Mahtab Alam 
The Kapoor family is a brand name in Bollywood. It started with Basheswarnath Kapoor, father of actor and director Prithviraj Kapoor, who also played a cameo role in Awaara (1951) directed by his grandson Raj Kapoor. Not long ago though, there was another Kapoor – not from the Kapoor clan – who ruled over the world of Urdu literature. His name was Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor. Interestingly enough, like the first three generations of the Kapoor family, K.L. Kapoor was also born on the other side of the border, Pakistan.
Kapoor wrote in simple prose that was laced with sharp wit, often filled with verbal irony and derision. He was a master Urdu satirist and considered to be the most successful satirist of his times. According to Noorul Hasan Naqvi, a literary critic and historian, Kapoor never let his writing suffer, despite the fact that he was a prolific writer and produced a large number of stories. “He had a strong artistic consciousness and knew very well how high level literature came into existence,” notes Naqvi in his book Tareekh-e-Adab-e-Urdu (the History of Urdu Literature).
Born on June 27, 1910 in undivided India in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad, Pakistan), Kapoor was a contemporary of another celebrated Urdu writer, Krishan Chander (1914 – 1977). There is an interesting story about their first meeting. As per Rauf Parekh, an Urdu lexicographer and linguist, Kapoor didn’t realise that Chander was his next-room neighbour at the Hindu Hostel, Lahore, until he read an essay by him in Humayun, a prominent literary magazine published from the city in those days.
“Kapoor was so impressed by the piece that he talked about it to one of his fellow residents at the hostel, who laughed and said that it was the same Krishan Chander who lived in the next room,” notes Parekh. Eventually, Kapoor met Krishan and both struck a friendship. In fact, Kapoor’s first piece of writing was a parody of one of Krishan Chander’s essays. According to Parekh, even though Chander enjoyed reading the piece, Kapoor destroyed the article and it remained unpublished. The reason: Kapoor felt that it had satirised Chander’s style quite pungently.
Kapoor was a shargird (protégé) of Syed Ahmed Shah, better known as Patras Bokhari, the legendary humorist, writer and broadcaster. In his obituary article, Peer o Murshid (master and guide), he wrote, “Patras mere ustaad the (Patras was my mentor)”. Bukhari taught him at the Government College Lahore, the institute from where Kapoor completed his post-graduation in English literature.
In Peer o Murshid , Kapoor fondly narrates the story of his first encounter with Patras and the long term impact it had on his life and writings. Predictably, the narration is filled with wit and humour. Kapoor, who was appearing in an interview for admission to the MA (English) course at the Government College, was jokingly asked by Patras, a member of the interview panel: “Aap hamesha itne lambe nazar aate hain ya aaj khaas ethemaam karke aaye hain? (Is this your actual height or has some special arrangement been made for today?)”
Apart from Kapoor’s writings, his height was always the talk of town and often a source of amusement. After all, he was 6.5 feet tall! This is the reason that Mujtaba Hussain, a noted writer and friend of Kapoor, described him as ‘Lamba Aadmi’ (tall person). “Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor ko jab bhi dekhta hoon hoon to Qutub Minar ki yaad aati hai. Aur jab Qutub Minar koh dekhta hoon, aap jaan hi gaye honge ki kiski yaad aati hogi (Whenever I see Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor, I am reminded of the Qutub Minar. And you would have realised who I think of when I see the Qutub Minar)”.
Over the years, Kapoor published nearly a dozen books, primarily collections of his satirical columns. Most of his publications from initial years have a self-introductory note titled ta’aruf (introduction) which says: “Naam – Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor. Magar bahut kam ahbab mujhe naam ki riayat se jaante hain! Qad: Chhah feet… ,” (Name – Kanhaiya Lal Kapoor. But hardly anyone knows me because of my name! Height: 6 feet…)”
According to Ravindranath Tyagi, Kapoor was one of the top rankers among the people whose writings helped in the popularisation of Urdu humour and satire. Tyagi was himself a satirist (Hindi) and editor of a book titled Urdu-Hindi Hasya-Vyang – a collection of selected Urdu and Hindi writings – which also include Kapoor’s work. He further notes that Kapoor also provided a new direction to Urdu humour and satire writing.
After partition, Kapoor moved to the Indian side of Punjab and settled in Moga, where he worked as a lecturer and retired as the principal of DM College. He briefly lived in Jalandhar and Pune towards the end of his life. Before partition, he had worked as a lecturer in D.A.V College, Lahore. The partition affected him and his writings immensely and this was reflected in his works.
“His works penned in the wake of independence are quite different from the ones written before 1947,” notes Parekh. “The witticism gave way to cynicism and the streak of humour that almost always ran through his writings began to dissipate. After 1947, extemporisation faded and his satire became more pointed. It was perhaps the result of his being uprooted and the massacre that took place during the migration,” Parekh adds.
Kapoor’s notable works include Sango-o-Khisht, Sheesha-o-Tesha, Chang-o-Rabaab, Nok-e-Nashter, Baal-o-Par, Narm Garm, Gard-e-Karavan, Daleel-e-Sahar, Naazuk Khayaliyan, Naye Shagoofe and Comrade Shaikh Chilli. In 2007, a collection of his writings was published titled Kapoor Nama. Some of his writings have been translated into Hindi and Punjabi. But, to the best of my knowledge, none so far in English. Perhaps, that is because translating Urdu humour and satire in English is very difficult, if not altogether impossible, as the language lacks the vocabulary and idiom which can be used to convey the same feeling as in the original.
Kapoor breathed his last on May 5, 1980 in Pune, where he lived with his family.