Appreciation

The churning of the ocean in search of the nectar of immortality is one of the great myths of Hinduism. It consolidated the reputations of two major gods, Shiva and Vishnu, for they did things that no other god or demon could. Vishnu masterminded a joint venture of the gods and their cousins, the demons, and got the gods, his favourites, almost the entire nectar contained in the ‘kumbh’ or pot that rose from the sea. But the churning yielded not just elixir; it also threw up (as it usually does) a world-destroying poison that no one but Shiva could consume. Even today, the event is celebrated on a massive scale at the confluence of Ganga and Jamuna rivers at Prayag, in a festival called ‘Kumbh Mela’. Millions gather at this festival held every twelve years in what has been dubbed the greatest show on earth.

About The Author

‘Shesh’ (Ramnarayan Pathak), B.A. L.L.B. (1887-1955) was born in Ganol in Dholka taluka of Saurashtra. His higher education was in Bhavnagar and Mumbai. He practiced law in Ahmedabad, but when he was diagnosed as having TB, he left practice and settled in Sadra. Later he taught in an English medium school. Still later, in the midst of the Gandhiji-led struggle for freedom, he left the school and joined Gujarat Vidyapeeth, a university founded by Gandhiji, where he taught logic, epistemology, and linguistics. He edited ‘Prasthan’ and played a notable role in moulding the sensibilities of the new crop of writers. Later he left the Vidyapeeth and made his living by giving tuitions. During these years he participated in the freedom struggle and was jailed. In 1935 he joined S.N.D.T. Women’s University in Mumbai and served there until 1952. Thereafter he taught in various colleges in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. He served as advisor to All India Radio owned by the Government of India. He married twice, and his second marriage was with Hiraben Pathak, also a poet and literary critic. The couple was childless. He was the President of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1946. ‘Shesh’ was profoundly influenced by Gandhian thought but retained his originality and literary exuberance. He was a poet, essayist, playwright, short story writer, humourist, researcher, and literary critic (famed for his work Brihad Pingal). He authored a large number of volumes of literary criticism. He published a couple of volumes of short stories, a couple of volumes of essays, and a volume of his plays was published posthumously. He co-translated several European short stories. He published one volume of poetry, while another was published posthumously. He received an award from the Delhi Sahitya Akademi and also the Narmad Gold Medal.