Shukla received the Sahitya Academy Award, the highest Indian literary award, for his novel Raag Darbari in 1969. He received the Vyas Samman award in 1999 for the novel "Bisrampur ka Sant" , and in 2008, he received the Padma Bhushan.
Thanks for this article. Coming on an English language news portal, it is a surprise. Raag Darbari of course was a path-breaking creation, which redefined novels. It has no hero, no heroine; it does not even have a story! Shuklaji wrote that novel while he was in Government Service. The problems we see today with our system were just setting in at that time. Shuklaji foresaw the futility of it all, and lodged his protest in the form of Raag Darbari. The author has rightly pointed out at the language as one of the main attractions of the book. True; the style of the narrative is satirical, and maintaining that level of satire in every sentence for 300 odd pages is no joke, but the message of the book is ultra-serious. Alas! such a wonderful work is cherished just for its entertainment value. Shuklaji wrote many other books, and like Sir Conan Doyle publicly despised Sherlock Holmes, Shrilalji often expressed his pain for being recognized as a 'one-book' author. His other works express the same sharp eye and the distant vision, though not in that 'language'. I strongly recommend 'Sooni Ghati Ka Sooraj' and 'Makan' to readers. May his soul rest in peace. When he wrote Raag Darbari, the place he had in mind was Mohanlalganj just off Lucknow on Rae Bareli road. We may think of renaming that town as Shivpalganj to honour the genius of Shrilal Shukla.
Re: Raag Darbari and Shrilal Shukla
by Aaloo Prasad on Nov 02, 2011 07:51 PM
Which idiot could have reported this beautiful message from a true Shrilal Shukla fan for abuse?
