A Tribute to Gurujee" Ram Dayal Neeraj"

The demise of Ram Dayal Neeraj has left a void in Himachali folk theatre. The folk theatre in Himachal has almost, been  lost and new generation are not even aware of it. Gurujee- as was Neeraj known in his circle-was a votary of the  Himchali folk art, especially, the Kariyala and Banthada. the popular folk theatre forms of the state.  These folks threatre once used to be an inevitable part of entertainment and community life  staged regularly in upper Himachali villages. The Kariyala and Banthada are the local version of dramas usually built around certain typical character-types. Any available space in the middle of a field marked by two or three feet high poles with cords tied round them, could  provide the stage for the folk-drama. Audience used to sir  around such a stage. All these descriptions were told to me by Gurujee with whom I had worked in Himachal Public Relations Department. Apart from literary luminary  like Ram Dayal Neeraj, the department then had leading writers like Zia Siddique, Sriniwas Srikant, Kisore Lal Vaidya  and later Keshan Narain, besides two department jewels- SK Bedi and HL Vaidya. The presence of scholarly men in the  department had then  earned it  a special place in the IAS dominated bureaucracy.  Dr. YS Parmar, the first chief minister of the sate and the architect of Himachal state had great admiration for Neeaj and it was he who brought him to the state PR department.  Neeraj was responsible for bringing out the popular literary magazine-Himprastha. Normally, a govt-run magazine rarely used to be popular among writers and intellectuals. But "Himprastha" was exception and till today, it is quite popular with them. Neeraj's  love for local folk theatre was immense and he used to discuss the subject for hours together. He also loved photography and had a collections of some rare photographs. Later when I started MNFA, he shared some of his photographs with me. Even professional photographs were amazed to see his mastery in photography. He lived life in its elementary forms, had  a rustic sense of humour  and remained down-to-the earth till the end. It was after about two decades in 2003-04 when I met Neeraj. Despite his advanced age, his love for folk theatre didn't diminish an inch. Whenever we met, discussed the folk theatre for hours and I got some space in the newspaper I worked for arranged for the Himahali folk art. Neeraj was the avid reader and widely traveledconfessed to me once alas he could  script travelogues like Pandit Rahul Sankrityayan did. Life had taught him hard lessons. In his youthful days, he once wandered to Karachi , had no money and survived on fig, leaves and water.  He joined Niranjani Akara, shorn off head, abandoned rich food but became plumper . Akhara named him Ramchandra Giri. However, Neeraj had to run away from akhara as he was being forced to convert to naga sadhu.  He went to Mumbai and joined a Ramlila company and later got an  opportunity of act in films ‘Zingaro’ and ‘Fashionable India’, 'Bambai ki Billi’ and child Tulsidas in ‘Sant Tulsidas’ movie. However, charm of tinsel world couldn't tie him down to film line. He came back to Delhi, did his matriculation and later Prabhakar (literary  exam) and pen-named himself as "Neeraj". Henceforth, he was known as Ram Dayal Neeraj. Ultimately. Neeraj returned to his native town Nahan and took up a teaching job and later joined  Praja Mandal- the freedom movement of hills. After Himachal came into existence in 1948, Neeraj joined PR department ad retired from their as Deputy Director. After retirement, he worked for Hindi Tribune as its Shimla reporter. He was a true human being, very helpful, full of virtues and never harboured any illwill. Will miss yu "Gurujee".