Parashar Kulkarni is not a popular name among the followers of Indian literature in English. Less so for Indian literature. Yet in the days to come, Parashar could well be the guy most book-lovers would be reading. The transition is hard earned. It comes thanks to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the best piece of unpublished fiction he won recently. He got the award ahead of nearly 4,000 entries from 47 different countries. Amazingly, “Cow and Company”, is winning piece, is also his first piece of short fiction writing! Showering praise on “Cow and Company”, Gillian Slovo, Chairperson of the judging panel, said, “In ‘Cow and Company’, Parashar has conjured up a large cast and their way of life, and at the same time he has succeeded in exploring serious issues in a way that can make us laugh.”
Incidentally, Kulkarni, who became the first Indian to get the prize, was among the four shortlisted Indian writers, including among others, Kritik Pandey with “Dirty White Strings”, Sumit Ray with “Girdhar’s Mansion” and Vinayak Varma with “Instant Karma”.
Excerpts from an email interview:
Congratulations on becoming the first Indian to win the Commonwealth short story prize. We are told that this is the first short story you have ever written. Isn’t it incredible?
I feel encouraged. I have been working on writing for a while and this is the first short fiction that is public and in print.
How is the prize likely to be helpful in taking the story to untapped territories?
The story is an excerpt from a longer piece of fiction. The short fiction did not engage with the broader economic and political context that is more evident in other parts of the longer fiction. I hope to continue working on it.
Detailing seems to be your strength, the way you paint with words, not missing the nuances. How long did it take to arrive at this wonderful piece of writing? Did you do many drafts?
I worked on a few drafts. It took about two years.
The jury hailed your book for having “succeeded in exploring serious issues in a way that can make us laugh”. Is humour the same the world over? Or is the way we look at things somewhat different from how the First World is likely to look at it?
Some argue humour is essentially local. We might laugh at the same thing for different reasons. But then there are hundreds of jokes which have universal appeal.
What can we expect for the genre of short story writing in India following the success of “Cow and Company”? I ask because short stories are not regarded as commercially viable in India.
This story is not going to change anything. However, short fiction is popular in India. Children read a lot of short fiction. Short fiction is popular in Marathi, and in most other regional languages.
In the age of T-20 cricket, do you think time has come for short stories to occupy readers’ mind? People may not have time for big novels anymore, and short stories with lesser demands on time, may just fill the vacuum?
I am not sure one can compare texts based on volume. For me, short fiction is more experimental. It is more therapeutic. It is also more inclusive and allows all of us to explore creative expression whether we think of ourselves as writers or not.
I read somewhere that your interest in literature started with default; you were paid for reading the daily newspaper to your grandfather. Could you please elaborate?
I was asked about my influences. My grandmother taught embossing on metal, she was more creative. I learnt a lot from her. My grandfather worked for the government, then taught law. He was a voracious reader. During his later years, he found it difficult to read fine print and asked me to read the Marathi newspaper for him. He paid me a rupee for it, for fun, because, as a young boy of nine or ten I wasn't particularly excited.
At another level, “Cow and Company” comes at a time when cows are at the centre of Indian politics. It seems we are getting divided into two inaccurate but convenient stereotypes: cow killers and those who kill for cows. Would the story have unfolded differently had it been set in 2016?
The story is set around 1900. The timing is a coincidence. I am hopeful that we, as citizens, will ensure human rights, civil liberties, and distributionally progressive development (health, education, good jobs, etc) will be central in our political discourse and conduct, rather than cows.
Finally, what's coming up next from your decorated pen?
“Cow and Company” is part of a larger project. I hope to finish it soon. In addition, I have some related projects. It will be immature for me to talk about them now.
