Hindi, India and the World -- Talking Agyeya with Akshaya Mukul

Akshaya Mukul, the author of a new book on Agyeya, speaks to critic and writer Trisha Gupta about the prolific and highly acclaimed Hindi poet, novelist, literary critic, journalist and translator. Born Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan in 1911, Agyeya became a giant of the Hindi world of letters. He received the pen name Agyeya -- ‘the unknowable’ -- from the legendary writer Premchand, and his psychologically driven novels and lyrical but dense poetry arguably shaped the course of modern Hindi literature more than any other single writer after Premchand. Akshaya Mukul’s superbly researched biography tells the story of India’s 20th century through an epic life that often departed from the straight and scholarly path, and drew on a politics so personal that he was constantly attacked by both left and right. A youthful revolutionary who was imprisoned for four years by the British in 1930, Agyeya also joined the British Indian army in a display of anti-fascist feeling in 1942. While being an admirer of Nehru all his life, even when disillusioned with Congress politics, Agyeya later grew close to Jayaprakash Narayan, serving as editor of his Everyman’s Weekly in the 1970s. In his twilight years, a nagging quest for Indianness seems to have led him towards Hindu spirituality and myth as well as a dismissal of English writing by Indians. Mukul has patiently trawled a multitude of archives for over three years to come up with this gem of a book -- a model of caution in our sensationalising times, and an educative read for anyone interested in Indian literature, history and politics.
Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month.    / @thewirenews