Hawker turned author Shivnath

Hawker turned author Shivnath

On 11th may 2009, Mahesh Jha from US forwarded a mail for a Maithil Shivnath Jha’s story from a hawker to becoming an author, Seeing the mobile number I phoned immediately but it was no reply but it was enchanting to have a talk with him in the evening when he talked in chaste Maithili. Shivnath born in 1959 hails from village Ujan near Sakri in Mithila and has authored some books as a part of his investigative journalism- on Sehnai Maestro Bismillah Khan, on the progenies living in utter poverty of Tatya Tope and Bahadur Sah Jafar. Now he has completed his book on Indian Prime Ministers and was just waiting for new PM in next week (as it is anticipated that ‘weak’ rather ‘weakest’ PM who never faced public election maybe replaced by some one..).
I advised him to add an interesting chapter whether the other following would have been PMs- Subas Chandra Bose, Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Jay Prakash Narayan, Young Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1977 (in fact then BJS group had maximum number of MPs within Janta party), Jyoti Basu, Sonia Gandhi …

Shivnath Jha had a childhood in poverty and he could not take admission at Patna for want of money and then he stole five rupees from his father’s pocket and purchased and selled newspaper to get some money and admission and he later was picked up by MJ Akabar for The Telegraph and then by many more but I feel he chose journalism because his father was working in press of The Indian nation, Aaryavarta we were reading in our childhood.

Shivnath married to a girl from Patuaha(Saharsa) probably could dare many ventures in his life due to supporting wife who was a teacher. Still he is not on job for completing his book on Indian PMs. I advised him to be on job for livelihood and work whatever he could. He said that he would join the Indian Express shortly.
He is supporting some orphans for study when I said that I have started a merit hunting and promoting scheme in Mithila which has a wealth of talent.
Shivnath told me that he was planning to write and rehabilitate women of eminence in the field of Mithila(Madhubani) paintings for whom livelihood was difficult despite having scrolls of honour lying uselessly.
Shivnath also plans to identify some 25 villages which has produced persons of national and international fame who could contribute at least for the development of their villages. I informed him such many names but I also asked him to go in depth as to why such persons were not linked to Mithila compared to Gujaratis or others? Is it due to the about turn as materialistic life from a saintly simple life style of Mithila and or the undue criticism of villagers for migrated persons or vice versa?

I do not believe working much on net except that it is a medium to know the persons and I hope some day I will meet Shivnath and Naina in their house in or near Dealhi.