The whole world celebrates April 23 as World Book Day. On this occasion, it would be apt to remember an author whose death anniversary falls on April 24. His name means "King of Mountains" and that he truly is, as his stories and novels are read not only in this hill State but all over the world by readers of Hindi literature. He is none other than Shailesh Matiyani who brought great name and recognition to this hill region. People who read his books became closely familiar to the towns and villages of this region and came to love them.
Ramesh Singh Matiyani or Shailesh Matiyani as he is popularly known in the world of Hindi literature; carried the atmosphere, dialects and ambience of Uttarakhand to millions of readers around the world. In the year 2009, the State Government instituted an award in Matiyani’s name which is given to teachers in the State. After his death, ‘Shailesh Matiyani Smriti Katha Puraskar’ was established by the Madhya Pradesh Government.
It is the great author’s 14th death anniversary on Friday. He was born on October 14, 1931, in Barechhina in Almora district and it was in Almora that he studied. His first novel, ‘Borivilli se Boribander Tak’ was published in 1959. Any analysis of the modern Hindi short story will remain incomplete without talking of Matiyani. His life is a source of inspiration and characters depicted by him symbolise the same fighting spirit which was part of his own self and life.
Matiyani rose to fame for his short stories depicting the struggles and the fighting spirit of the lower-middle class. He was known as "Jan Kathakaar" (Peoples’ Writer). His excellent work is considered to be at par with that of Premchand. His works include "Kanya tatha anya kahaniyan," "Koi ajnabi nahin", "Aakaash Kitna Anant Hai" and "Parwat Se Saagar Tak".
In his career spanning five decades, he wrote numerous short stories, novels and published many collections of stories and essays. He was also known for his stories for children. He remained the editor of two publications, ‘Janpaksh’ and ‘Vikalp’, for many years. Matiyani was awarded the Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award for his contribution to Hindi literature in 2000. He died on April 24, 2001 in Delhi and was cremated at Haldwani.
Hindi littérateur Pankaj Bisht has remarked, "How intimate was his depiction of the displaced people from the villages in the urban slums and those compelled to live and die on footpaths. You won’t find this kind of intimacy in any other language. Matiyani’s protagonists are beggars, pick-pockets, drop-outs, marginalised characters. Yet, their inner life was so full of humanism and faith." Kohra, Chhote-Chhote Pakshi and Gopuli Gafooran are some of his other novels. "Parvat Se Sagar Tak" was published by Rajpal and Sons in the year 2000.
Matiyani lived by the principle of rising above his own struggle and identifying with all the people, in the end voicing the struggles of all. His works talk of day to day life in small towns of Kumaon, the bus journeys in the hills, the village teashops, people returning for holidays from the plains and the financial problems in the hills.
His characters are from real life and thus his descriptions are vivid. His short stories and novels have been rated highly by critics as well as readers, not to talk of other famous writers. It was recognised that they were as extension of the rich tradition established by Munshi Premchand. It is sincerely hoped that his short stories will be widely read in Uttarakhand by the coming generations. They should be made part of the school and college syllabi. The new generations of the hill state must be made aware of the rich literary tradition that prevailed here and they should take pride in it.
