By Mushtaque B Barq
Creativity is the hallmark of independent existence. It is a harmonic progression of cultured cogitation coupled with subtle resourcefulness. This convoluted apparatus enables a talented artist to establish an ‘alternative order’, only to govern the established kingdom that dwells within his subconscious. His domain is infinite within his predictable precincts to perform with his innocent fawns in the meadows of his own commendable landscape like an intoxicated shepherd. His rod at times penetrates the bone of his own herd yet at times his rope seems a disagreeable cargo on his shoulders. His fingers move according to his own decree to write the fate of dear creatures to justify his being as an aesthetic subunit of the seamless whole. A prominent writer, in particular, carefully holds a reed of his divine origin in his gifted hands to watermark the unique skin of civilized society as a godsend link betwixt classic myth and historical truth. In order to promulgate the quintessence of script, the only prerequisite is an innovative broadcaster. An ace broadcaster deciphers the script into the presentable form by taking recourse to techniques and self-created modules. Once the writer is allowed to pass through the other end of the broadcaster’s eclectic channel, the transformation of art not only moves the pulsing hearts of the general gender but also creates history to be repeated and revived by the generations to follow. When a piece of art is chiseled at different levels by different artists, a masterpiece hits the stands. One such broadcaster is Shri Pran Kishore Kaul who brought a cultural revolution in Jammu and Kashmir. Shri Pran Kishore Kaul born on 23rd January 1925 in Srinagar, Kashmir, was educated at the University of Punjab (Lahore). Pran Kishore is among the best writers Kashmir has produced. He is a seasoned novelist, a prolific playwright, serious stage director, brilliant broadcaster and a painter hitherto unexplored by his admirers.
Shri Pran Kishore Kaul in 1943 started his acting career from SP College Dramatic Club and later became the secretary of the two leading dramatic clubs. He acted in Neelam based on famous Urdu playwright Abid Ali Abid’s classic Roopmati Baazbahadur as protagonist. He also acted in Imtiaz Ali Taj’s classical Anarkali and Tiksha Rakhshita by Mahmood Hashmi. He was an active member of Bazm- Adabi Zauq and under the canopy of literary giants like Khawaja Ahmad Abbas, Opender Nath Ashk, Prem Nath Pardesi, Balraj Sahni, he found the ink of his pen ruling the nerves of paper through short stories. With the passage of time, the Literary Study Circle emerged as Progressive Writers’ Association which later brought a thorough cultural revolution in Kashmir. Under the leadership of Pran Kishore, the dramatic wing of this organisation contributed a lot to the literary traditions of Kashmiri literature by producing Kashmi Yehi Hai, Play ¾, Dollar Sahab, Batahar, Shaheed Shervani and Sawal by Prem Nath Pardesi, Naya Kashmir Ki Rah Par, Bombur Ta Yamberzal ( A Kashmiri Opera) by Dina Nath Nadim. A reproduction on the visit of Russian leaders namely Marshal Bulganin and Nikita Kuschev, Deevane Ka Khawab by Ali Mohammad Lone, Kanjoos (an adaptation of Moiler’s The Miser, Malan Cho by Rabindra Nath Tagore (Adaptation by Pran Kishore) Budh Kam Shudh, Khaloojan Ka Khawab, Hero Machama, Jheel Bula Rahi Hai by Ali Mohammad Lone, Vitasa (Opera in Kashmiri) Himala Ke Chashme (Opera in Urdu) Piya Baaj Pyala (Musical Play) and Tipu Sultan. Pran Kishore has served Indian Television by the likes of Gul Gulshan Gulfam, Junoon, Ghuttan, Noor Jehan, Saaye Deodar Ke, Manzil, Safar Wapsi Ka and Sapnou Ka Saudagar.
Shri Pran Kishore Kaul has worked in All India Radio for almost 30 years and has added flavour to our rich Kashmiri Literature by writing and producing myriad plays and documentaries in Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi and English. Keeping in view his self-motivation and dedication not only as an actor, broadcaster and writer, but he is also considered as The Ulysses of the Odyssey of our Theatre Movement, guiding the race by honing their skill to perfect their efforts. As a perfectionist, he has created and reconstructed many traditional modules to boost the radio artists by imbibing an ingenious verve in them that in exchange raised the status of Radio Kashmir to the zenith of excellence among its competitors in the country. His productions of Aur Vitasta Bahti Rahi and Aab Ta Hayat received the Akashvani Annual Award for Drama and the Akashvani Annual Award for Features. The latter was All India Radio’s entry to PRIXITALIA, the most prestigious International festival for Radio and Television where Pran Kishore was a member of the Jury for Radio. His first-ever feature film as director Mainz- Raat in Kashmiri won him the President’s Silver Medal as the best regional film in 1965. His contribution to Balraj Sahni’s feature film Shair-e-Kashmir Mehjoor is exemplary for the reason of directing it in the Kashmiri version. He received the Sahitya Academy Award for his novel Sheen Ta Vatapod which is regarded as an instrumental accretion to Kashmiri literature. His novel Gul Gulshan Gulfam is considered as the prose epic or Mahaakaaviya of contemporary Kashmir according to Prof. Shauq. This novel encompasses three generations of post-independent Kashmir depicting change of values and standards and never ignoring the constants in Kashmir identity in the flux. He is also the author of History of Theatre in Kashmir (Kashmiri), Radio Kashmir and My Days in Broadcasting (English), Santosh in search of Truth and Translation along with Shafi Shauq of Gul Gulshan Gulfam.
