Sakharam Hari Deshpande , known to all as Sa Ha, passed away at the ripe age for 86, leaving behind friends, admirers and researchers pondering how such a loss could be withstood. Saha is used both as prefix and suffix in Sanskrit and obviously in Marathi and Deshpande had a passion for both. Saha means with, together and jointly in both languages as coinages like sahajeevan, sahavedana and tyanchyasaha (with them) would testify. Deshpande was an example of all three—he interacted with people all his life, worked with a significant number of them as colleague and scholar and shared his experiences and findings with all throughout his 50 year career as teacher, university professor, researcher, public speaker and writer. He informed, he documented, he analysed, he theorised, he opined, he criticized with an intellectual rigour and presentational skill generally in short supply amongst the post-independence intelligentsia in India and Maharashtra. In this exercise he made remarkably few enemies, earned the respect of most and struck warm relationship with many. His positive mindset and open attitude encouraged three generations of Marathi intellectuals – his contemporaries, his students and their students. Sa Ha was thus an observant, keen fellow traveller to all those who willingly opted to undertake the journey into the world of ideas and action—he was a mentor appointed by the mentees of their own !
Deshpande was born into a traditional middle-class joint family of Marathi Brahmins from Shirwal( 50 kms from Pune and in the historic Satara district )and had deep roots in the rural agricultural community. This Deshpande family has a niche of its own in Maharashtra—his eldest brother Pandurangshastri was Ayurvedacharya, his middle brother Wamanrao was one of the most successful Chartered Accountants of Bombay but so great was his passion for Hindustani Classical Music that he was better known as a music critic, historian and connouiser ( Satyasheel Deshpande is Wamanrao’s son). It is no wonder that such rich ancestral tapestry provided Deshpande with the best of both the rural and urban, traditional and modern and creative and critical streams.
The city of Poona where Deshpande had his schooling and and college education in late 1930s and 40s was a beehive of intellectual and patriotic activity. It was in Poona that he came across the social reformer-writer Shripad Mahadev Mate and was tutored by Puruhottam Ganesh Sahasrabudhdhe who was friend, philosopher and guide. It would be no overstatement to say that Deshpande carried forward their legacy of a pro-modernity, reformist, politically viable and socially liberal, forward-looking Hinduism during the years to come. Like most Brahmin boys of his time Deshpande did join the RSS and had some exciting memories of those days. But thanks to the deep influence of Mate and Sahasrabudhdhe Deshpande never really got converted to the RSS ideology (whatever it was); in fact he leaned more towards the rationalist Hinduism of Sawarkar.
Deshpande never tired of telling how and why he took up Economics! His inclination was towards Sanskrit—he had scored very well in the Inter Arts examination in that subject. But Sahasrabudhdhe would not have it. In the cryptic wit which was his forte, Sahasrabudhdhe wryly remarked ( said Deshpande) “ Enough of the beauty and blushes of Shakuntala—we have to throw ourselves in to the task of nation-building. Take up something that will contribute to this great venture.” True to the wish of his mentor, Deshpande enrolled for Economics and later emerged as a rare species—a hindutvawadi with sound knowledge of Economics. His whole career both during his working and retired life was to be an effort to amalgamate the various brands of Hinduism with the modern ideal of a civic society based upon democracy, liberalism and development of all.
The Deshpande cannon, though mostly in Marathi, is discrete and extensive and can be divided into three categories. The foremost, in my opinion, would be his evaluations and reports of various development projects in Maharashtra launched by individual development workers during the upsurge of genuine Voluntary Agencies (not the present day NGOs) during the 1970s where his docummentational perseverance and analytical skills are adequately demonstrated. The second category covers his grand project on Hindutva where he traces the journey of political Hindutva from Sawarkar to Bharatiya Janata Party via RSS. Deshpande kept going back to this project time and again and examined his own and others’ positions in the wake of new developments—a testimony to his scholastic integrity. The last would be his miscellaneous writings—memoirs, personal sketches, author studies etc. It’s an intellectual treat to pick up any of his books and give yourself to the power of argument, precision of expression and an overall aesthetic of narrative that Deshpande was so keen about.
Deshpande lived a full life— a devoted husband, loving father, dedicated teacher, honest researcher, warm friend, unforgiving analyst, lucid writer, positive intellectual and ever-young traveller into the domain of ideas. He was choosy about company but those who had the good fortune to be his intimates will be proud. He enjoyed his smoke and his drink—though discretion was the watch word in both. Deshpande loved Shakespeare and Kalidas and other greats from both languages. He ,when in mood, recited poetry, recollected for you many an anecdote in his own uncanny style. His sense of humor was ever present and his jokes used to be decent and intellectual. He will be missed—now and hereafter! It is for us to keep in mind W.H. Auden’s obituary on W.B. Yeats
“ The words of a dead man
Are modified in the guts of the living”
(This posts was written for 'Freedom First').
Vinay Hardikar
No comments:
Post a Comment