Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' was among the maverick writers who shaped modern Hindi literature. In his prose writings-fearless, provocative and startlingly original, much like his poetry-Nirala regards the world with the eyes of a compulsive satirist, committed to laying bare its hypocrisies. A Portrait of Love is an ode to Nirala's genius, drawing attention to his long-ignored legacy in prose. From his poignant yet humorous sketch of rural India in Billesur Bakriha to the sophisticated urbanity of Lucknow in 'Portrait of a Lady-Love'; from questioning the ideals of marriage and love in 'Sukul's Wife' to celebrating the nexus between writers and courtesans in colonial Calcutta in 'What I Saw'; from hailing agency among the oppressed castes in 'Chaturi Chamar' to shining a light on an uneasy relationship between education and progress in 'Jyotirmayee'-this collection sparkles with wit, atmosphere and an unmistakable autobiographical streak, taking readers to the heart of India and introducing them to the colourful cosmos of Hindi literature.
SURYAKANT TRIPATHI 'NIRALA' (1896-1961) was an editor, essayist, novelist and one of the architects of the Chhayavad movement in Hindi poetry. His writings, alongside those of Premchand and Jaishankar Prasad, heralded the first major flowering of Hindi literature in the twentieth century. Some of his notable works include Anaamika, Geetika, Tulsidas, 'Chaturi Chamar', Kulli Bhat and Ravindra Kavita Kaanan.
GAUTAM CHOUBEY teaches English at Delhi University. He has previously translated Pandey Kapil's Bhojpuri novel Phoolsunghi and André Beteille's Democracy and Its Institutions, and co-translated the Hindi novel Twelfth Fail. Chakka Jaam, his forthcoming novel, is set in the turbulent 1970s. It is a riveting saga of family, friendship and love, scattered across Bihar, Bengal and Rangoon.
Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' (1896-1961) was a Hindi poet, editor and storyteller, often hailed as the greatest exponent of the neo-romantic Chhayavad poetry. His life and writings echo the tragedies, the anguish and the occasional triumphs that marked life in the India of his time. For readers, such echoes acquire tremendous significance, particularly in the works of a bohemian writer like Nirala, whose days of grinding poverty and fabled generosity have both been subjects of national lore, often to the point of eclipsing his literary genius. Mahadevi Verma's 1907-87) oft-cited recollection of Nirala 'Bhai' sums up the poet's struggle to find moderation in life. Given how the personal and the literary were nearly indistinguishable in Nirala a point discussed at some length later in this introduction-the episode begs reiteration.
Once, having somehow come into possession of Rs 300, Nirala entrusted the money to Verma and demanded a budget be drawn up, so he could ration out his monthly expenses. Verma, not particularly penny-wise herself, obliged him with an expenditure plan worked out to the last details. And for once, Nirala's finances looked sorted. But the regime barely lasted a week. 'The very next morning,' writes Verma, 'he came demanding fifty rupees: "There is this student who needs to deposit an exam fee immediately or he'll be debarred from the exams." By sunset, he had to loan out sixty rupees to a fellow writer. The next day, he needed forty rupees to be money-ordered to a tongawallah's mother in Lucknow. And by the afternoon, contributing a hundred rupees to cover the wedding expenses of a deceased friend's niece had become imperative." It is tempting to suggest that such recklessness in Nirala, both with purse and pen, was prompted by many factors-by his compassionate heart, his love for good literature, the company he kept, the injured pride of an irate poet and, sometimes, by the mere thrill of it all.
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