Pandey Bechan Sharma, better known by his pen name Ugra ('extreme' or 'fierce', Hindi उग्र) (born Chunar, North-Western Provinces, 1900, died Delhi 1967) was an Indian writer noted for his provocative, usually satirical, journalism, fiction and autobiography.

Biography

Ugra's autobiography, Apni Khabar, gives a graphic account of his early life. Ugra was born into the very poor Brahmin family of Vaidyanath Pandey. Several of his siblings had died young, and his name Bechan means 'sold', given to him to avert this misfortune. Vaidyanath died when Ugra was a baby; the family suffered abuse from one of Ugra's two older brothers; and the children received only a patchy education. From about the age of eight Ugra followed in his brothers' footsteps in performing in the theatrical genre known as Ramlila, and his brother sent him to work in the theatre in Banaras, before taking him on tour as a child actor and as his servant.Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’, and Other Writings on Male-male Desire, trans. by Ruth Vanita (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 1–36 (p. 21).

Ugra devoted much of his energy to editing newspapers and magazines, though most were short-lived.Ruth Vanita, ‘The New Homophobia: Ugra's Chocolate’, in Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History, ed. by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000), pp. 246–52 (p. 246).

In 1924, he was imprisoned for nine months for editing the first issue of the newspaper Swadesh, opposing British rule: fleeing from Gorakhpur, he sought refuge first in Calcutta and then Bombay, where he was arrested.Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), p. xix.Ramesh Chandra Shah, 'Ugra', in Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot, ed. by Mohan Lal (New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992), pp. 4422–23 (p. 4423). Upon release, he returned to Calcutta, editing the magazine Matvala until the 1928 controversy over his short-story collection Choklat, which led him to move to Bombay to work on silent films. Later, hounded by creditors, he moved to Indore, where he edited Vina and Swarajya. After getting into trouble there, he moved to Ujjain, where he edited Vikram. Finally, he settled in Delhi, where he died in 1967.

He never married.

Themes and style

Like most contemporary Indian writers, Ugra was committed to promoting both social reform and Indian independence from the British Empire.Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2009), p. xv. In the words of Ruth Vanita, "he delighted in iconoclasm; few writers of the time match his unsentimental depictions of the family, whether urban or rural, as a hotbed of violence, neglect, hatred, sexual depravity, and oppression";Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), pp. xvii-xviii. "his fiction tends toward the didactic and generally has a social message. His writings champion the causes of nationalism, oppressed women, and lower castes, and critique corruption in high places, alcoholism, gambling, adultery, prostitution, and communalism."

His language straddled the conventions of Hindi and Urdu, in line with Gandhi's promotion of a unitary Indian language of 'Hindustani',Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), p. xvi. and often included profane and colloquial language that had fallen from fashion in Indian writing during the Victorian period.Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), pp. xvii.

Publications on homosexuality

Ugra is particularly noted in Anglophone scholarship for his unusual willingness to discuss male homosexuality in his work.Saurav Kumar Rai, 'Colonial Archives, Vernacular Literature and the History of Homosexual Relationships in Colonial India', Jigyasa, 6.3 (September 2013), 266-71. This contrasted with a tendency in India under British rule to downplay the existence of homosexuality. His first piece to do so, "Choklat" ("Chocolate") was published on 21 May 1924 in the magazine Matvala ("Intoxicated"). The story describes an illicit sexual relationship between Babu Dinkar Prasad, an upper-class Hindu man, and "a beautiful lad of thirteen of fourteen." Babu Dinkar Prasad is presented as a predatory character, forcing himself on young teenage boys and corrupting them with his homosexuality. The title of the story refers to "a name for those innocent, tender and beautiful boys of our country, whom society’s demons push into the mouth of destruction to quench their own desires."

