Just heard that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn passed away today. It is a very sad day for the literary world. He won the Nobel Prize in 1970 but had to wait for 4 years to receive it. He wasn't allowed to get out of the USSR then. A few years ago Vladimir Putin was standing and honouring him with the highest civilian honour of Russia. What a turn around for a poor young widow’s son who had struggled all his life with ailments and life full of hardships.
I have only read one of his books, of course its 'One day in life of Ivan Denisovich'.
To give you a little background about myself in order for everyone to understand why this book has had a big impact on me. When I was growing up, especially in the 70s and early 80s, India was very socialist. At least in theory.
From the time I was very young I grew up on Russian books for children (from the former Soviet Union, they were translated and published in Hindi and English). Father always thought the quality of these books was far superior to those Indian books which were available then. The only Indian books I was allowed to read (or rather buy, he allowed me to read everything) was 'Amar Chitra Katha'.
When I look back at these, I do realize that it was true. Yes, yes, I still have many books kept safely with me from my childhood. Still have 'Masha and her four dogs', probably one of the first books that my father got me & a few Sputnik magazines. The printing is nice, the language almost too perfect.
So when I was growing up I was bombarded with many socialist ideas. I loved life in the USSR, with its snow, its organized houses and lovely and happy schools. At least this is the impression that magazines and books gave it to me.
One of my Uncles was very pro Soviet Union and we always took pride in anything that they did better than the US. I always hoped that the USSR would win more medals than the US. We were far happier if Russians claimed that they had done something great. We were convinced that MIG-29s were better fighter planes than F-16s.
Then came the first Indian to go into space on a Russian ship. His name was Rakesh Sharma. When he was space, then Indian prime minister 'Indira Gandhi' was talking to him and she asked him 'Aapko upar se bharat kaisa dhikta hai?' (How does India look from up there?) He without wasting a second said 'Main be -jhijak kah sakta hoon, Sare jahan se achcha' (I can say without any hesitation, the best in the world). That instance, made all of us few inches taller. We all had pride in him and we all thought that one day we all will do something similar and would say something so touching.
It was one of those moments, which changes things, or is a sign of change.
By the time late 80s came and India started to see a new change in itself. There were better books, like Target. (I am so sorry to see that Target is not in the print anymore), there was renewed confidence. India was a world beater in cricket and at least in one day format. Rajiv Gandhi with all his flaws and immaturity was still a breath of fresh air.
However, we were never away from the USSR, the falling of the USSR came as a surprise with the hope that this is momentary. We still wished that the US would fall of the world and the USSR-India alliance would be supreme.
It was 1992, I had just given my 12th boards and the summer was in full swing. Some how, when everyone is preparing for those entrance exams, I was just doing it for the sake of doing it. In those days, I read almost all of Shakespeare in one go. The problem that has created is that now I am not certain of plots and characters, I get them all mixed up in my head. This was the same summer when I read 'One day in life of Ivan Denisovich'.
It is a story of man in Russian prisons 'Gulag'. His experiences in Stalin era prison have been presented in this book. This is almost autobiographical, as he himself had spent 8 years in Stalin's nasty dreaded prison camps. One thing I remember which gave me chills was that the cut off cold for workers not to work outside was -41 degree Celsius.
This book threw out all those left over socialist ideas from mind and I became a new person. I had read someone in the USSR in mid 80s read this book in one night and came out into the cold brisk Moscow morning. He said that feeling stuck with him for years because he hadn't walked into the Sun, it was as if he had left his old past behind. My experiences with this book were similar. I became a new person with new thought, new expressions, and new likings towards basic freedoms.
Maybe it was the last nail in the socialist coffin or maybe it was 'Eureka' for free will and free thought for me.
Now more I think, the more I am convinced about Free Will, Free People, and Free Economy.
I would surely read his 'Gulag trilogy' as soon as I can get my hands on them as a tribute to the person who hastened my thought process if not totally shatter my old ideas.
Though somehow deep down I still believe that I am socialist. I now think that Democracy, Free Will, Free Speech, Free Economy or Freedom at every level of human life is the best form of socialism because it removes the human being from chains and liberates him to achieve and live a life full of dreams and desires.
Isn't it, that at the end, dreaming of a better tomorrow, for us and all humanity is all we have.
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