The art of long, immersive pauses: What links Vinod Kumar Shukla to a 20th-century Carnatic singer

Last month, Vinod Kumar Shukla was selected for the Jnanpith award has become the 12th Hindi author and the only one from Chhattisgarh to win the Jnanpith award. As tributes to Shukla and assessments of his work pour in, it is perhaps odd to compare his approach to writing to the vocal style of a musician who is relatively unknown outside the Carnatic world: MD Ramanathan – MDR.

On the face of it, it may appear as if they have nothing in common. Shukla was born in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, Ramanathan in Palakkad, Kerala. Shukla was trained in agriculture, Ramanathan in physics. One is a writer of Hindi literature, the other a Carnatic vocalist who sang compositions in Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. Even as far as recognition and awards are concerned Shukla is a much-decorated and celebrated author, while Ramanathan’s lifetime was spent on the margins of fame. He also missed out on the Sangeeta Kalanidhi – the highest honour in Carnatic music.

Their biographical dissimilarities and trajectories apart, Ramanathan and Shukla belong to two different life-worlds and few would argue for any similarity between the world of Hindi literature and that of South Indian classical music. Apart from the difference in language, it can’t...

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