Kamleshwar | |
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| Born | Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena (1932-01-06)6 January 1932 |
| Died | 27 January 2007(2007-01-27) (aged 75) |
| Pen name | Kamleshwar |
| Occupation | Writer, screenwriter and critic |
| Alma mater | University of Allahabad |
| Period | 1954–2006 |
| Genre | Novel, short story, essay, screenplay |
| Literary movement | Nayi Kahani |
| Notable works | Kitne Pakistan (2000) |
| Notable awards | Sahitya Akademi Award (2003) Padma Bhushan (2005) |
 Literature portal | |
Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena (6 January 1932 – 27 January 2007), knownmononymously asKamleshwar, was a 20th-century Indian writer who wrote inHindi. He also worked as a screenwriter forIndian films andtelevision industry. Among his most well-known works are the filmsAandhi,Mausam,Chhoti Si Baat andRang Birangi. He was awarded the 2003Sahitya Akademi Award for his Hindi novelKitne Pakistan (translated in English asPartitions), and thePadma Bhushan in 2005.[1]
He is considered a part of the league of Hindi writers likeMohan Rakesh,Nirmal Verma,Rajendra Yadav andBhisham Sahni, who left the old pre-independence literary preoccupations and presented the new sensibilities that reflected new moorings of a post-independence India, thus launching the Hindi literature'sNayi Kahani ("New Story") movement in the 1950s.[2]
Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena[3] was born in theMainpuri district[4] ofUttar Pradesh,India, where he spent his early years. Kamleshwar's first story, "Comrade", was published in 1948.[5]
Later he did his graduation and followed by a master's degree in Hindi literature from theUniversity of Allahabad. His first novel,Badnam Gali (Cursed Lane), was published while he was still a student;[5] he later started his literary career in Allahabad itself.
In his early days, he worked as a proofreader,[5] growing up to become, the editor of 'Vihan', literary magazine in the late 1950s. This was followed by editorship of many Hindi magazines, like 'Nayi Kahaniyan' (1963–66), 'Sarika' (1967–78), 'Katha Yatra' (1978–79), 'Ganga' (1984–88) and weeklies, 'lngit' (1961–63) and 'Shree Varsha' (1979–80), besides this, he also remained the editor of Hindi dailies, 'Dainik Jagaran' (1990–1992), and 'Dainik Bhaskar' (1996–2002),[4] and helped revive the Hindi magazine, 'Sarika', as its editor by bringing focus on new and emerging voices of modern India, an effort which reflected his encouragement to Marathi Dalit writers and Bohra Muslim litterateurs, thus opening new vistas for Hindi readers.
...once upon a time, trees provided shelter from the sun and the wind to human homes. Now, the trees have become used to growing in the shadows of tall concrete buildings.
— Kamleshwar,Kitne Pakistan
Kamleshwar became famous for his short stories, and some other works, which depicted the contemporary life in a vivid style of presentation. With the publication of his story, 'Raja Nirbansiya' (1957),[6] he was immediately placed in league of leading writers of his times. In his prolific career, spanning four decades, he wrote over three hundred stories, including, "Maans Ka Dariya", "Neeli Jheel" and "Kasbe Ka Aadmi",[7] published over ten collections of short stories, ten novels most prominent among them being, Ek Sadak Sattawan Galiyan, Laute Huye Musafir, Kaali Aandhi, Aagami Ateet, Registan and Kitne Pakistan, apart from 35 other literary works in different genres ranging from literary criticism, travelogue, memoirs, to socio-cultural commentary.
He moved to Bombay in the 1970s and started writing scripts and dialogues for Hindi films, in the next decade or so, he worked for over 75 feature films, which include films likeGulzar'sAandhi, based on his novel Kaali Aandhi,Mausam;Basu Chatterjee,Chhoti Si Baat,Rang Birangi andRavi Chopra's thriller,The Burning Train. In fact, reminiscing his works noted poet-director,Gulzar said that "in 'Kitne Pakistan'... there is a description where a handkerchief falls off the bridge; I always used to tell him that I could write a complete short story on this one line only.".[8] He won the 1979Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay forPati Patni Aur Woh, directed byB. R. Chopra.[9]
By the late 1970s, he had made his first short TV film the"Jamuna Bazar", near riverYamuna in Delhi, and soon switched to television script-writing, and eventually became the 'Additional Director General' ofDoordarshan, India's national television channel, (1980–82), during his tenure, in a matter of 24 months, the entire nation was connected with television network.[10]
Over the years, he wrote stories in ten TV serials includingChandrakanta,Aakash Ganga,Yug andBetal Pachisi, as well as popular serials based on literary works such asDarpan andEk Kahani.[11] He hosted a popular talk show onDoordarshan,Parikrama, started a weekly literary show,Patrika, and also produced and directed several television programs and investigative documentaries on social and political issues forDoordarshan.[12]
He was awarded the 2003Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel based on thePartition of India in 1947,Kitne Pakistan (literallyHow Many Pakistans? but translated in English asPartitions), which explored the way nations fracture, through an allegorical court trial, wherein historical and political figures are present as witnesses,[13] and thePadma Bhushan in 2005.
He died on 27 January 2007 atFaridabad[14] following a heart attack, after being in poor health for several years.
A collection of his short stories in English translation,Not Flowers of Henna, was released in 2007.[15]
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