Branded as ‘obscene' 60 years ago, Shyama stages a comeback

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

MUMBAI: In the summer of 2018, Pankaj Bhosale, 44, a young researcher fascinated by classic Marathi suspense literature, stumbled upon Shyama (1964), a novel considered a racy romance for its time. Once buried under court cases and censorship debates, the novel had faded from public memory for more than 60 years. Now it is poised for a revival.
Written by Mumbai-based author Chandrakant Kakodkar, Shyama revolves around Nishikant Kadam, a poet and teacher drawn to Shyama Shinde, a progressive art teacher at the same school. Nishikant encourages Shyama to overcome the conservative resistance she faces and she evolves into a successful singer on All India Radio. Their journey is layered with emotional complexity, misunderstandings, and the tension between love and ambition. Beyond its romantic core, Shyama captures the social mindset of its time—especially in its portrayal of a strong, modern woman navigating a traditional world.
Shyama was originally published as a story in 1963, in Rambha, a magazine traditionally brought out during Diwali. The story caught the attention of a Pune reader, who disturbed by its content filed a complaint against Kakodkar, alleging obscenity. He also wanted Rambha to be declared as a magazine with 'adult content'.
What followed was a six-year legal battle, which started in a Pune court in December in 1963. A few months later, Kakodkar published Shyama as a novel, even though the case was being heard.
On August 25, 1969, the Supreme Court finally ruled in Kakodkar's favour, upholding his right to creative freedom. The verdict didn't just clear his name; it brought relief to several other authors whose works had been dragged into similar legal disputes.
'Many people told me to just pay the ₹25 fine imposed by the (Bombay) High Court and walk away,' wrote Kakodkar, in the preface to Shyama's second edition in 1971. 'But that was not acceptable to me. I had to defend what I believed in.'
Kakodkar's literary journey started very early. He translated several stories of Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee while he was still in school. Driven by an unstoppable creative force, he went on to write more than 300 novels in his lifetime.
Kakodkar's influence also stretched into the world of cinema. His novel Neelambari was adapted into the Bollywood hit film Do Raaste (1969), starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz. Kakodkar received a Filmfare award for Best Story, becoming one of the few Marathi authors to be honoured in mainstream Hindi cinema. Likewise, the movie Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), directed by Raj Khosla and Sudesh Issar, was an adaptation of Kakodkar's Marathi novel Ashi Tujhi Preet. It too was a super-hit at the box office.
Kakodkar died in 1988, leaving a rich creative legacy that lingered for a while before it slipped into obscurity. However, in 2018, driven by a curiosity for forgotten voices in Marathi literature, Bhosale began hunting for a copy of Shyama. His search took him from Mumbai's dusty second-hand bookstores to junkyards in Thane and Badlapur, from roadside stalls in Pune to libraries in Kolhapur and Nashik.
A resident of Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, Bhosale also scoured old Marathi libraries in Goa, Kakodkar's home state. 'Eventually, I found one copy of the second edition at Shinde Book Stall at Fort in Mumbai. That changed everything,' says Bhosale, an author himself and a collector of classic and rare Marathi literature.
Encouraged by this find, Bhosale began researching Kakodkar's life and the cultural impact of the Shyama case. He met professors, fellow writers, and people who had known Kakodkar. Surprisingly, many had no idea about the novel or the court battle behind it.
Bhosale also spoke with Kakodkar's son, Shwetank, now in his 80s. 'I watched my father write with dedication for years. But, to be honest, I don't have a copy of Shyama, such an important work in its time. Now, thanks to the efforts of the younger generation, this novel is coming back to life.'
In 2023, Bhosale approached Pradeep Champanerkar of Pune-based Rohan Prakashan, hoping to reprint Shyama. 'Reprinting the novel is about reconnecting with an era. I believe even today's young readers will find something meaningful in it,' says Champanerkar. He reached out to Shwetank Kakodkar and secured the rights to publishing the book. The proofs are ready and the third edition will be published in mid-June, he adds.
On the tendency to ban certain kinds of literature, Marathi author and critic Vinay Hardikar says,
'There has always been a push and pull between what is considered acceptable in our culture and what people actually enjoy reading. Shyama got caught in the middle and paid the price.'
Hardikar adds, 'What is even more disheartening is that even after Kakodkar won the case, there wasn't much celebration. It came and went quietly.' Hopefully, that's about to change.