OBITUARY: Khushwant Singh (1915-2014)
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: Hats off to the man who released his book at the age of 98, befittingly titled, “Khushwantnama: The Lessons of My Life’, an unprecedented feat after spending a life with ‘malice towards one and all’, the name of his inimitable newspaper column.
More astounding are the contents of the book which are based on a rather ruthlessly honest introspection of his inner self (which generally shocks the uninitiated) where he simply states, “I have also come to the sad conclusion that I have always been a bit of a lecher. From the tender age of four right to the present when I have completed 97, it has been lechery that has been uppermost in my mind. I have never been able to conform to the Indian ideal of regarding women as my mothers, sisters or daughters. Whatever their age, to me they were, and are, objects of lust.”
Singh was widely known for his humor and bonhomie; his writing reflecting it in loads. He couldn’t be bracketed. He was much more than a women and whisky loving lascivious Sardar famous for his raconteurs.
There was this poignant side to him too. In his BlogSpot he had wondered while reminiscing about the untimely death of a favorite acquaintance, ‘’I wonder why nature does not provide a fixed period of time for people to enjoy all that life has to offer before they go. Most people are in reasonably good shape until their 70s.’’
For Singh himself, nature was more than liberal. He died peacefully at the age of 99 on Thursday in New Delhi, but not before knocking down another record (the last one though) in writing this book called ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous’ (2013) which were pen portraits of the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Krishna Menon, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Amrita Sher-Gil, Begum Para, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, M.S. Golwalkar, Mother Teresa, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Dhirendra Brahmachari, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, General Tikka Khan, Phoolan Devi, Giani Zail Singh and Bhagat Puran Singh.
Born on February 2, 1915, in Hadali (now in Pakistan), Singh had done his schooling at Modern School in Delhi and later studied at St. Stephen’s College before moving to the Government College in Lahore. He also studied at King’s College in Cambridge University. He practiced law at the Lahore High Court for several years before joining the Ministry of External Affairs in 1947.
Singh was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the government under the late prime minister Indira Gandhi. He was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. He edited the once popular Illustrated Weekly of India. He also headed the Hindustan Times and National Herald.
But he soon settled down to writing full time and regretted wasting his time practicing law and being in the Foreign Service.
“I wasted many years studying and practicing law which I hated. I also regret the years spent serving the government abroad and at home, and the years with UNESCO in Paris. Although I saw places and enjoyed life, and, having little to do, started writing. I could have done a lot more of what I was best at. I could have started my writing career much sooner,” he wrote.
And even though he started late by his own reckoning, he produced a voluminous amount of work: with about 80 books to his credit.
Some of his earlier works include: The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories (1950); The Sikhs (1953); Train to Pakistan (1956); The Voice of God and Other Stories (1957); I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale (1959); The Sikhs Today (1959); The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab (1962); The History of the Sikhs (1963); Ranjit Singh: The Maharajah of the Punjab (1963); A Bride for the Sahib and Other Stories (1967); Black Jasmine (1971), Tragedy of Punjab (1984), Delhi: A Novel (1990), Sex, Scotch and Scholarship: Selected Writings (1992), Not a Nice Man to Know: The Best of Khushwant Singh (1993), Women and Men in My Life (1995), Uncertain Liaisons: Sex, Strife and Togetherness in Urban India (1995), The Company of Women (1999), Truth, Love and a Little Malice (2002), Burial at the Sea (2004), Paradise and Other Stories (2004), Death at My Doorstep (2005), The Illustrated History of the Sikhs (2005).
Singh is also known for his more recent works like ‘Declaring Love In Four Languages’, ‘The Company Of Women’, ‘Notes On The Great Indian Circus’, ‘City Improbable—An Anthology Of Writings On Delhi’, ‘Paradise And Other Stories’, ‘The Sunset Club’, ‘The Khushwant Singh Treasury: Favourite Prayers, Poems, Proverbs, And Profanities For Every Day Of The Year’, ‘Sahibs Who Loved India’, ‘Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death & Most Things In-Between’.
One of Singh’s biggest worries was the deteriorating ties with neighbor Pakistan. In one piece on his BlogSpot, he wrote: “Sabre-rattlers, shut up let me repeat for the umpteenth time: there must never be another Indo-Pak war. If, god forbid, there is one, there will be no winners. Both India and Pakistan have long-range missiles that can ruin both countries. So let us tell the sabre-rattlers in clear terms, be they Pakistanis or Indians that war is too serious a matter to be left to soldiers or politicians. Only common men, women and children who will be most affected by its impact have the right to take this decision.’’
A consummate lover of life, he also had this to say last year: “At 98, I count myself lucky that I still enjoy my single malt whiskey at seven every evening. I relish tasty food, and look forward to hearing the latest gossip and scandal.”
The Absolute Khushwant Singh even has his epitaph written like no one else could have: “Here lies one who spared neither man nor God. Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod. Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun. Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun.”
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