'A World Impoverished'

I am very sad to hear the news of Shrilal ji's death. Although I did not know him well (except of course in the way that one knows a writer well through his or her writing), he made an abiding impression on me. My best memories are of a car journey from his home in Lucknow to Faizabad and Ayodhya, perhaps 15 years ago: listening to his running commentary on the scenes along the UP roadside was like reading an extension of his novels, with all the characters from Rag Darbari coming to life in front of our eyes. Kunwar Narain was with us also; one cannot imagine better company for the mind and spirit, and the car rocked with our laughter. Although Shrilal ji's writing often features a humour of the laugh-out-loud variety, its depth contains a distinctive wisdom, reminding us that the English word "wit" is cognate with the Sanskrit root "vid-" that we see in vidya and other such words. A world without Shrilal ji is a world impoverished, dull, and less wise; but we have his writing, so we have him with us still.

Also Read:From the archives:

• Rupert Snell's essay: Rural Travesties: Shrilal Shukla's Rag Darbari
• Ashok Vajpeyi: The Laughter Says It All
• Amitabha Bagchi: We, The Corrupt