Rumi Malik
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. -Buddha
The life and work of eminent writer, playwright, translator and filmmaker Gauri Shankar Raina is a testimony to this adage. Seeped in a life devoted to literature, film-making and literary translations he can aptly be called one of the ratnas (gems) of Kashmir and is counted as one of the leading contributors to the literary and cultural landscape of India.
Theatre is one giant omnibus that includes other literary arts as well. Dr. Raina apart from knowing the nuances of theatre and film production also honed his writing skills simultaneously and won the country’s highest literary honor – the Sahitya Akademi award for translation in Hindi, for the year 2022.
Born on 27th October, 1955 his initial schooling was in Jammu and after his father’s transfer back to Srinagar he got admitted to National High school. Right from childhood he displayed an uncanny knack for the performing arts. His inclination towards theatre was so much that he took Art as an optional subject in standard IX because the art teacher was also into plays and gave him the first chance to perform a play in school. Thereafter, in college, he used to regularly visit the well-stocked college library to read literary classics. This was also the time when he used to watch Kashmiri plays in the neighboring Tagore hall. It was indeed a very rich period in his life culturally as he also started visiting Aakashwani to present talks in the youth programme produced by Avtar Krishen Rehbar. He joined the dramatic club of his college. Though he could not participate in a production of Moliere’s play due to an injury he translated another play of Moliere for radio which was broadcast successfully. He has worked for theatre groups like Abhinav Bharti and the theatre repertory of J&K Academy. A very committed theatre activist he wrote, translated and even acted in some plays. He wrote plays like ‘das hazar’ in Hindustani for Abhinav Bharti -the theme of the play was the social evil of dowry in the Kashmiri society. It was followed by the play ‘Harishchandra’ based on the popular legend of king Harishchandra who stood for truth even in the most trying circumstances of his life. This play received so much adulation that the theatre group Abhinav Bharti had to arrange additional shows for its presentation. It was followed by another play ‘ Phir -Thur’ which depicted the conflict between tradition and modernity. After these original plays he went on to render a great service to performing arts by translating plays from other Indian languages into Kashmiri. One such seminal play was Girish Karnad’s ‘Hayavadan’ which he translated jointly with Sohan Lal Kaul, into Kashmiri, as ‘gur-buth’. He travelled all the way from Srinagar to Delhi to seek permission from Girish Karnad who was also the chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi at that time. After the successful run of gur- buth he wrote ‘Ek Wahi Mein’, in Hindi, which drew references from Samuel Beckett’s theatre of the absurd. Then he translated Moti Lal Khemmu’s important play ‘Tronov’ from Kashmiri into Hindi as ‘ Trinaam’. All this creative work was being done because of Gauri Shankar Raina’s total commitment to his craft. Being a producer in the Doordarshan in its golden era he further enhanced the scope of theatrical presentation for the wide-reaching audience.
He has written plays that have been staged in cultural hubs like the Sri Ram Centre and Aiwan- i -Ghalib in Delhi and the J and K Academy. His writing took a backseat for almost a decade when he was busy producing plays and films in Doordarshan . He produced and directed a number of long plays, short plays, Tele-films, mini-drama series and redesigned many stage plays for Television, like ‘Oedipus’, Vijay Tendulkar’s ‘Cyclewala’ etc. Made documentaries for International festivals and was honored with the Public Service Broadcasting award. Work is love made visible they say, and this is exemplified in his oeuvre. He translated Moti lal Khemmu’s play ‘Nagar Udass’ for the Shri Ram Centre’s repertory production. Thereafter he wrote a Kashmiri play called ‘Trey Gobar’ . Also translated Shakespeare’s, Taming of the Shrew as Albeli Naar which was published by National Book Trust and the play based on the book was directed by Sohaila Kapur. It received rave reviews and won both critical and commercial acclaim.
The journey of this extraordinarily sincere and accomplished litterateur is very inspiring. He wrote two plays called Paatalketu and Yatra which have been published by the J and K Academy of art Culture and languages in their Collections ‘ Hamara Sahitya’ . His radio plays for the National Programme of Drama have been broadcast in all the regional languages of the country. It has been a long journey but Raina Ji is a living example of working from the heart. Work is worship for him and he has sincerely focused his time, energy and attention to the literary and creative arts. As a Controller of Media Centre he curated many festivals in the country. He has transformed his workplace and working style by being forever grateful. A gentleman to the core, his attitude of gratitude has refined his work sensibilities to a great degree. He works from the heart and that takes his work to another level altogether. Helen Keller had once stated ” life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” To keep our faces towards change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable. He faced numerous challenges but always faced them with courage and fortitude. When he was writing his book ‘ Kashmiri ki pratinidhi Kahaniyaan’, he had to pore over literature spread across seven decades in Kashmir – he took up this work with his child-like enthusiasm and the result is a beautiful volume published by the Sahitya Akademi. Apart from writing and translating, the genre of his choice is short stories. His short story book – ‘Mannequin aur anya Kahaniyan’ is a sensitive exploration of the mindscapes of the displaced people of Kashmir. Geography connects places and so does literature. In all of Gauri Shankar Raina’s work we find a thread of connectivity- connecting Kashmir – its hopes, dilemmas, triumphs and travails – to the rest of India. He has pursued an authentic calling in life. It has been wonderful and worthwhile because his honest efforts have won high praise from the audience and critics alike. In between he had had to deal with mockers and skeptics but his optimism and love for work overrode any kind of doubt, negativity or bias. All through his writing career which is still active now, he has always honored a commitment.
Authentic fulfillment through your work is a marathon, not a sprint. But the effort is well worth it. Even with the inevitable creative delays that daily life brings, there is tremendous gain in the effort to answer your life’s calling. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said ” let us then , be up and doing, with a heart for any fate, still achieving, still pursuing , learning to labor and to wait.” this is the essence of the creative labor of Dr Raina. Dreams are not enough. They must be backed up with effort. Success is as simple and profound as that. We would all do good to remember that struggle and striving precedes success, even in the dictionary!! Our aspirations are our possibilities. We must be doing something about bringing our dreams into the world every day. Gauri Shankar Raina’s work is a reflection of his large hearted spirit, his concern for humanity, his despair at the state of things and his hopes for a better future. His innate humility, will to learn, cooperative spirit and optimistic attitude have won him friends and fans far and wide. By creating an authentic working style and commitment to the cause of literature he has created a true goal to be followed by other practitioners of the literary and creative arts. In offering his entire capabilities to his art he has given it a depth, grace and wisdom beyond words. His prayers have been his work. His pilgrimage has been the studio, study and the stage. His gifts to literature and drama will outlast him. And that will be his everlasting legacy.
(The author is a writer, translator and broadcaster based in New Delhi. She has been an editor with the Sahitya Akademi)
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