Beena Agarwal

Conversing With Neerav Patel

Neerav Patel, born in 1950, in a village called Bhuvaldi, in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat is a well-known dalit poet and editor. He edits Swaman, a journal of dalit writings, notably pieces of autobiographical prose.  A bi-lingual writer, his collections of poetry are Baghishkrut Phulo (2006), Burning from both the ends (1980, in English), and What did I do to be black and blue (1987 in English). He serves as a Bank Officer. The views expressed below are a part of informal conversation of the poet at a conference.

BA:      Mr. Patel, in which language would you prefer to write?
NP:      Obviously, Gujarati is my mother tongue and my deep felt emotions spontaneously come out in Gujarati. Still I feel that for a wide circulation of ideas and a larger participation of public, the writing in English is equally essential. So I write both in Gujarati and English.

BA:      In your opinion what is the difference between Dalit literature and Main Stream Literature?
NP:      Main stream literature in India is the literature of the status quo, literature that supports the establishment. It is the literature of the free-wheelers, the entertainers, the charlatans. Whereas dalit literature aims at demolishing this very status-quo that sanctions exploitation and oppression of a large section of people of India on the basis of barbarous social system called caste system and varna system.

BA:      Who is ‘Dalit’ in your opinion?
NP:      The term ‘Dalit’ is a new nomenclature for all those who are the worst victims of caste system and for all practical purposes they are none else but the erstwhile harijans who are denied human dignity and human rights, who have to suffer atrocities, untouchability, segregation and all types of humiliation and have been isolated from the main stream of life.

BA:      What inspired you to express your vision through creative writings?
NP:      Dr. Agarwal, it is true that the anguish born out of my experiences of being dalit has instinctively become inspiration of my creative writings. For me writing is not a matter of literary excellence only but it is a medium to say what has long been denied and neglected.

BA:      What are your important creative writings in English?
NP:      My two poetic collections are exclusively written in English: Burning from Both Ends and What did I do to be so Black and Blue.

BA:      What is your central concern expressed in the poems contained in these two volumes?
NP:      The anguish of Dalit consciousness has so preoccupied my mind and psyche that it spontaneously came out in the form of the reflections contained in these two volumes. In these poems though I have no predetermined ideal of poetic creation still these poems are the voices of protest, commitment and affirmation that forms the cardinal core of Dalit literature.

BA:      Do you agree with the term “Dalit poet” because poetic sensibility is a realization of life and the limitations of caste on the creativity of the writers can distort his inner self as a poet. How do you feel about it?
NP:       ‘Dalit poet’ is not an anomaly in terms; it is only his wilful preference for the specificity of a theme that is so far denied “a voice”. A Dalit poet is one who can share the anguish and sensibility of those who are marginalized in society only because of the handicap of caste. I feel that a Dalit poet can be a spokesman of dalits.

BA:      How would you reconcile the political movements of Dalit emancipation and the spirit of Dalit literature?
NP:      Dalit movement is primarily a demand for human dignity and human rights based on the idea of casteless society.  The movement of Dalit literature may be included as part of ‘political’ movements for Dalit emancipation but it has its own distinct means – and they are obviously literary. It appeals in a more significant voice to bring about transformation in society, the society free of discrimination, segregation, injustice, exploitation and oppression.

BA:      In your opinion, what is the responsibility of Main Stream writer in Dalit Literature?
NP:      I feel that every writer should be aware and responsible about his commitment towards society. So even if main stream writers contemplate on the anguish of ‘dalits’, they can and they may contribute to give a voice to Dalit consciousness. To have a realization of the psyche of dalits, it is not essential to be born in the community of dalits. A poet should have an objective realization of human sensibility.

BA:      What are your suggestions for the promotion of Dalit literature?
NP:      Literature is the source of awareness. It gives a voice to the silent suffering of dalits and it helps to constitute a voice and it is a positive step to bring renaissance in society. More and more writers must realize their responsibility in this direction and must be sensitive enough to represent the naked reality of society through their writings.

BA:      Dalit literature is often neglected and criticized as the ‘literature of anger’ or the ‘literature of protest’ because Dalit writers often can’t control their resentment against long annals of torture and injustice. What are your views about the ‘burning of anger’ in Dalit writings?
NP:      It is true that contemporary Dalit literature has emerged as a voice of protest, and even of anger and contempt on the realization of hell in which dalits are doomed to survive. Let us accept the fact that the finer aesthetic sensibility that the reader of the main stream literature is so used to  experiencing is missing here and instead a shockingly new aesthetics is evolving through the works of Dalit writers. They can’t simply forget the filth of the reality of the life of dalits. It is the first phase of Dalit writings in which resentment has given a sweep to the suppressed energy. Dalit literature is a new-born plant today but with its strength and maturity, the ‘anger’ will positively sublimate into a more balanced  vision of life , the life that is enshrined in the  ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity.