In 1974 and 1980 he was honoured with Robe of Honours by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art and Culture and Languages and The University of Kashmir in recognition of his contribution to Theatre and Play writing besides his impact on Urdu Drama. In 2018 he was awarded Padma Shri by the President of India. He is also recipient of The Highest State Award by the Government of J&K in 2009 for his promotion and contribution to art and literature. Shri Pran Kishore has a privilege to be a jury member of Indo African short film festival held by National Institute of Television and Film. He was also a leader and director of Indian delegation for 12th festival of Asian Arts held in Hong King in 1988.
Ashok Jailkhani, Additional Director General, Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India describes Shri Pran Kishore as an iconic personality of J& K in the field of culture, broadcasting, film and literature. Ashok Jailkhani adds that Shri Pran Kishore is a highly respected and revered person who has trained and motivated hundreds of artists, particularly in the field of drama and radio. Adding that Pran Kishore joined Radio Kashmir (later a part of All India Radio) right at its inception, 1947-1948. Within a short span of time, he established himself as a top broadcaster of the country. We are informed by Ashok Jailkhani that Shri Pran Kishore has attained a place of pride amongst the doyens of broadcasters, like Melville D Mello, S S Thakur, Devaki Nandan Pandey, K K Nayyar, and others who were categorized as ‘outstanding drama voices’ by All India Radio. For a man with no formal training or experience in film making, this is no mean achievement. His first TV serial based on Kashmir, “Gul Gulshan Gulfam” took the nation by storm. It bought the unique culture and life of Kashmir into the national mainstream. The serial became very popular and is remembered even to this day. Besides Doordarshan, many broadcasting companies in the US and Europe also telecast it with subtitles. He’s an accomplished painter too, and his paintings have been part of national and international exhibitions including that of Lalit Kala Academy. At the age of 93, he’s still going strong, and it is imperative that such a living legend is recorded and his experiences, views and vision shared with the larger audiences.
Ashok Ogra, a noted Media and Management Professional and Educator shares, “We all grew up listening to radio drams such as Lala Joo & Sons, written by Ali Mohammed Lone and directed by Pran Kishore.” Ashok Orga informs that In his memoir, Radio Kashmir and My Days in Broadcasting the award-winning broadcaster, director, and writer, Pran Kishore, has provided glimpses into important developments in which many prominent ‘dramatic personae’ played pivotal roles in the state. In an autographical style, the author has traced the history of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar from the day it was inaugurated on July 1, 1948. Ashok Ogra further adds that Pran Kishore has been an admirable broadcaster and a born narrator. His narrative brings people and incidents to life in flashes of telling detail.
Pran Kishore writes: “The journey began in 1948 when as a young man in my early twenties I had joined this great organization where I spent thirty-five years of my life in creativity….. I feel proud of having been an integral part of it as the multitude of writers, dramatists, actors, musicians, singers, journalists, newsreaders, and others who made Radio Kashmir what it is today.”
We are further informed that Pran Kishore has described people, events and personalities he came across with minute details. The dramatic club of S.P. College, Srinagar (reviewer’s alma mater) staged Anarkali in 1942. Directed by Mohammad Din Taseer, Principal of the College, the play became a motivation for K. Asif to produce the film Mughal-e-Azam.
Avtar Motta, an ace writer informs us that Padamshri Pran Kishore Kaul fondly known as Pran Ji is not an individual but a school of excellence in many areas like broadcasting, radio drama, stage acting, scriptwriting, cinematography, production, direction, special effects, film acting, painting, and writing. His affable mannerism, crystal clear integrity and dynamic outlook have endeared him to a vast circle of friends that included Balraj Sahni, Prabhat Mukerji, and actor Tom Alter. Avtar further adds, “Pran Ji is a connoisseur of music, dance and poetry. Name any segment of fine arts, literature and mass communication; Pran Ji has put his imprints and added his contribution directly or indirectly. I personally believe Pran Ji could have been another Abbas Kiarostami had he moved out and joined films. Like Kiarostami, the celebrated filmmaker from Iran, Pran Ji’s scripts, line of direction and presentation are always rooted to the ground and the content has something deeper to convey. But then I feel if he had done so, a generation of stage artists, writers and actors from Kashmir, whom he helped to grow, would have been denied his guidance and help.”
