VoW holds conversation on the writing & political life of Dr Ramesh Pokhiryal ‘Nishank’
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 17 Dec: An interesting conversation was held between noted politician and prolific writer Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Dr Sushil Upadhyay, who is an associate professor and a former journalist, regarding the life and works of Dr Nishank on the concluding day of the Valley of Words Literature & Arts Festival, here, today. The session was titled, ‘A lifetime in Literature & Politics’ – Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
Dr Sushil Upadhyay asked Dr Nishank a lot of interesting questions and counter questions and Nishank responded to them in his typical style.
One of the questions was on how he could maintain a balance between literature and politics. Nishank responded that, in his opinion, there is no need to look at literature and politics separately. Dr Sushil Upadhyay also felt that while literature developed and evolved from idealism, political life demanded practicality. To this, Nishank said that literature that does not come from the practical experiences of life is not worth reading. He claimed that he had always written about what he saw and felt and the empathy that he has for the people in general and the respect that he has for the country.
Upadhyay also asked Nishank how he managed to write so prolifically despite being a very busy and successful politician. It may be recalled that Dr Nishank has written more than a hundred books, so far, many of which have also been translated into various national and international languages. Nishank responded that, for the past 30 years, he has not slept more than four hours at a stretch and, therefore, has always managed to squeeze out time for writing. He added that he also has become used to writing while travelling even in the hills.
Referring to his life struggle, Dr Nishank said that he comes from a very humble family background and that is why he is more sensitive and has empathy for the underprivileged.
Sushil Upadhyay reminded Nishank that he was the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and then he suddenly lost the chair. Similarly, he was also the Union Education Minister but he again had to let go of the position. Upadhyay asked him how he takes such setbacks in his political life. To this, Nishank that he never shied away from taking risks in his political and personal life. Having started off from scratch, he always had only to gain something and not lose. He said that, while in politics, he never became attached to any position, hence holding or not holding them was not a hindrance for him. When asked about the impact of a particular political ideology on his writing, he claimed that he writes his books with human sensibility and sensitivity and he follows same principles in his political life. He has never criticised anyone with a political motive. During the Kedarnath tragedy of 2013, he was not allowed to visit Kedarnath by the then Congress Government. He went there at his own risk. He also cited his book based on the Kedarnath tragedy and said that politics has no impact on sensitivities. They remain as they are for every human being.
Dr Upadhyay also asked if the Hindi authors are able to earn their livelihood from writing and whether they get enough royalty for their writings. Dr Nishank responded that Hindi has a great future ahead. He also reminded that one of his books had earned a royalty of Rs 12 lakhs. He added that writing and publishing need readers to be financially viable. Authors will have to have to work hard to find readers.
While answering the questions of the audience and students at the programme, Dr. Nishank stressed on the importance of time management.
He reiterated that Hindi literature is moving towards its golden period.
