Bureaucrat M K Kaw Pens Anthology of Satire
A collection of humorous and witty pieces written during a span of four decades by M K Kaw, a senior IAS officer, has been turned into a satirical book, Kaw Caw Silly Point: A wonky look at Contemporary India.
The book was released by senior politician and MP, Murli Manohar Joshi here late last evening. Kaw, who has previously penned Bureaucrazy Gets Crazier (2012), meanders across realms of wit and sarcasm and knocks down individuals and institutions with merry abandon in the book published by Konark Pvt Ltd. Kaw Caw Silly Point sees him lampooning 'netas', 'babus', 'jarnails', Kashmiris, the generation ill at ease with gizmos and gadgets and the ageing Methuselahs obsessed with disease and death. "The book is a collection of articles which I've written over four decades. I started writingKaw Caw as a column in 1982 for the Times of India and later for other newspapers. 'Silly Point' is more recent, I started writing a monthly column in 'G-Files', a special magazine about governance issues in India", M K Kaw said. The bureaucrat has worked closely as a cabinet secretary with Joshi during his tenure as the Human Resource Development Minister, launching vital schemes like the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan'. It was during this time that government proposed a reservation for Kashmiri Pandit students in management and engineering colleges. "This book is more about India, the entire wit and humour gives you a picture of the society, of economy and the politics. He is presenting through the art of wit and humour a wonky look at contemporary India", the senior BJP leader said. "Mr Kaw is not only a person with wit and humour in writing, but also in organizing the release of the book, where he invited me, a very non-humorous person to launch a very witty book, this I think is one of the biggest satire," Murli Manohar Joshi said. Engaged with the task of choosing his best pieces for this anthology, the author said he selected his works on the basis of the impact they could have on him even today. "My acid test was simple. Did the piece even after efflux of time bring a smile to my face or create a ripple in my heart? If it did, it was in," revealed the author. According to the author, the best pieces in every book of humour tend to the personal pieces; about husbands and wives, sons and daughters, which makes them universal in application and eternal in their relevance. Although being a bureaucrat may seem to have given the author a solemn face, his writing brings forth a different side of him altogether. "A lot of people may question that how such a serious looking person can be humorous and witty. They don't see that I'm chortling away inside; they don't see that I'm a humourist at heart," the author said. However, the art of humour has been with the author ever since he was a young boy, merely an 8 year-old when he first started penning satirical poetry, the first being about a sturdy truck driver. "I always end up seeing the incongruous in things around me. As an IAS officer I saw things around me which could be seen as either frustrating or humorous. I choose the latter," Kaw said. Acknowledging the risque factor involved in writing satire, Kaw admits to having been in trouble in his early days as a bureaucrat, almost costing him his job. But with time he says, his humour has been accepted as a non abrasive way of expression. "In this country, people are super sensitive with respect to trifles. One has to be cautious that one is not dragged to a crimnal court for defamation; we've seen what happened to a certain individual recently. One has to be careful, that one doesn't fall foul of some religion, or some sensitive organisation may force the publisher to withdraw the book from the market, or burn copies of the book in public," said the author of over two dozen books. The guest speaker for the launch, Moti Kaul, President of All India Kashmiri Samaj pointed to the two types of satire; one which involves sarcasm, the under the belt barbs and the other funny, sharp, humorous pokes. "There is another type of satire which always interests me and I enjoy is a bit of humour and a lot of anecdotes and at the end of it a clear message," Moti Kaul said. The book might take on politicians from every corner, yet Murli Manohar Joshi deemed this as necessary 'tonic' for the betterment of country's administration both political and executive. "I'm very happy that you've continued to expose the weaknesses of India, the weaknesses of its political and bureaucratic and economic systems and also its societal systems. Please continue to crow and as harshly, try to be always a tonic both for the bureaucracy, the politicians and would be a tonic for the next generation as well", Joshi said.
FILED ON: JUN 28, 2014 14:14 IST
FILED IN: HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT | LITERATURE | BUREAUCRACY | J&K: KASHMIRI PANDITS--THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE | MURLI MANOHAR JOSHI
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Saturday, 16 August 2014
PTI report on release of kaw Caw as reported in Outlook
PTI report on release of Kaw Caw as published in Outlook
Bureaucrat M K Kaw Pens Anthology of Satire
A collection of humorous and witty pieces written during a span of four decades by M K Kaw, a senior IAS officer, has been turned into a satirical book, Kaw Caw Silly Point: A wonky look at Contemporary India.
