"आग्नेय वर्ष" के कुछ उद्धरण (by फेदिन)

फेदिन के उपन्यास "आग्नेय वर्ष" के कुछ उद्धरण [आग्नेय वर्ष, 1947-48 में प्रकाशित, लोखक- फेदिन]
 

"हम हमेशा एक दूसरे को पढ़कर सुनाया करेंगे। मेरा मतलब हमारे मनपसन्द लेखकों की रचनाओं से है। अगर हम कभी अभागे लोगों के बारे में पढ़ेंगे, तो अपनें को और भी सौभाग्यशाली महसूस करेंगे, क्योंकि उस समय मन ही मन सोचेंगे: कितने सौभाग्य की बात है कि हम इनकी तरह अभागे, दुखी नहीं हैं!"... "नहीं", किरील नें जवाब दिया, "हम पढ़ेंगे और सोचेंगे कि इन अभागे लोगों को भी सौभाग्यसी कैसे बनाया जाये। हमारे लिये सबसे अधिक हर्ष और सौभाग्य की बात यही होगी।" (163.4, 163.5)

"हताषा और विषाद के क्षणों में मनुष्य के मस्तिष्क में ऐसे दुस्साहसिक और उतावली-भरे न जाने कितने विचार उठते होंगे । लेकिन इस तरह के बहुत कम विचार ही मस्तिष्क की सीमायें लाँघकर व्यवहार में साकार बन पाते हैं, क्योंकि मस्तिष्क में वे वैसे ही चैन व शान्ति से रहते हैं, जैसे कि नेक इरादे मनुष्य के ह्रदय में उस पर किसी भी प्रकार बोझ बने बिना।" (165.4)

"जब नगर में बाढ़ का खतरा हो तो सभी नगरवासी बाँध बनाने आते हैं, बिना किसी शर्त के । और जो न आये, दुबककर बैठा रहे, वह भगोड़ा होता है।" (247.16)

"क्या हम भविष्य में मानव सम्बन्धों को बदलना चाहते हैं ज़रूर बदलना चाहते हैं। तो मैं सोचता हूँ कि हमें अपने वर्तमान जीवन में इन परिवर्तनों के लक्षण ढूँढ़ना चाहिये, ताकि इनमें से कुछ अभी से हमारे जीवन का अंग हो जायें।"... "हमें अपने विचारों को जीते-जाते लोगों में, उनके आपसी सम्बन्धों में उतारना चाहिये। अपने विचारों को व्यवहारिक रूप देना चाहिये। नहीं तो हम अपने सपनों में ही खो जाएँगे।.... और हम अपने सपने की ही पूजा करने में इतने आदी हो जाएँगे कि लोगों को भूल ही जाएँगे। इसलिये हमें आज ही इस सपने को साकार करना चाहिए..." (431-432)

"कोई भी उड़ान पृथ्वी धरती के बिना नहीं हो सकती। उड़ने के लिये ठोस ज़मीन जाहिये।.... हम भविष्य की उड़ान का मैदान बना रहे हैं। यह बड़ा बड़ा मुश्किल और लम्बा काम है। शायद सभी कामों से मुश्किल काम है यह। इसके लिये हमे सुख-सुविधाओं को भूलना होगा। ज़रूरी हुआ तो हम अपने हथों से ज़मीन खोदेंगे, अपने नाखूनों से इसे ठीक करेंगे, नंगे पैरों से इसे कूटेंगे। और तब तक पीछे नहीं हटेंगे, जब तक कि हमारी उड़ान का मैदान तैयार नहीं हो जाता। हमारे पास आराम करने का समय नहीं है। कभी-कभी तो मुस्कुराने भर की फ़ुर्सत नहीं मिलती। हमें जल्दी करनी चाहीये।....... मैं तब तक ज़मीन कूटता रहूँगा जब तक की बह उड़ान की दौड़ भरने के लिये तैयार नहीं हो जायेगी। ताकि इतनी ऊँची उड़ान भरी जा सके, जिसकी लोगों ने कल्पना भी नहीं की है। यह ऊँचाई सदा मेरी आँखों के सामने रहती है, हर पल ।.. मैं लोगों को, उनके साथ स्वयं को भी बिल्कुल दूसरा, नया मनुष्य बना देखता हूँ.... "(462.14)

क्या आज़ भी हम ऐसा ही सोचते हैं और इसके लिये कुछ करते है......

When the Characters Come out of Books......

Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881)

First of all I would like to share some views of Dostoevsky regarding the literature. About the character of any book, Dostoevsky have following type of views,

"There are certain people of whom it is difficult to say anything which will at once throw them into relief—in other words, describe them graphically in their typical characteristics. These are they who are generally known as ‘commonplace people,’ and this class comprises, of course, the immense majority of mankind."
He adds,

"Podkoleosin’ [A character in Gogol’s comedy, The Wedding.] was perhaps an exaggeration, but he was by no means a non-existent character; on the contrary, how many intelligent people, after hearing of this Podkoleosin from Gogol, immediately began to find that scores of their friends were exactly like him! They knew, perhaps, before Gogol told them, that their friends were like Podkoleosin, but they did not know what name to give them.",

"..in real life typical characters are ‘watered down,’ so to speak; and all these Dandins and Podkoleosins actually exist among us every day, but in a diluted form. I will just add, however, that Georges Dandin might have existed exactly as Moliere presented him, and probably does exist now and then, though rarely..."

Now, after reading these lines from the Dostoevsky's novel "Idiot" I tried to observe people of the society in more better way; and then I read another novel "The Song of Youth" by Yang Mo, written in 1956. This novel gave me an observation that all the characters of novel were exactly same as real life, which were as Dostoevsky has explained, "in real life typical characters are ‘watered down,'". At this movement, analysis of the Dostoevsky has given a great view to observe these characters of the books, which all exist around us in "watered" form. Most of the times we all must observe many characters present in our real life, as explained by Chekhov, Gorky, Premchand, Diderot and many others....

It can be sourly said that art is the mirror of society. And once we see the present art and literature of society where we are living, we sourly observe the real images of regressive, greedy, dishonest, and cheap values of the present society. Everyone in his life, must have seen a lot of people, a lot of culture in present capitalist society around him; and also must have observed that many imaginary characters of the books come out live in the single person...

After it I re-analyzed all the characters of the books I have read since my childhood and it was all true....

And now it is true that these literature books help us to identify the characters of the people walking around us, expose the culture of the society hidden from our conscious observation, and above all, gives us a will to leave the wrong and negative, and accept the true and positive to work for the truth in a conscious manner....

At last last before "leaving" the topic, I would like to share a paragraph from the same novel "Idiot", which Dostoevsky have written about a character of Gogol's short story "Nevsky Prospekt" who "has not the slightest doubt of his own genius". Dostoevsky writes,

"This confidence of a stupid man in his own talents has been wonderfully depicted by Gogol in the amazing character of Pirogoff. Pirogoff has not the slightest doubt of his own genius,—nay, of his SUPERIORITY of genius,—so certain is he of it that he never questions it. How many Pirogoffs have there not been among our writers—scholars—propagandists? I say ‘have been,’ but indeed there are plenty of them at this very day."

We can say that this is a reason few people who have some part of the character like Pirogoff remain satisfied in what they do, which is actually nothing. These type of characters afraid from critique and fear from doing new things, and mostly have no strength to break the old way of living. So, they make their own imaginary world and start believing in their own "SUPERIORITY of genius".

Live from an IT/SW Firm: An example of anti-Human Culture of the Society

Last week in my office (IT/SW Industry) near the coffee machine, I was cleaning my cup of tea to get some tea. A person come and see me washing the cup, he doubtfully ask me whether I am looking at the pantry work on the floor. I simply answered, "No." Then I took my tea and go out of the room. After some time that person come to me and said, "Sorry!!" I was surprised to hear it. Why did he say sorry? Then I thought that if he asked this type of doubtful and "wrong" question to a pantry person, like "Is he is an engineer." And the pantry person had answered no; then, did this person say sorry to that pantry worker? Never!! At this movement I cannot stop myself to analyze the deep reason behind this type of partial and anti-democratic behavior.

What he does at that movement was the reflection of capitalist habits which differentiate the individuals who work as engineer and who work as pantry boy or do any other physical work. It is the creation of the difference between mental and physical work. It happens when you don't have the knowledge of the importance of your as well others' work for society, and only focused on earning profit and wealth or livelihood. These type of values are also true, and the same thing also happens, when a middle class individual interacts with the individual of higher class. It is actually, and really, the class character and class interest of the people living and growing in a capitalist society. This character of the capitalist culture is the open example, which represses, oppresses and crushes the individuality of a person and creates differences between them and finally kills the democracy of the society. Still many people, can are present in the society, who are unaware of capitalist habits and values, they do arguments that socialism kills the individuality of the persons. I would like to ask that if they try to observe (it is very important!!) one or two incidents, which are daily happening around them, then there will not remain any word to say about individuality in the capitalism.

While this type of culture, this type of behaviors, and this type of values will exist in the society how someone can expect that there will not be oppression, there will not be exploitation and there will not be corruption?? And this culture cannot be controlled by any law. Middle class of the society, with this type of behavior are the base for all these anti-democratic culture of the capitalist society.

These anti-human and anti-democratic values are reflected in every middle class individual, whatever level of qualification (I don't say education!!) he have. These cheap capitalist values develop in a natural way in the control of capitalist superstructure, in every individual who don't involved in the physical work.

These social values of the present capitalist society cannot be accepted by any conscious person!!