T'ta Professor by Manohar Shyam Joshi

T'ta Professor Reviews

• 
  Atharva

  I have to believe now that little books, slim novels which run just over a few hundred pages pack a massive punch. They could have been composed by authors for years, every page being written, rubbed, written, rubbed, until it shines bright. The objective of such books, I think, is to destroy, with every passing page. And in that they hardly ever fail, never, if they are composed by masters who know that theirs is going to be a long story told short. Take for example Manohar Shyam Joshi’s ‘T’ta Professor’ , first published by the prolific Hindi writer in 1995, and translated by Ira Pande two years after his death in 2006. Joshi is the author of what not- soap operas (Hum Log), humorous stories which have gone on to become Hindi phrases (Mungerilal ke Haseen Sapne) love stories, plays, tragedies, and of course, fiction. He received the Sahitya Akademi in 2005, thus putting a final stamp on him as one of the most important Hindi writers in India post-Independence.
  
  To the book in question, T’ta Professor is very slim; a few pages shy of 150, but it is also very disturbing. Profoundly disturbing. Not because it has highly disturbing episodes written without a tinge of emotion on the part of the author (Remember 2666) nor because it uses terrific language to churn out a terrific plot. No. As far as highly disturbing episodes are concerned, the novella offers them in the form of erotica, incest, rather; but they aren’t graphic- the atmosphere in which they are conducted and the atmosphere which it in turns creates is what comes down as disturbing. As for the terrific story- it is terrific, and disturbing (I suppose I used this word for the third or fourth goddamn time) and, well, disgusting but what affects the reader more is the fact that at first a story which made me laugh my ass off, was also the story which made me think my ass off, and that’s commendable considering that all this happened within the span of an evening. My initial smiles, laughs, were gently rubbed off as the story changed gears from a comic character exploration to a dark fable of sex and betrayal. In the last few pages, Joshi managed to pull off a life which was both comic and tragic, simple and complex, light and yet very dark.
  
  The book’s translated by Ira Pande, who is the daughter of another great Hindi novelist Shivani. This is a truly great translation effort; one which strengthened my belief that translated literature in India can still lurch forward provided it has translators like Pande working on them. Hats off to her, really.
  
  I will read this book again, because the complexities of the book will open gently and reveal many more layers, ignored, I am sure, in the first reading. T’ta Professor is a short, brilliant book, both a disturbing portrait and a comic exploration of a life gone wrong.
  
• 
  Charmi Badlani

  I loved the metaphors and every minute detail in the book. I also cried a bit in the end. I could relate to the character as if he was my own.
• 
  Svasti Pant

  The worst book I’ve read so far
• 
  Divya Pal

  प्रारम्भ में कथा हास्यास्पद है, किन्तु अंत में यह दुखद पहलू में परिवर्तित हो जाती है।
• 
  Rajiv Choudhary

  किताब कि विषयवस्तु उत्तराखंड के सुनौलीधार गाँव के एक स्कूल से शुरू होती है. जहाँ स्कूल के केन्द्र में शिक्षक, क्लर्क, हेडमास्टर, प्रिसिंपल आदि मौजूद है और स्कूल की आंतरिक राजनीति और उनकी दिनचर्या. लेकिन कहानी इस स्कूल के प्रमुख पात्र से षष्टीवल्लभ पंत उर्फ 'ट-टा' से जुड़ी है.
  
  पात्र का संवाद कॉमिक से होकर कामुकता तक पहुँचता है. जहाँ मिजाज लड़कपन से आशिकाना होते हुए काम-वासना के सवालों और जीवन में उसके प्रयोग पे खत्म होता है. लेकिन किताब की अंतिम की कड़ी कहीं-न-कहीं चोट करती है.
  
  92 पन्नों की इस पुस्तक को पढ़ना शुरूआत में थोड़ा बोझिल-सा लगा. जब आप पहले लेखक के 'कसप' जैसी रचना को पढ़ चुके है. लेकिन किताब को जल्दी खत्म करने की होड़ में एक वक्त ऐसा आया जब कॉमिक से गुजर कर कामुकता के बीच से निकलता हुआ लेखन पात्र के त्रासदी पर आकर सिमटता है. तब कहीं-न-कहीं एक झटका अवश्य लगता है. तब कॉमिक 'कॉस्मिक त्रासदी' नज़र आने लगती है... पढ़ना चाहिए. ट-टा जैसे पात्र विरले है उनसे लेखक के मार्फत उनसे और उनके जीवन से रू-ब-रू होना संयोग रहा.
  
• 
  Bookworm

  I don't know what to say about this book. I liked the translation -done so well though I haven't read the original. But I felt that the writing flowed smoothly. What i didn't like was the plot and characters. It just seemed to be so nauseating. I just thank the author for not having tortured me by writing more than what he has. Though it started off in an okayish manner, it disintegrated into an account of depressing episodes, rife with erotic romp and scatological details.
  
  I would have given this book a rating of 2.5 if it weren't for the great translation
• 
  Manish Kumar

  I have read this 90 page book in a train journey. The setting is present Uttaranchal - A school where Prof T Ta is a double MA teacher along with author, principal Shoban Singh & Ms. Yen, a Chinese beauty with mixed breeding. The story revolves around Prof T Ta, about his inflated ego, superiority complex & his sexual exploits. Author says that it is real story etching in his mind for too long & he was not sure weather he should write about it or not. Autobiographical in style it is nothing extraordinary but a so so novel.
• 
  Varnika

  I have been laughing ever since I started this book. And I have been in a reflective mood since I finished it. Funny and self-aware, it is everything that classic Hindi literature is about. To Ira Pande’s credit, the book is so well translated that it did not even feel like it was not written in English as first language - for which she won the 2010 Sahitya Akademi award for translation.
  
  A short breezy read, perfect for hitting any year-end book reading goals!
• 
  Prashant

  Book starts beautifully capturing politics of a school in a Himalaya village but later devolves into an erotic bunkum.
• 
  Mukesh Kumar

  Initial feelings :मनोहर श्याम जोशी जी का फेन हो गया हूँ, पहले नेताजी कहिन, और अब ये…क्या satire उनकी हर कहानी का अहम हिस्सा होता है ? ट्रेजेडी तो होती ही है। और ऊपर से इसमें तो ठेठ ( भुस-गंवार, लेखक के शब्दों में ) किस्म का eroticism भी है, जो मैंने पहले नहीं देखा था :)
  
  Short but powerful, the story is an intellectual exercise,a comic-erotic, but aches with overwhelming tragedy, or as the author puts it cosmic-tragedy, made all the more intense because of the characters being 'real'.
  
• 
  Manoj Karki

  My Rating 4/5 is for original Hindi version of book written by Shri M.S.Joshi ji
  This is a story of a story. From Comic to lusty to tragedy to what not, it keeps on rolling. Your state of mind will change in various intervals as story paces.
  Without doubt, Joshi ji unbearable and unputdownable at the same time.
  
  I will, someday, like to read the English translated version as well.
• 
  Balasankar C

  The book passes through all the major phases of emotions - Boring, Hilarious, Twisted, and Tragic.
  
  I am not sure if I like this book as a good work or as a disturbing-yet-hilarious (as someone else commented) joke.