New Delhi, Oct 26 (PTI) A special edition of "Raag Darbaari" was launched here Friday as part of the golden jubilee year celebrations of Shrilal Shukla's cult Hindi novel.

A panel discussion was held to discuss the social, cultural and political impact of the 50-year-old novel vis-a-vis contemporary India followed by a 'dastangoi' performance set in Shukla's fictional 'Shivapalganj'.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, former Union minister Kapil Sibal and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader D P Tripathi, and Shukla's family attended the event, organised by publisher Rajkamal Prakashan Samuh in the national capital.

First published in 1968 and considered among all-time Hindi classics, Shukla's satirical take on Indian society had bagged the Sahitya Akademi and the Jnanpith Awards, two of highest literary honours in the country.

Participating in the panel discussion, author Jillian Wright spoke on the herculean task of translating into English the book, which is replete with Awadhi words and phrases, while development economist Jean Dreze reflected on the socio-economic changes that have come since 1968, with reference to the situation as described in the book.

"People dub 'Raag Darbaari' as a satire, and very rightly so but I think it was more of a literature written out of frustration (towards the ills of the society) with satire being only its form. It was a very sensitive novel," said novelist Purushottam Agrawal.

Academic and historian Pushpesh Pant felt that the novel, though a classic, may not find easy readers among the new generation because "a lot has changed in India" over the years.

"A lot of socio-political changes have taken place in the country and significant events like the Emergency, the Mandal Commission, the Babri Mosque demolition have occurred that have made the country quite unlike what it used to be in the 1960s and how it was in Shukla's fictional Shivpalganj," he said.

Another highlight of the event was the 'Dastangoi' by Urdu oral storytellers Mahmood Farrooqui and Darain Shahidi.

The publishers also announced a special deluxe edition -- a collector's edition with illustrations -- of the novel that would be launched next month.

"'Raag Darbaari' holds an important place among all timeless classics in Hindi," remarked Ashok Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan.

"In the history of modern Hindi, it is an extraordinary feat for a book to achieve such fame, cult status and remain popular with readers even after 50 years," he said.

He said the novel, which has had 32 hard-bound editions and 40 paperback editions, has sold over five million copies.

Shukla was born on December 31, 1925, in Lucknow. He completed his degree from Allahabad University and then served in the provincial service before retiring as an IAS officer.

Shukla, who wrote more than 25 books which have been translated to English and 15 native languages, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008 for his contribution to literature.

He passed away in October 2011 in Lucknow.

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