Keki N Daruwalla is a true pioneer in Indian writing in English. Among his ten volumes of poetry are The Keeper of the Dead, which won the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984, and Landscapes, which won the Commonwealth Poetry Award, Asia, 1987. His first novel, For Pepper and Christ, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Fiction Prize in 2010. Among his short story collections are Swords and Abyss (1979), The Minister for Permanent Unrest & Other Stories (1996), and Love Across the Salt Desert (2011).
This memorabilia can trace its gangotri to when Keki N. Daruwalla and I stayed at IIAS, Shimla, in October 2006, where we spent almost a week together and discussed matters of contemporary Indian poetry, criticism, and other different genres of literature. Like an ardent student, I was mesmerised by his intimate style of descriptions of the things/objects and other matters of life and poetry. We met many times in different places. Each meeting is vivid in my mind.
Keki mentioned his travelogue Riding the Himalayas, and I was spurred to get a copy of his travelogue and found myself reading and re-reading it, marvelling at the mastery of his craft. Keki, a seasoned poet, novelist, critic, and storyteller, explores the heart of a nation admirably in Riding the Himalayas by capturing its mythology, wildlife, politics, customs, gastronomy, history, linguistics, culinary and cultural ways, aesthetics, modes of living, human values, and landscape, with allusions, facts, and legends that bind a nation to its citizens. I took it as a source book when I visited some parts of the Himalayas mentioned in this book. It was my impression that this book could serve as a source book for future trekkers. Riding the Himalaya is a very special travelogue—a car-trek odyssey starting from the Siachen Glacier across the entire Himalayas right up to Kibithoo, the easternmost point of the Himalayas. The narrative is supplemented with rare photographs of stunning mountain photography by Ashok Dilwali, who relied on his Nikon 35 mm and Linhof to capture some astounding images of Himalayan life. The end result is a beautiful book, a fabric of delight and mystery.
The eastern part of the Himalayas is a biodiversity hotbed with an exotic bicultural assortment. Keki poignantly narrates the political immigration from undivided Bengal. No narration of the region is complete without a reference to its languages. He gives a lucid account of the Khasi language and its philological development from the Roman script. Keki’s details of wildlife reminded me of his love for birdwatching and of his many poems invoking birds. A lover of plants, Keki’s superb ability to describe the topography of any place included the description of many rare species of fauna and flora. I was struck by the ending—a beautiful and simple image drawn from life—women carrying firewood on their backs.
Typical of his writing style, there is absolutely no unwarranted mystification of facts in this well-knit narrative. Daruwalla is an amazing storyteller; even his poetry tells stories. And in this prose narrative, he is at his best. Keki is a map maker of the culture of the region. Though not an insider, his committed narration conveys the landscape in detail, transporting the reader there tangibly. The immaculate splendour of the Dhaula Dhar Range, exquisite Kangra paintings, and sweet tribal songs mesmerised me as I turned page after page, reminding me of the fact that the narrator is a seasoned poet.
I read Keki in all seasons and discovered his rare ability to evoke poetry in his observations and his narrative. He also provides minute historical details. For example, the sunset over the Rapti River and the elephant ride in the Rapti River at Chitwan National Park are described with felicity. Though it is not a travelogue’s fundamental duty to include all factual information, Keki includes factual titbits to strengthen his story-telling and narrative skills.
“I think I am at peace now,” Keki said long ago.
Keki is no more. But this language he reminds me of is his. With poet Basudhara Roy, we hosted many online poetry events through The Hearth Within with Keki. He was desirous of his sprouting roots in poetry and beyond. Many of us taught his poetry to the students. Many of us inhabit him.
I, personally, will carry the impressions of Riding the Himalayas for a long time. Keki was the Himalayas for many of us. In the last fifteen years, though some things have changed naturally in the regions described, the flavour and the flamboyance are still relevant. Since I read the book for the first time, certain passages and indelible images, such as the different mountain shapes, still haunt me. The enormity and grandeur of the Himalayas described made me defer to the glories of nature. Its impact made me a different person. As is with so much of Keki’s writing, it leaves an indelible mark, asking us to return again and again. I must travel from his innocence to the falling awake to rejuvenate my friendships with poetry and the poets. My land, too, shall be his abode. His immortal lines linger deep in me: “Between the soul and the crossroads of life, this silence.”.
The writer is principal, New Alipore College, Kolkata, and the president, Guild of Indian English Writers, Editors and Critics (GIEWEC).