Q:-How did you start your writing career?
I started writing from my college days. In those days we had a literary club known as Bazm-i-Adab wherein many eminent writers added elegance to the said platform by their valuable contributions and a student’s wing of the same organization inspired me to write. I started with Urdu short stories as it was the trend in those days to write in Urdu and I followed the suit. I started writing in the Kashmiri language in 1947, and my contemporaries were Ali Mohammad Lone, Sofi Ghulam Muhammad, Kanwal Nain Parvaz, and Mahmoud Hashmi. When I turned to Radio, there were many other writers like Ali Mohammad Lone, Qaiser Qalander, and Bashir Bhat. I started writing in English for a different reason as I had to deal with technicians who were unfamiliar with Urdu or Kashmiri so I had to communicate with them in the language they were comfortable with. I had to write the screenplay for them in English so to make them understand the entire scenario. But I preferred to write in my own mother tongue for the reason that it belongs to my roots and me. I later translated my own Kashmiri novel Sheen Te Wate Pod into English. My famous Kashmiri novel Gul Gulshan Gulfam and then I translated it into English and Prof. Shafi Shauq was with me in the translation project. As a writer I wrote what I felt and observed around me, may it be culture, heritage, traditions and above all the life in general coupled with history.
Q:-We are keen to know about your Broadcasting experience, kindly share how it escorted Radio Kashmir to excellence.
Broadcasting has been my soul. I joined Radio in 1948. I have learned a lot in my 30-year broadcasting career and then I channelised my experience into experiments and innovations that create a special niche of Radio Kashmir among its competitors at All India Level. I was capable to add the bench strength of the special category of broadcasters of the country, and Radio Kashmir was considered as one of the prominent stations in the country for the reason of upholding top-class broadcasting. Radio is my life; I have lived with it, I have grown with it and above all, the Radio and I are analogous to each other. As I said earlier broadcasting was my passion and I did a lot of experiments especially with sound considered as one of the authoritative components of the radio. It is only because of sound that you can transfer your imaginations into auditory imagery, one can perform miracles with sound variations. We can land a man on the moon using the sound module, we can go deep underwater utilizing the same tool. The listeners were transported to the essence with the help of sound effects and that was the secret of success.
Once you are an expert in creating the apt sound clip, you can surpass Aladdin’s genie. Sound is a beautiful medium, it has not only served saints and sages but to a broadcaster as well. I remember when in the 1965 war when air raids were frequent we were directed to stay safe for the reason that sound would smash the doors and windows. The power of sound fascinated me and I realised that one can almost create an alternative world for radio dramas. In Radio Kashmir we could generate many sound effects that in reciprocity aided our dramas to the level hitherto unexplored.
I have the experience of first recoding of aluminum discs and we would record on them for 15 minutes, which was a limitation. I handled the first portable tape-recorder to record off-station recordings. We were able to create a montage of soundtracks, and that was phenomenal which not only served our own radio station but could also live up to the expectations of other leading radio stations of the country. It is an honour to mention that we were able to generate 3 hours 15 minute sound effects for the National Library of All India Radio of the sound effect department. Then digital recording took over and things changed.
Q:-How was TV experience different from that of Radio?
Well! A microphone is a wonderful invention and the camera is a perfect tool that has enabled us to carry the filmmaking to newer summits. In the radio station microphone is the soul of production and for Television, the camera is a magician. The experiences are different, but one thing is the same and that is creativity. You need to be creative while handling the camera as needed to handle the microphone. Through the camera, you need to show the things after operating upon by editors and on the radio, you need to know the art of voice modulation to create the impact of the place you are aiming at to be imagined by the listeners. Another difference was that of ‘displaying’ the things. You need visual imagery, the vivacity of the background, attire and movements for Television besides a lot of other intricate things but in the radio, you are bound to create every minute detail within the recording chamber using microphones.
Q:-You have handled microphones, cameras, editing gadgets, pens and brushes. What is the secret of this unimaginable blending?
Nothing is impossible for a creative mind. I worked as a theatre actor that was my need at that time to explore my artist. Once it came out, it was necessary to understand the requirements of your artist in you. I served him through sound I became a broadcaster. Once I heard him, a felt a need to project him on the screen, the camera was there to help me and when I felt the scope of my abstractions was moving far and wide beyond the mundane limits I took brush to capture them. The secret of success is indeed hard work but the pulse of success is creativity. One has to be creative to create his own world.
Mushtaq B.Barq is a Columnist, Poet and Fiction Writer. He is the author of “Feeble prisoner, “ Wings of Love” and many translation works are credited to the author like “ Verses Of Wahab
