ABOUT HIS LITERARY CAREER

Creativity and  Personality

He was the foremost author of  the Parallel Literature Movement in Hindi . He started writing stories in the 1960s. During the Parallel Hindi Literature Story Movement in the 1970s, his name gleamed like a comet in the genre of Hindi story  . His stories   were published in  leadindg  hindi magazines like Dharmyug , Saptahik Hindustan, and Saarika when renowned author Kamleshwar was the editor . In the editorial of the Dus Prathinidhi Kahaniyan Alam Shah Khan [Ten Representative Stories; Alam Shah Khan], published by Kitabghar Publications in 2014, Himanshu Pandya writes about his stories, "Our Hindi world was not ready for such realistic description of these distorted truths before the beginning of Dalit consciousness. Was Alam Shah Khan ahead of his time as a writer?  Dr.  Manju  Chaturvedi  writes, "Dr. Alam Shah had already started writing about the pain ,sufferings and marginalisation of women, much before                                                                                                                   discussion on the subject of women discourse began.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

courage and perseverance to make sense of their lives. It's a delicate and long process in writing when you forget yourself and mentally connect with those who you're writing about and start living with them."

He was very sensitive by nature, emotional yet possessed a great sense of humor. He always enthralled and amused others by his quickness on repartee using his wit and stating irony of situations and sarcasm. He had the nerve to oppose anything that was wrong and never hesitated from objecting to something that was wrong. In his article "Apni Baat: Ek Maut Jeene Ke Baad" (My Views: After Living a Death), he writes, "It cannot be said which moment it was when the idea sunk in me, that one should only speak the truth, even if it is uncomfortable. With the passage of time, it became a habit not to tolerate even a small act of injustice." ...It is my nature to ask questions."

​

Characters in Stories

​

Prof. Alam Shah Khan wrote about the struggle of the marginalised  people in society in his stories. The characters in his stories belong to the most neglected sections of society. Most of his Hindi short stories are written within the middle-class confines, and Alam Shah Khan is one of those distinguished writers who wrote stories about marginalized characters. He writes about his characters, "History and geography make me restless, and so does the plight of the Dalits, the oppressed and scorned, whose lives are marked by shattered dreams and aspirations, unfulfilled desires and hopes. This stirs a deep emotion within me and I am filled with the urge to destroy the rigged system from all sides." He writes about such characters who are often ignored :-

1) Jaganwa, the one who lifted the animals in the truck and made them

stand in his story  ‘Sanson Ka Rewad’ [ herd of breath].

​

2) Bagaria Lugai, who juggles food by selling blood in ‘Khoon Kheti’

[blood farming].

​

3) Sanichara, who collects garbage from drainage in ‘Panchhi Kare Kaam ‘[Birds work].

 

4) Jethu who sells Kulfi in’ Eik Aur Maut’ [One More Death].

 

5) Lakhna, who works in a hotel in Parai Pyaas Ka Safar, [Journey To Fulfill Other’s Thirst] etc.

 

Another charterstic of his stories is that the narrator is either absent or sparsely present in them. Characters speak in their own language. In an article "Kahani Ki Baat: Pida Ke Pyramid" (Discussing Story : Pyramids of Pain), he elucidates the process of his creativity in a very impactful way, describing when and why he writes, "The ignored and neglected people form the base of the triangle or pyramid of governance, constitution, and justice. Whenever the government becomes ruthless, the constitution becomes a dead letter, justice becomes partial, unbearable burden coerces this foundation - then these foundation points start shaking. As a result, the scales of power begin to trip. Power executors and policymakers then, by combining alleged welfare schemes with the trickery of religion-caste, language-culture, tradition-revival, and memories-mythology, strive to maintain their top position while clashing with the foundation trying to keep it down. On the other hand, the oppression of this foundation, causes the public to be disoriented, prompting them to struggle. Thus, the heirs and guardians of power slide down from their top position as the foundation pulls them down, and they in turn take positions to bring the foundation or component of the system down to keep their power intact. In the end, there will be a fight, a struggle, in this situation. I Try to acquaint myself with such characters who come forward to fight boldly in these circumstances. I watch them living, arising, fighting, and falling."

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

It is believed that the smoothness of the slogans for social reform, which are raised on the poles of the system, will dry up, and the grip of the fighters who climb up will become stronger. Those who get into the urge to climb up will not come down, they will keep climbing up and eventually the peak or the top point will break and merge with the bottom points to become one. The pyramids of the system will crumble, and then a balanced and straight line will become the system of society. The burden of the top will not be there, all will be equal and being a human will be considered respectful, and one will be able to complete the journey of life freely. Then there will be a system, but no terror. It will not be possible for the top point to place its high-status symbol on its head and deny the existence of lower points and appease its ego.

 

Writing Style

Dr.  Alam Shah Khan was very attentive and cautious towards his language. Characters of his stories  speak in the language and dialect of the social background to which they belong. Regarding his language, he writes, "To acquire perfection in accent, I can walk four miles. I have worked hard to acquire the tone and impact of my character's dialect and speech. I have created a language for my stories by tanning it, like raw leather. The words of the language after being checked and tested thoroughly are stored in my memory and appear on the canvas of my writing. The search for each word, and the people who convey them with their mannerisms, their canvas, their trade, their passion, their combinations, their idioms, and the flow of their speech, drains my blood, and as a result, I am unable to write a lot."],for him quality was more important then quantity. His language is the language of that impoverished population of his struggling characters. However, the author has modified this language in his own way. It is the language of the poor people, which is devoid of the thread of morality. A deep sense of emotion can be felt in every word of every sentence. There is no narrator in his stories which is his great achievement as an author. The characters of his stories themselves tell about their surroundings, their lives, and their struggles.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​