bombay: Maharashtra Kamgar Kalyan Mandal, 1993 64p, 21.5 cm. GANI CHALVALICHI Bombay: Lok Vangmaya Griha, 1993 120p. 215m. Translations of Surve's Works into other Languages ON THE PAVEMENTS OF LIFE Bombay: English Translation. Lok Vangmaya Griha, 1973 76p. 21.5 em. NARAYAN SURVENI KAVITA Ahmedabad: Gujarati Translation. Gangotri Trust, 1974 80p 21.5 cm. MERA VIDYAPEETH New Delhi: Hindi Translation. Prakashan Sansthan, 1984 Gap. 21.5.cm.Inaugurating second Kamgar Sahliya Sammelan at Nagpur 10. TE. 12. Awards and Honours . Maharashtra State Award for Aisa Ga Mi Brahma (Poems) 1963 and Maze Vidyapeeth (Poems) 1967 . Soviet Land Nehru Award for Maze Vidyapeeth (Poems) 1968 and Jaheernama (Poems) 1975 . Sur Singar Kala Academy's Narsimha Mehta Award for Maze Vidyapeeth (Poems) 1969 . Karad Literary Award and Govt. of India's Awardfor Outstanding Literary Work Sanad (Poems) . Best Teacher : Mayor's Award from Bombay Muncipal Corporation 1978 . First Fellowship of Board of Literature and Culture, Maharashtra 1978 . Visited U.S.S.R. in 1973, 1976 Mauritius in 1985, . President, Dalit, Adivasi, Gramin, Stree Muktivadi and Janavadi Samyukta Sahitya Sammalan at Walve 1989. . Kavi Kusumagraj Award by Marathwada Sahitya Parishad 1990 Organisation of Understanding and Fraternity, New Delhi's Award 1991 Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, Bombay's First Literary and Cultural Award 1992 President, First Kamgar Sahitya Sammelan, Pune 1992