Kiran Nagarkar (2 April 1942 – 5 September 2019) was an Indian novelist, playwright and screenwriter. A noted drama and film critic, he was one of the most significant writers of

post-colonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and thei ...

India. Sanga, p. 177 Amongst his notable works are ''Saat Sakkam Trechalis'' (tr. ''Seven Sixes Are Forty Three'') (1974), ''Ravan and Eddie'' (1994), and ''

Cuckold A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife (or partner for unmarried companions); the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not geneti ...

'' (1997) for which he was awarded the 2001

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in English by the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, India's National Academy of Letters. His novels written in English have been translated into German. In 2012, he was awarded the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

Personal life

Nagarkar was born on 2 April 1942 in Bombay, now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, in a middle-class Maharashtrian family, the younger of two sons to Sulochana and Kamalkant Nagarkar. His grandfather, B. B. Nagarkar, was a

Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as un ...

and had attended the 1893

Parliament of the World's Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

in Chicago. He studied at

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by Vaman Shriram Apte, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vishnushashtri Chiplunkar, Mah ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

and the S.I.E.S. College in

. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1964 and a master's degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

in 1967. After that, he worked as an advertising copywriter for 15 years. From June to November 2011 he was 'writer in residence' at the Literaturhaus Zurich and the PWG Foundation in Zurich. He was married to Tulsi Vatsal, sister of industrialist Anand Mehta. Nagarkar was a life-long critic of the establishment and stood by his political views throughout his literary career. He was admitted to hospital on 2 September 2019, after suffering a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

at a friend's place during celebrations for the

Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi () or Vinayaka Chavithi () or Vinayagar Chaturthi (), is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Ganesh. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's ''m ...

festival. He remained in a coma for two days and died on 5 September 2019.

Novels

Nagarkar is notable among Indian writers for having written acclaimed novels in more than one language. His first novel, ''Saat Sakkam Trechalis'' published in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

in 1974, was translated into English by Shubha Slee in 1980 and published in 1995 as ''Seven Sixes Are Forty Three''. It is considered a landmark work of

Marathi literature Marathi literature is the body of literature of Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra and written in the Devanagari and Modi script. History Early history As a written language, Marathi is probably ...

. His novel ''Ravan and Eddie'', begun in

but completed in English, was not published until 1994. Since ''Ravan and Eddie'', all Nagarkar's novels have been written in English and also translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. His third novel, ''Cuckold'', based upon the mystic

Meerabai Meera, better known as Mirabai, and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. She is mentioned in '' Bhaktam ...

's husband,

Bhoj Raj Bhojraj Singh Sisodia (c. 1495–1526) was the eldest son of Rana Sanga, ruler of Mewar in western India. He is best known as the husband of the reputed bhakti poet-saint Meerabai. Biography Bhojraj Singh was born the eldest of the seven sons ...

, was published in 1997 and won the 2001

. It took him nine years to write his next, ''God's Little Soldier'', a tale of a liberal Muslim boy's tryst with religious orthodoxy, which was published in 2006, to mixed reviews. In 2012, he published ''The Extras'', a sequel to ''Ravan and Eddie'' that traces the adult lives of Ravan and Eddie in Bollywood. The third and last book in the series, ''Rest in Peace'', was written in 2015. His 2017 novel, ''Jasoda'', is the story of a young women and mother, trying to raise her children in the arid lands of Kantagiri. Jasoda shows every lamentable tradition in the hinterlands in stark clarity. It is a testimony, according to the author, to the millions of women in the parched and scorched regions of India and find themselves between a rock and a husband. His 2019 novel, ''The Arsonist'', is a re-imagining of the life of

Kabir Kabir ( 15th century) was a well-known Indian devotional mystic poet and sant. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Gar ...

, the 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. It also critiqued the rise of Hindu majoritarianism in India.

Plays and screenplays

In 1978, Nagarkar wrote the play ''Bedtime Story'', based partly on the

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...

. Its performance was extra-legally

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

for 17 years by

Hindu nationalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of . It is better descri ...

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

parties, including the

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

, a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

political party;

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

(RSS) and

Hindu Mahasabha Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (), simply known as Hindu Mahasabha, is a Hindu nationalism, Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating th ...

. He warned about censorship faced by India in his introduction to the play: "Legal censorship in India can often be gauche, club-footed and hyper-protective of anything and everything but the freedoms of speech and expression. Extra-legal censorship in the country, however, is fearless and effective. It successfully prevented Bedtime Story from being performed for seventeen years." In a 2018 interview, Nagarkar did not appear to be concerned about

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

in the country. He recalled past incidents when radical groups in Mumbai had threatened to prevent his play from staging. Nagarkar stated, "these things happen from time to time, and only then can we be assured that art is still living." Nagarkar's theatre work also includes ''Kabirache Kay Karayche'' and ''Stranger Amongst Us'', and his screenplay work includes ''The Broken Circle'', ''The Widow and Her Friends'', and ''The Elephant on the Mouse'', a film for children. He played the role of Brother Bono as a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

Dev Benegal Dev Benegal is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter, most known for his debut film ''English, August (film), English, August'' (1994), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English, Best Feature Film in English at the 42nd ...

's Movie ''

Split Wide Open ''Split Wide Open'' is a 1999 Indian film directed by Dev Benegal. It is his second feature film after ''English, August (film), English, August'' (1994). The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, ...

''.

Awards and honours

Kiran Nagarkar was awarded the

and Sahitya Akademi Award among others. He also received the Rockefeller grant and a scholarship from the city of Munich. * 2001:

, winner, ''

'' * 2012:

. It is described as the 'highest tribute Germany can pay to individuals'. * 2013:

The Hindu Literary Prize ''The Hindu'' Literary Prize or ''The Hindu'' Best Fiction Award, established in 2010, is an Indian literary award sponsored by ''The Hindu Literary Review'' which is part of the newspaper ''The Hindu''. It recognizes Indian works in English and ...

, shortlist, ''The Extras''

Works

Novels * 1974: ''Seven Sixes are Forty Three'' (tr. of ''Saat Sakkam Trechalis''). Translated by Shubha Slee. Pub. Heinemann, 1995. . * 1994: ''Ravan and Eddie'' * 1997: ''

'' * 2006: ''God's Little Soldier'' * 2012: ''The Extras'' * 2015: ''Rest in Peace'' * 2017: '' Jasoda: A Novel'' * 2019: ''The Arsonist'' Plays and screenplays * 1978: ''Bedtime Story'' * ''Kabirache Kay Karayche'' * ''Stranger Amongst Us'' * ''The Broken Circle'' * ''The Widow and Her Friends'' * ''The Elephant on the Mouse'' * ''Black Tulip''

Notes

References

* Yasmeen Lukhmani, ed. ''The Shifting Worlds of Kiran Nagarkar's Fiction'', Indialog Publications, New Delhi, 2004 *
Kiran Nagarkar on Extras, sexual repression & humourless Indians

External links

Kiran Nagarkar The Unofficial Website

On Sanity Hazards of Being an Indian Writer at Tehelka

;Interviews

*

Arts.21 Between Berlin and Bombay â The Indian Writer Kiran Nagarkar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagarkar, Kiran Marathi-language writers 1942 births 2019 deaths Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male novelists English-language writers from India Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Writers from Mumbai International Writing Program alumni 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian novelists 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian film critics Indian theatre critics Indian male screenwriters 21st-century Indian novelists Indian historical novelists Novelists from Maharashtra Dramatists and playwrights from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers Prarthana Samaj