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A writer drawing appreciation from the likes of the President, Pratibha Patil, and former Prime Minister, late Indira Gandhi may not seem out of ordinary. However, it does when the author turns out to be a menial roadside tea vendor.
Tea may be a social lubricant for many, but for Laxman Rao, it's a vocation to support his family that ultimately allows him to burn midnight oil every day to follow his passion for writing. And that has remained his calling for over 30 years even as he continues to go through the drudgery of selling tea on the roadside stall at Vishnu Digambar Marg near ITO.
At night, he squeezes in four hours for writing. Rao is a selftaught, self-made writer. He looks thrilled as his first novel, Ramdas, has been turned into a script and was successfully staged as a play at Shriram Centre in New Delhi.
Meetings with several prominent dignitaries during his journey as a writer and scores of awards/felicitations hasn't changed his life one bit. On the contrary it has helped him retain his enthusiasm for his litereray pursuit, which has nursed since childhood.
"I don't have an eye for good things in life or rewards, but writing gives me happiness," he says. "I am simply trying to build on my talent and take it forward." Little wonder there's not an iota of regret in his tone despite a tough financial condition.
This tea vendor has written 24 books. Seven have already been published with two reprints last year. However, what is surprising is Rao's conviction that has given him strength to brave rejection and condescending treatment from publishers, and hold his own. Having spent years doing the round of well known publishing houses in Delhi — all asked him to cough up huge sums to publish his book — Rao finally decided to start his own publishing outfit and carry on with his literary pursuit.
Apart from supporting a family of four — he has two sons and a wife — he would save money and borrow to publish his books albeit in small lots of 1,000 and 2,000 prints. "Initially, I did give up hope, but when my first book was published, it strengthed my resolve," he recalls. His first book, Nai Duniya Ki Nayi Kahani, based on his own real life experiences, was published in 1979. The book was an account of hardships Rao faced and how he mustered strength to evolve and sustain himself as a writer. His play, Pradhan Mantri written in 1984, came out of his encounter with the then Prime Minister, late Indira Gandhi, at Teen Murti Bhawan in 1984.
"The plot portrays the Prime Minister in a social set-up with her subordinates responsible for corruption," Rao says. "I wanted to gift it to her, but that remained a distant dream due to her sudden and shocking death." He published his next novel, Ramdas, in 1992 that sold in more than 200 schools in Delhi.
Whatever little money he made from one book went into the publication of another. His books have never been a bestseller, but they exude a rare sense of honesty and humility. Rao has retained that all through the years and has never let go off the hope of success as a writer. "I believe, a writer comes alive only after 50," says Rao, who is close to 60-years now. If one probes deeper, Rao's extraordinary story is not just about a tea-stall owner turning writer. It's also about self-learning and determination.
How a Marathi villager, whose fascination for Hindi literature uprooted him from a small village of Taregaon Dshasar in Amravati district in Maharashtra, landed in Delhi. His first brush with writing in his village — the tragic death of one Ramdas moved him to pen a book about his life — was modest. Rao taught himself Hindi by reading books by several great authors available in his village school library.
Rao's fondness for Hindi literature saw him complete his matriculation in Hindi medium from Mumbai in 1973.
"In Class VII, I got hooked to Gulshan Nanda's fiction novels," he says. "Pundits of literature never recognised his writings, but they proved very useful for me." Circumstances forced him to give up studies after Class X and he worked in a local spinning mill to earn extra money. After the closure of the mill he started assisting his father in the fields. "I was never at peace with myself," he recalls. "I was scared of calling it quits and surrendering to life's trials."
Soon after, with Rs 40 in his pocket, he left his hometown and headed for Bhopal in 1975 in search of greener pastures. He worked as a labourer at a construction site. "My friends told me to be a good Hindi writer. I needed to set up base in the Hindi belt and I had seen many Hindi books being published out of Delhi." Rao left Bhopal for Delhi. Here he did odd jobs to survive.Daryaganj's once famous Sunday market became a hunting ground for Rao. He read works of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Karl Marx, Wil liam Shakespeare and Lenin. Realising the need to educate himself, he gradually acquired a Bachelor of Arts from Delhi University through correspondence. Rao never forgets the day — July 19, 1999 — he was preparing for his exams sitting at his kiosk, when a demolition squad of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) razed it down. "It shattered me and was the most painful time of my life. I applied for the kiosk again in 1981 with supporting documents including court and MCD challans, but the authorities were apathetic."
