Remembering Manohar Malgonkar
By Diana Patsy D’Souza
On 14 July 2010, prominent Indian English writer Manohar Dattatray Malgonkar ? best known in this state for his book ‘Inside Goa’, lavishly illustrated by Mario Miranda ? passed away at his residence in Jagalbet Village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. He was 97. The Bombay-born author had a totally Indian education, graduating with a BA in English and Sanskrit from Bombay University. He took to writing after having tried out five other career options ? the Civil Service, the Army, business, politics and professional big-game hunting.
The professional hunter later turned into a fierce wildlife conservationist .His career in the Army spanned 10 years, from 1942 to 1952, during which he served in the Infantry, in counter intelligence, as well as in the Army General Staff. He rose to Lieutenant Colonel. Later, after having worked in Delhi for an American business firm that operated manganese mines, he turned to politics, contested the 1957 parliamentary elections, and lost.
His first book, ‘Kanhoji Angrey Maratha Admiral: An account of his life and his battles with the English’ came in 1959. Later printed as ‘The Sea Hawk’, it dealt with the achievements of the brilliant eponymous Maratha naval commander. His other historical books include ‘Inside Goa’, ‘The Men Who Killed Gandhi’, ‘Princess: An Autobiography of the Maharani of Dowager’ (co-authored by Vijayaraje Scindia), ‘Murrarao’, ‘Puars of Dewas Senior’ and ‘Chattrapatis of Kolhapur’. The last two, along with ‘The Sea Hawk’, prompted literary critic James Dayananda to name Malgonkar as the ‘historian of the Marathas’.
An early representative of realism in Indian English fiction, his novels are written in spoken English; it is easy, informal and natural, with a strikingly British idiom that shows no influence of his mother tongue, Marathi. The novels depicting social conflict like ‘A Bend in the Ganges’, ‘The Devil’s Wind’ and ‘The Princes’, reckon with the angst of the unwelcome yet inevitable political transition. There are also suspense-filled and thrilling novels like ‘Combat of Shadows’, ‘Spy in Amber’ (an espionage novel), ‘Shalimar’, and ‘Open Season’, and short story collections ‘Four Graves and Other Stories’, ‘A Toast in Warm Wine’, ‘Bombay Beware’ and ‘Rumble Tumble’.
The intimate relationship between his life and works have established Malgonkar as one of the most autobiographical of all Indian writers, hoarding, exploring, revising and articulating every bit of personal experience, albeit transformed, rearranged and fictionalised. ‘Distant Drums’ was about his Army life and ‘Combat of Shadows’ was about big-game hunting. Such precise yet rounded expression and an excellent command of the English language have carved a niche for this writer in the canon of Indian English writing, as also in the hearts of his readers. He will be greatly missed…