Somnath Zutshi-Homage from a friend

P N Kachru  

With Shri Zutshi's passing away we have lost the oldest living writer of the modern literary history of Kashmir. As back as the year 1941 I happened to see Shri Zutshi in a meeting at the house of reputed short story writer late Shri Prem Nath Pardesi. It was at the insistence of my close friend and great free- dom fighter, late Shri Somnath Bira, that we went and came to know that founding of the Kashmir unit of progressive writers' Association was to take place. The meeting was initiated by Shri Ramanand Sagar; of which the participating and founding members, besides Shri Sagar' were late Shri Premnath 'Pardesi', Mr. Shahid, Shri Veer Visheshwar and Shri Somnath Zuthsi.

So, it was in the year 1941 that I met Shri Zutshi, and happened to know him then as short story writer. In his literary activity he happened to be a close as- sociate of late Premnath 'Pardesi', as then both of them happened to be the employees of same depart- ment.

Next I met him in April 1948 when again late Shri Pardesi' brought him in National Cultural Front-the founding organisation of the modern cultural movement which was established in late November, 1947 when we were regimenting ourselves against the first Pakistani onslaught against our freedom.

Since then we ceaselessly continued to be the fel- low-travellers on the path of art and culture. While in the Front, Shri Zutshi not only remained content with his story writing but also was enthused in to the theatre and musicals. His active participation alongwith Shri Pushkar Bhan, Noor Mohammad 'Roshan' and Shri Pran Kishore, in the first shadow play "Naya Kashmir-Ki-Rah-Par", directed by Ms Sheila Bhatia, was a significant display of Shri Zutshi's variegated talent.

On the occasion of re-vitalising the movement and re-naming the Front as National Cultural Congress, a two day mammoth conference took place on 3rd and 4th July, 1949, bringing together the three autonomous units of Progressive Writers, Theatre Association and Progressive Artists' Association Shri Somnath Zutshi took over as the Secretary of Writers Association and continued ceaselessly work- ing for the movement-Shri Zutshi devotedly continued on the post through the second Conference held in November, 1950 when it became imperative for the movement to extend the tentacles of cultural by actively writing, composing and creating for the World Peace Movement

Although due to constraints of personal and fam- ily life he had to devote considerable time for his employment, he continued to remain as a prolific writer to the end of his existence.

We met and prayed for the departed soul who happened to be the oldest living writer who, in the words of Shri Hridai Kaul Bharti, died six years before when he was exiled and uprooted from the soil of his motherland. May Almighty shower peace to the departed soul

P N Kachru   (Artist)  13th Sept, 96

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Courtesy:  1996 November, Koshur Samachar