The year Shambhu Nath Singh became a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence also saw the publication of his first Hindi poetry anthology. It was no coincidence. Ex-officio, his job was also to oversee the bulk purchase of Hindi literature for jawans posted in deserts, jungles, on islands and at high altitudes. It so happened that the first publisher who approached him with a request to buy his literary books in bulk also suggested that, since he spoke such good Hindi, he could try his hand at writing poems. The flattered officer lapped up the idea and churned out three poetry anthologies during his three-year stint.
As a norm, Hindi publishers do not entertain such manuscripts but Shambhu Nath received hefty royalty for each of the three books. They were priced at Rs 300 each (as against the usual Rs 51) and he got a cheque of Rs 9000 for every collection of 300 copies. Needless to say, the Ministry purchased the entire lot.
No one ever raised an eyebrow at this over-the-table deal because each collection was ceremoniously released by noted poets and critics in the auditoria of the India International Centre. Hindi literary columnists were in full attendance and they wrote six lines each on the ninth page of their district editions of dailies. The clippings are a part of the Ministry files.
But for school and college students who opt for Hindi, only proof-readers and paid critics read Hindi poetry. Yet, Hindi poetry anthologies continue to be published. The credit goes to the bulk purchase by the Defence Ministry, Hindi-speaking States’ education departments and public libraries like one named after Raja Rammohun Roy in Kolkata. The Hindi literature procured through the public exchequer is freely distributed to state-funded libraries across the country. Poetry writing should have become a national movement by now but it doesn’t need a Gallup poll to prove that no one ever pulls out these anthologies from the dusty shelves of public libraries.
The publication and purchase practice was introduced when Hindi was declared as the official language in Union government departments. The intention was to inculcate a reading habit while being entertained in the process. But no survey was ever done to collect feedback. The Sahitya Akademi should have done that. But it is more interested in publishing literature written in other Indian languages in Hindi rather than the other way round. And Hindi publishers have been going to the banks laughing.
Like all good things, Shambhu Nath’s stint as Joint Secretary came to an end. He was deputed to Jharkhand but Hindi poetry continued to flow from his pen. However, when he sent his fourth manuscript to the publisher, the latter was busy cultivating Shambhu Nath’s successor. After umpteen reminders from Shambhu Nath, the publisher sent a terse note asking him to explore the possibility of the Jharkhand government buying copies in bulk if the anthology were published. Thereafter, since Shambhu Nath was posted in the animal husbandry department, the publisher advised him to write on the prevalence of swine flu in animals.
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