The book was released by senior politician and MP, Murli Manohar Joshi here late last evening. Kaw, who has previously penned Bureaucrazy Gets Crazier (2012), meanders across realms of wit and sarcasm and knocks down individuals and institutions with merry abandon in the book published by Konark Pvt Ltd. Kaw Caw Silly Point sees him lampooning 'netas', 'babus', 'jarnails', Kashmiris, the generation ill at ease with gizmos and gadgets and the ageing Methuselahs obsessed with disease and death. "The book is a collection of articles which I've written over four decades. I started writingKaw Caw as a column in 1982 for the Times of India and later for other newspapers. 'Silly Point' is more recent, I started writing a monthly column in 'G-Files', a special magazine about governance issues in India", M K Kaw said. The bureaucrat has worked closely as a cabinet secretary with Joshi during his tenure as the Human Resource Development Minister, launching vital schemes like the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan'. It was during this time that government proposed a reservation for Kashmiri Pandit students in management and engineering colleges. "This book is more about India, the entire wit and humour gives you a picture of the society, of economy and the politics. He is presenting through the art of wit and humour a wonky look at contemporary India", the senior BJP leader said. "Mr Kaw is not only a person with wit and humour in writing, but also in organizing the release of the book, where he invited me, a very non-humorous person to launch a very witty book, this I think is one of the biggest satire," Murli Manohar Joshi said. Engaged with the task of choosing his best pieces for this anthology, the author said he selected his works on the basis of the impact they could have on him even today. "My acid test was simple. Did the piece even after efflux of time bring a smile to my face or create a ripple in my heart? If it did, it was in," revealed the author. According to the author, the best pieces in every book of humour tend to the personal pieces; about husbands and wives, sons and daughters, which makes them universal in application and eternal in their relevance. Although being a bureaucrat may seem to have given the author a solemn face, his writing brings forth a different side of him altogether. "A lot of people may question that how such a serious looking person can be humorous and witty. They don't see that I'm chortling away inside; they don't see that I'm a humourist at heart," the author said. However, the art of humour has been with the author ever since he was a young boy, merely an 8 year-old when he first started penning satirical poetry, the first being about a sturdy truck driver. "I always end up seeing the incongruous in things around me. As an IAS officer I saw things around me which could be seen as either frustrating or humorous. I choose the latter," Kaw said. Acknowledging the risque factor involved in writing satire, Kaw admits to having been in trouble in his early days as a bureaucrat, almost costing him his job. But with time he says, his humour has been accepted as a non abrasive way of expression. "In this country, people are super sensitive with respect to trifles. One has to be cautious that one is not dragged to a crimnal court for defamation; we've seen what happened to a certain individual recently. One has to be careful, that one doesn't fall foul of some religion, or some sensitive organisation may force the publisher to withdraw the book from the market, or burn copies of the book in public," said the author of over two dozen books. The guest speaker for the launch, Moti Kaul, President of All India Kashmiri Samaj pointed to the two types of satire; one which involves sarcasm, the under the belt barbs and the other funny, sharp, humorous pokes. "There is another type of satire which always interests me and I enjoy is a bit of humour and a lot of anecdotes and at the end of it a clear message," Moti Kaul said. The book might take on politicians from every corner, yet Murli Manohar Joshi deemed this as necessary 'tonic' for the betterment of country's administration both political and executive. "I'm very happy that you've continued to expose the weaknesses of India, the weaknesses of its political and bureaucratic and economic systems and also its societal systems. Please continue to crow and as harshly, try to be always a tonic both for the bureaucracy, the politicians and would be a tonic for the next generation as well", Joshi said.
FILED ON: JUN 28, 2014 14:14 IST
FILED IN: HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT | LITERATURE | BUREAUCRACY | J&K: KASHMIRI PANDITS--THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE | MURLI MANOHAR JOSHI
TRANSLATE INTO:
Translate
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
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Friday, 15 August 2014
review of Kaw Caw Silly Point by Shriniwas Joshi
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Maharaj Krishen Kaw is a
name in Himachal Pradesh (See photo). He was the Deputy Commissioner of Solan
and Kangra districts and held important portfolios as secretary to the
government. He left an imprint everywhere superannuating as secretary. He is
a prolific writer. “Kaw Caw-Silly Point’ completes the silver jubilee of his
books (See photo).
“Kaw Caw Silly Point” is
an anthology of essays already published in two journals – Naad and G-files.
Kaw writes, “It is an anthology of the best pieces I had written, whether
under these bylines or otherwise.” There are seven parts in the book with 62
essays. But there is a Part Zero too with only one essay “Uncage the Parrot,
if it Pleases Your Lordship.”
The heading is enough to
disclose the contents, so I am not delving on it. The entire book is so
interesting that I read it in one sitting. Jug Suraiya, associate editor of
The Times of India, comments, “MK Kaw’s book is funny, insightful and
topical. Buy it, read it. It’ll make you chuckle and think at the same time.”
Kaw is Kashmiri so 10
essays in Part Three of the book deal with Kashmiris and their lifestyle.
Kashmiri Pandit prefers to call himself batta. Kaw says that there are around
seven lakhs battas and only 5000 out of them still live in the valley. We, in
Himachal, have surnames Janartha, Nainta, etc as they are progenies of
Janardan or Naina.
The surnames of Kashmiri
Pandits have sprung from the personal appearance of the originator of the
family. If he is black, then his progeny is Kaw; if brown Kachroo; if yellow
Gurtoo; if six-fingered Shangloo. If he looked like a sheep, he was called
Handu; if bald Ganjoo. Kaw writes: “The Mattus managed maths, the Haks grew
the famous vegetable and the Hashias were specialists in the art of drawing.”
He digs at IAS brethren:
“What was once hailed as the Steel Frame started rusting by and by. Today it
is known more as the Still Frame, on account of its lack of movement and
dynamism.” There are engrossing episodes of how he was miraculously cured of
piles by a Sardarji; how his costly Hush Puppy shoes, a pair gifted by his
daughter, were fleeced when he had gone to attend a Shanti Path; and how he
learnt to use the computer and ultimately believed that ‘Internet was God.’
Kaw has been hailed for
impeccable English in his earlier works by Khushwant Singh and Shobhaa De.
The present book is full of sparks of good English. He writes in ‘The Channel
Chase’; “Since the time we won the freedom of the skies, life has become a
frenetic channel chase.” The conclusion of this essay is a lesson for Gen-Y.
He says that today the majority of households boasts of TV sets, tablets and
i-Pads. Each member has access to the programme of his choice in his own set.
I and I is the slogan. The concept of sharing is almost forgotten.
The book ‘Kaw Caw Silly
Point’ is published by ‘Konark Publishers, New Delhi’ and paper-bound edition
costs Rs.250 only. It is a possession worth the money for the shelf of every
book-lover.
TAILPIECE
The waist-size of a
person should decide one’s honesty. Dishonest, if it is between 35 and 40
inches; very dishonest, if it is between 40 and 50 inches; dishonest to the
core, if it is above 50 inches. — Kaw Caw
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