The proud moment in Dayaram Padloskar’s life came in 2014 when the then state chief minister Manohar Parrikar stated his example in the assembly. A hawaldar at the police control room in the state capital, Padloskar fondly recalls an incident which proved to be a turning point in his life. "I was on duty at Parrikar’s residence in Khorlim Mapusa in 2007. One night he saw me taking a nap while reading a book. Known to be a strict disciplinarian Parrikar complained to my senior about this, saying, “I don’t want such a police constable who sleeps on duty. My senior was familiar with my habit of reading. He convinced Parrikar that I read through the night to keep me awake.”
But Padloskar feared losing his job or getting a transfer. To his pleasant surprise, however, the next morning Parrikar asked him what he read. Mentioning the names of great Marathi poets he asked Padloskar if he had read them. “If not, then read them. Take the books from my cupboard, read them and put them back once you are done." Parrikar said to him.
After that day Padloskar read from the personal collection of Parrikar. He wanted to write his own book, but lacked the funds. Then in 2008, his first book saw the light of day when Rupesh Kamat, a friend of Parrikar who had a printing press agreed to print Padloskar's book without charging a single rupee.
As a habitual and voracious reader, Padloskar found solace in literature. Reading helped him polish his writing. The characters in his stories come straight from real life and the pages of his life are full of them. His characters meet him while managing the traffic jams on hot, sweaty afternoons or handling the police control room at the wee hours of the night as he sits alone engulfed in thoughts admiring the beauty of the darkness of the night. Sometimes they greet him with unknown faces in the midst of a crowd or even in his dreams.
Padloskar keeps a pen and paper handy at his bedside to quickly jot down whatever comes to his mind before it slips away in the darkness of the night. Explaining the process of his writing he reveals, “Realising that words and thoughts are slippery and if I don’t catch them the moment they arrive in my mind, they are lost forever, I try to note them down immediately.”
Padloskar agrees that his is a demanding job with long, odd hours of duty. It makes one wonder how he manages to make the time to pen down his expressions. Borrowing William Wordsworth’s words, Padloskar states, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity. The same is true for me. Sometimes the lines of a poem, plots for my stories or sequences from my plays just arrive out of the blue. I pick any name or face from my surrounding and weave a story around it.”
Lucky to have come from a remote village Dhargal which offers ample scope to choose a subject for writing, Padloskar thanks his family, especially his wife Deval who supports him wholeheartedly. He is thankful to his friends, litterateurs and critics who encouraged him to express his musings. It was IPS officer Satish Golcha who permitted him to write. Padloskar agrees that being in government service there are limitations while choosing the subjects for his writing, but thankfully the department has never questioned him or restricted his pen. “My writing is laced with the face of humanity. It gives a feel of real life and hence appeals to the readers,” reveals Padloskar.
There is a story behind his avatar of a writer. It was to give vent to an injustice. “I was boycotted in my village for not being supportive to blind faith. Unable to protest physically, I thought it best to reply through the written word. And here I am,” he quips. Finding that words are more powerful than any weapon on earth he gave himself to literature and replied to this boycott in a constructive manner. Needless to say, he not only succeeded in doing so but in the bargain, became a much appreciated and award winning writer. Many of his poems and short stories have bagged awards in Goa and Maharashtra.
Padloskar writes from his heart. It is a heart to heart dialogue with his readers. He writes in Marathi, using local, colloquial language. The rural countryside makes the backdrop of his stories. The folk lore and folk music beats through his poems. Born in a poverty stricken home to parents Bhagirathi and late Bhaskar, Padloskar has proved that nothing can stop a person from living his dream.
- Jivanache Taru (2008)
- Savashniche Lene (2010)
- Kagdi Hodya (2011)
- Pusalya Khuna (2012)
- Janm Dilelya Mulakade Pahat (2014)
- Pritichi Zulzul Vani (2015)
- Khapli Nighalya Nantar (2016)
Photo Credit: Vincent Braganza But has writing earned him what he yearned for? “Yes,” he replies. Pointing out to his seven books published in the past 12 years, he admits earning dignity in the literary circles in Goa and Maharashtra. Having spent 19 years in the police department, Padloskar has had a wide exposure to the naked truth of life, some of which he tries to portrait in his literature. He sets an ideal example how a poor, rural, neglected boy can write his own destiny and be a wordsmith.
Photo Captions: 1 “ Dayaram Padloskar, 2 “ Books by Dayaram Padloskar
