German literary critics definitely agree when writing about the Indian author Kiran Nagarkar or reviewing his books: “He’s the Indian continent’s bold, fervently political, artistically most voluptuous, occasionally whacky and pitch-black humorous writer,” commented Susanne Mayer in the distinguished weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”. The 65-year-old author, who lives in Bombay, has been in Berlin since April 2008 as a scholarship-holding guest of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in its Artists-in-Berlin programme “He is an outstanding representative of contemporary Indian literature, a master of style and storytelling,” says Katharina Narbutovic of the DAAD as she explains the decision to invite the author as a guest of the programme which sponsors artists in the fine art and music. “The programme offers its guests excellent working conditions. They are entirely free of obligations and pressures,” adds Ms Narbutovic.
Kiran Nagarkar is already well-known in Germany. His novel “God’s Little Soldier” was celebrated at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2006. “A study of religious fanaticism,” noted one critic. His novels rank among his German publisher’s bestsellers. Albert Völkmann from the Munich A1-Verlag has published four of the Indian writer’s books so far and says: “His works are constantly gaining in importance with an outward-looking, politically interested readership in the German-speaking area. Gone are the exotic images of India as Nagarkar challenges his readers to discover their own understanding of multicultural and multi-religious society within the tense context of traditional and contemporary life. His work is ideally suited to the aims of our programme by conveying unfamiliar experiences as personal experiences.” Kiran Nagarkar has received numerous awards for his work: in 1975 “Saat Sakkam Trechalis” (“Seven Sixes are Forty-Three”) won him the H.P. Apte Award, in 1996 came the Dalmia Award “for promoting communal harmony through literature”, and in 2000 he gained highest recognition with the Sahitya Akademi Award from India’s Academy of Letters for his novel “Cuckold”.
Kiran Nagarkar studied English Literature at Ferguson College in Pune, worked at the university, as a journalist and in advertising for over nine years. He wrote his first novel “Saat Sakkam Trechalis“ in his native language Marathi. His books have been translated into many languages. Mr Nagarkar was born in 1942 at the height of India’s struggle for independence. He recounts: “I was far too young when India’s freedom struggle was at its peak but oddly enough I have a clear memory of the fifteenth of August 1947, the day we won the independence. My father was supposed to have taken us out that night to see the independence day celebrations when all the public buildings would be lit up. But my brother and I had been up to our usual mischief and had misbehaved and so my father decided not to take us out. Fortunately my mother persuaded him to change his mind. The Indian tri-colour flew over our apartment for the first time and we went downtown to see the Central and Western Railway headquarters and all the government buildings lit up. The question is how come parents, teachers, educationists, and policy makers don’t think it is of paramount importance not to inculcate jingoistic nationalism in our children but to make every generation understand, first how we won independence, not as dull and pointless dates and events but to make the process come alive and then to bring home to the children why it is and will always be one of the nation’s most precious and unforgettable treasures.”
In addition to writing in Berlin Kiran Nagarkar has a busy schedule in Germany. In May and June he went on a reading tour with stops in Cologne, Munich, Bonn, Würzburg and Heidelberg. At the end of September he took part in the Berlin International Literature Festival. From 24 to 30 November he will be a guest at the 22nd Tübinger Poetik-Dozentur 2008 together with German writer Christoph Peters. The week-long event acts as a forum of cultural encounter. It offers students, lecturers, members of the university and the general public a unique opportunity to meet and talk with outstanding writers from home and abroad. The annual event traditionally aims to initiate and broaden inner-university dialogue beyond the borders of individual disciplines.
What kind of picture has the writer gained of the Germans after a good six months here? “Any citizen of a country, if he is a thinking being, has a love-hate relationship with his motherland,” he says. “I am deeply conscious that I am a temporary resident here. Right now Germany and I are going through a honeymoon period. I love the green, the quiet, the life of the cafes, the amazingly rich cultural life and many other aspects of the city. I can’t get over the fact that though the Germans themselves think that their reading culture is diminishing by the day, I cannot tell you how I yearn that my people in India had both a library and reading culture.”
