Suman K Sharma, author of the novel – Vagabond was born somewhere in Pakistan held Kashmir when his parents were on the run from his besieged town of Mirpur to the safer climes of India. He studied English literature at the University of Jammu. In 1974, he secured a permanent job in the Government of India. Since then he has been living in New Delhi. He had a a stint with the Peace Keeping Mission of United Nations in Angola.
He has recently translated some Dogri Books in English. His English rendition of Shailender Singh’s debut Dogri novel Hashiye Par is being brought out by the Oxford University Press.
In a freewheeling tete-e-tete with Deepak Raj, he speaks his heart out.
DR You were associated with the UN peacekeeping mission in Angola. Were it the circumstances there that did take you back to partition days and factored in writing the novel Vagabond-your first novel.
SS Angola was riven with internal strife. There were circumstances akin to those of Mirpur during partition days. Though the Vagabond was already developing in mind, Angola only acted as a catalyst and enabled me to give shape to Vagabond.
DR How far have you succeeded in projecting the pain and pathos in this novel? What was reaction of the readers particularly of those who were the victims of Mirpur massacre?
SS Actually the pain is incidental. The theme of this novel is displacement. When a person is uprooted even before his birth, he is in constant search of a home. The strife of 1947 acts a metaphor of pain and displacement.
DR Was writing of the novel a kind of catharsis for you, as you could not hold the pent-up emotions anytime more?
SS Yes, it was. I wanted to evoke the pain, the humiliation, the difficulties of my generation-the Mirpuris who were called upon to realign themselves to the milieu which was alien to them. You see a refugee remains forever a refugee. The other day Dr Karan Singh (of all the people!) said in a public meeting that Jammu has been a refugee camp of sorts, to which Sialkotis, Mirpuris, Kashmiris have thronged from time to time. This, after all those decades of the partition and its aftermath.
DR What is your idea of a home?
SS Home is where one can align his soul with. I have been living in Delhi since the last four decades. But I do not consider it my home. My soul does not merge with the milieu there. Jammu is my home. It has been kind and compassionate to me.
DR You have been translating Dogri into English for a long time now. Do you think that translation may help Dogri to expand its area of influence?
SS Dogri has a limited readership. But it has many important things things to tell the world. The contents of Dogri are as rich as literature of any another Indian Language has. The issues raised by Dogri writers will not reach a vast section of society unless they are translated into another languages especially English and it was my duty to carry the voice of Jammu world wide.
DR Do you think that vernacular languages like Dogri, Kashmiri and Ladakhi are losing their importance?
SS There is unfounded apprehension among parents that their children will not be at an advantage by learning their mother tongue and it is Hindi or English which may help them in building their careers. These misplaced notions have to be replaced with the confidence that on’s mother tongue does not act as a barrier in pursuing a career, though admittedly English and Hindi too play a part.
Organisations such as Dogri Sanstha are making efforts to propagate the mother tongue.
In this context NN Vohra the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir has taken some initiatives. It has been at his behest and financial assistance that Dogri Sanstha has brought out a collection of Dogri short stories translated into English, as well as comics book in Dogri.
DR Do you think that writers in Dogri have a bright future after Dogri was introduced in the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution?
SS Yes, at the dawn of independence there were hardly any Dogri writers but now in current year itself there are more than 50 publications. More and more writers want to see their mother tongue in print. Dogri writers have a bright future.
DR What is your future planning?
SS I am planning to bring out a book of short stories in English.
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