Khushwant Singh A man with immense potential

A man with immense potential

                   "I have this unreserved gratitude for him. I was a kid, 20-year-old in a newspaper, and he really picked us up from nothing. He gave us opportunities which were undreamt of for any young person wanting to do anything," MJ Akbar said yesterday in a sad moment. Mark Tully very precisely narrated Khushwant Singh’s personality by saying, “He never minced his words and was a courageous person. I remember once having dinner with him when he showed up his tremendous knowledge about Urdu poetry. What a lovable man he was!”

                    Khushwant Singh is one of those few people who have seen the undivided India and its sprite; He has seen the Indian partition and expressed its pangs. A lawyer turned journalist, editor, novelist, columnist, writer and a member of parliament. He is one of those people who were awarded Padma Bhushan in 1980 but he is one of those rarest people of principals who returned the decoration in 1984. All he did with his talent. We can easily say he was the last legendary journalist India ever had. He is a light house for today’s senior journalists.  He wrote more than 25 books and a regular columnist for Hindustan Times. He worked with many periodicals and news papers like National Herald and Hindustan Times for the decade’s of70s and 80s. His books like “Train to Pakistan", "I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale" and "Delhi" has a nostalgic tone. Even today they could be the best references to study India and its culture. 

                    He has seen India growing. Many news papers have started and wound up under his presence. He is one of those devil may care attitude writer who wrote what he want. He completed his 99 years and said, “ Meri body abhi bhuddhi ho gayi hai, meri aankhe abhi bhi jawan hai.” Sarcasm   was his forte, people from India and abroad admires his sarcasm.

                      He had a very clear vision about education and sociology. In his book ‘Train to Pakistan’ he says “Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated Indians—or the Pakistanis.” We just find how minutely he observes the surrounding. 
                     He had his long stay in Delhi. He observed Delhi from close quarters. He roamed, talked with people and observed them. He had a special feeling for Delhi. He observed the extreme development and at the same times the rustic part of Delhi. He penned the hustle of daily life and sense of joy. We find it in his novel ‘Delhi’. I was touched when he wrote, “But big people’s illnesses are always made to sound big. The simple shutting and opening of the royal arse-hole was made to sound as if the world was coming to an end.” 

I always wonder how a person could be so creative to write such a variety. Today when, people hardly carry a pen or paper, when very idea of reading going absolute. Writers like Khushwant Singh should be added in Indian curriculum. Only conferring awards or making their statues will not give justice to them.  I remember when once he said, ““Your principle should be to see everything and say nothing. The world changes so rapidly that if you want to get on you cannot afford to align yourself with any person or point of view.” This could be a lesson for today’s generation. 

                     Today when his cremation will take place in Delhi at Lodhi Crematorium, I remember his lines from book ‘Delhi’. “That's Delhi. When life gets too much for you all you need to do is to spend an hour at Nigambodh Ghat,watch the dead being put to flames and hear their kin wail for them. Then come home and down a couple of pegs of whisky. In Delhi, death and drink make life worth living,”