Vitthal Rajan (left) in Coimbatore. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For someone who has seen a lot of the world, Vitthal Rajan’s enthusiasm for life remains constant. So much so that the octogenarian took up writing after a long career as a peace mediator, academic and grassroots activist, with a keen eye for the many vulnerabilities that make up the human experience. A recent production of wolfgangThe play written by him received enthusiastic applause when it was staged at the ITC Welcomehotel in Coimbatore, where Rajan had come from the Nilgiris to attend the performance.

Organized by the Coimbatore Art and Theatrical Society, the production depicts the lives of eight women from diverse social backgrounds and explores themes such as generational change, cultural contradictions, and class and religious prejudices – all laced with gentle humour. Humor is central to Rajan’s writing, which includes short stories and novels, most of them based on his own experiences working at the grassroots level.

“I think a lot of ideas can be expressed through humor,” he says. “There’s a tendency to think that humor is quite trivial, and we only take books with sad stories seriously. Actually, I think humor as a medium can convey a lot. For example, if you read PG Wodehouse, it’s very funny and beautifully written. But its subtext is a criticism of British class society.

While expressing happiness at the play’s reception, he also feels the need for a proper cultural space in the city. “I think Coimbatore is a city that needs its own cultural space. It is a great industrial centre; There is both money and talent here. I don’t think any other city in India is so rich with successful industrialists. Establishing a cultural hub like the India International Center in Delhi – bringing theatre, music, art – can yield rich dividends and establish Coimbatore as more than just a manufacturing hub,” he explains.

On the subject of his writing, while the English language was Rajan’s first love, having grown up as an only child surrounded by books, vocation as a writer was far in the future. “In those days, if I said I wanted to be a writer, people would laugh. So I did a lot of other things,” he recalls.

He chose a different path, graduating from McGill University in Canada and embarking on a career that took him from Canada to Belfast, Ireland as a peace mediator in the 1970s. On his return to India, he held several academic posts at the Administrative Staff College of India in Hyderabad, besides working with several other civil society organisations, founding the NGO Deccan Development Society and writing extensively on academic and other development-related issues. . With increasing years, he realized that he no longer had the energy to work at the grassroots level, and that’s when he decided to retire and get into writing.

“There is a great lesson that I can share with many people: Don’t give up. Because the moment I started writing, it all came out, came out like a spring from the ground. I would say this to everyone: Whatever you want to do, start now, no matter what. Did you want to be a painter when you were a kid? Do you want to learn music? Do it,” Rajan declared.

success of wolfgang This has inspired him to consider staging the play in the Nilgiris as well. He further said, “I have spoken to the secretary of the Ooty club and if he agrees, we can take it forward.” Even at the age of 88, Rajan is full of ideas drawn from his years of working with NGOs and communities across India. “I have realized that many excellent ideas about the environment, economic development or skills come from ordinary people. Degrees don’t matter; These are real, down-to-earth ideas. But this has been ignored, and our administration is still following the same administrative traditions adopted by the East India Company, which looks down upon the people. This is a destructive attitude, which hinders growth and national development. So, I would like to write something about this,” he added.