BA:      What are your views about Dalit Feminism?
NP:      In the discourse on Dalit literature, the reflection on the position and anguish of Dalit women is essential because Dalit women are thrice marginalized. It is very necessary for Dalit writers to give a voice to their silence and anguish. In my opinion Meena Kandaswamy has made significant efforts to give a voice to the suffering of Dalit women.

BA:      Sir, I feel that in order to break the margin of Dalitism, it is essential for Dalit writers to go beyond the paradigms of oppression and should take other issues in their writings. What are your views in this regard?    
NP:      I feel that at this nestling stage, it is only necessary for Dalit writers  not to go beyond their commitments towards their community. Dalit writers have their own commitments for their community and the anguish associated with them. However, it is my faith that Dalit writers will also perceive and respond to the issues that are beyond the periphery of the concept of Dalit consciousness.  Let the dalits and the rest of exploited Indians first feel free from the burden of caste and then bond into the comradeship of a class.   

BA:      Sir, you told us that you were forced by circumstances to change your name and surname after your admission in a college for higher education. In this regard, there are two curiosities in my mind: (a) What is your original name? (b) How do you feel, after the change of name because name is often related with the essential identity of an individual?
NP:      You must have come across curios names of African writers which are difficult to pronounce and spell e.g. Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiango but they never felt the need to change them. You know why? Because they had no connotation of caste, the caste that instantly tells the man’s status in society – as a superior and venerable Brahmin or a filthy harijan or somewhere in between the social hierarchy. The name and surname determine the worth of an individual. They determine his face value. The real worth is rarely recognized. The caste consciousness determines the entire interaction of two individuals.

           I have written in the preface to my poems that I would prefer to be called in algebraic sign like np– with no clue to my caste or creed.  But now let me satisfy your curiosity – I was born as somo hiro chamar. And let me also tell the change occasionally does help – for example, the fellow passengers in the train compartment did feel ease when they knew that I was Neerav Patel and not SC or ST or OBC. But many a time I feel it is futile. It is like a story of a mouse that had 7 tails – people teased him even when he cut them off one by one and finally had none – lo the mouse is one-tailed, lo the mouse is tailless.   

BA:      My last curiosity is that you are an Assistant Manager in Central Bank and equally you are dedicated to the cause of suffering of dalits and you have tried your urge for social justice through your writings. How do you reconcile with the contradictory commitments associated with these two distinctive fields of life?
NP:      Neerav Patel, the Asstt Manager,  is nothing if compared to  the prime minister Jagjivan Ram. His social status never changed and he was insulted when a statue unveiled by him was purified with Gangajal . As you know, in India man is known not by his class but by his caste. He is respected or despised not by his class but by his caste.  The Geeta shloka of janmana jayate shudra… guna gyan karma  is sheer humbug -  my being a banker didn’t elevate me to a vaishya varna, for you know caste is assigned by birth and not by profession. It is my professional predicament that I have to live with dual identity –a banker that is baniya,   and a poet that is Brahmin. But I remain a dalit all the same.

BA:      What is your experience as member of Gujrati Dalit Panther organization?
NP:      As in Maharashtra, Gujarat Dalit panther too had a leadership made of poets and writers and intellectuals. The organization had the prime agenda of awareness building, albeit with militant vigour. My poetry is quite influenced by this association.

BA:      I would like to know your vision about the idea of Dalit Aesthetics.
NP:      As I have mentioned earlier, Dalit aesthetics doesn’t aim to create feel-good factor in its readers. It has a dual role of ‘destruct and reconstruct‘to usher in the coexistence of Indian trinity of satyam, shivam, sundaram as well as the western trinity of liberty, equality, fraternity. And to demolish the unjust social order, Dalit aesthetics has to be ruthless as shiva’s tandav. And that is why we say the beauty of the sword is not in its ornate handle but in the sharpness of its blade. The word that is more potent is more aesthetic, and the dalit poet has to employ that very principle of aesthetics.

BA:      What is your message for future poets?
NP:      Write with this motto in your mind - human dignity and human rights for all.

BA:      Would you like to mention any one of your specific poem that can be accepted as the manifestation of your sensibility as a Dalit poet?
NP:      It is difficult to quote one single poem that could be my representative verse. However, I may suggest you to read my blog  for specimen: www.neeravdalitpoet.blogspot.com.