"Choklat" was a sensation, eliciting polarized responses upon publication. Encouraged by the scandal he provoked, Ugra proceeded to publish a further four stories on the same theme over the next few months, and gathered them together in October 1927 with three more stories and other preparatory materials as a collection entitled Choklat. Ugra claimed that his representations of homoeroticism were intended to reveal and hence eradicate Indian homosexuality. Some readers, including M.K. Gandhi, concluded that Choklat was indeed acceptable because it warned against the dangers of homosexuality. However, many readers were scandalised that Ugra had discussed homosexuality at all, believing that by doing so, he was promoting it. Fellow nationalist Pandit Banarsidas Chaturvedi labelled Ugra's work as Ghasleti literature - that is, literature that relied on obscenity and scandal to appeal to readers. Alongside critics "were some homosexual men who were happy to find any representation of their lives, even a negative one."

The first edition of Choklat sold out swiftly, leading to a second edition, which sold out within six weeks of the publication of the first,Charu Gupta, 'Dirty Hindi Literature: Contests About Obscenity in Late Colonial North India', South Asia Research, 20 (2000), 89-118 (p. 115). followed by a third in 1953.Calcutta: Tandon Brothers, 1953. Cf. Ruth Vanita, 'Introduction', in Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism, trans. by Ruth Vanita (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), pp. xix-xxvi (quoting xxiii). The collection appeared in English translation by Ruth Vanita in 2006.Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra', ‘Chocolate’, and Other Writings on Male-male Desire, trans. by Ruth Vanita (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006), later republished as ‘Chocolate’ and Other Writings on Male Homoeroticism (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009).

Works

Ugra's literary works include many short stories; two one-act plays and five full-length plays; four collections of verse; an autobiography, and ten novels.

Novels/Novellas

Cand hasīnoṁ ke khutūt (चंद हसीनों के ख़ुतूत) (Letters of Some Beautiful People) 1924 Raṅg Mahal (रंग महल) (Colour Palace) 1925 Dillī kā dalāl (दिल्ली का दलाल) (The Pimp of Delhi) 1927 Budhuā kī beṭī (बुधुआ की बेटी) 1928 Sharābī (शराबी) (Drunkard) 1930 Sarkār tumhārī āṁkhoṁ meṁ (सरकार तुम्हारी आँखों में) 1937 Ghaṇṭā (घंटा) 1937 Gaṅgājal (गंगाजल) (Water of the Ganges) 1949 Kaḍhī meṁ koylā (कढ़ी में कोयला) 1955 Jī jī jī (जी जी जी) 1955 Phāgun ke din cār (फागुन के दिन चार) 1960 Juhū (जुहू) 1963 Gaṅgā mātā (गंगा माता) (Mother Ganges) 1972 Sabzbāgh (सब्ज़बाग़) 1979

Short story collections

Sosāiṭī āf ḍevils (सोसाइटी ऑफ़ डेविल्स) (Society of Devils) 1924 Cingāriyāṁ (चिनगारियाँ) (Sparks) 1925 Balātkār (बलात्कार) 1927 Cākleṭ (चाकलेट) (Chocolate) 1927 Nirlajjā (निर्लज्जा) 1927 Dozakh kī āg (दोज़ख़ की आग) (The Fires of Hell) 1928 Krāntikārī kahāniyāṁ (क्रान्तिकारी कहानियाँ) (Revolutionary Stories) 1939 Galpāñjali (गल्पांजलि) 1940 Reśmī (रेशमी) 1942 Pañjāb kī rānī (पंजाब की रानी) (Queen of Punjab) 1943 Sankī amīr (सनकी अमीर) 1952 Kalā kā puraskār (कला का पुरस्कार) (Art's Prize) 1954 Jab sārā ālam sotā hai (जब सारा आलम सोता है) (When the Whole World Sleeps) 1955

Plays/Satires

Mahātmā Īsā (महात्मा ईसा) (Great Soul Jesus) 1922 Lāl krānti ke pañje meṁ (लाल क्रान्ति के पंजे में) (In the Hands of the Red Revolution) 1924 Cār becāre (चार बेचारे) (Four Unfortunates) 1927 Ujbak (उजबक) 1928 Cumban (चुम्बन) (Kissing) 1937 Ḍikṭeṭar (डिक्टेटर) (Dictator) 1937 Gaṅgā kā beṭā (गंगा का बेटा) (Son of the Ganges) 1940 Āvārā (आवारा) (Vagabond) 1942 Anndātā Mādhav Mahārāj Mahān (अन्नदाता माधव महाराज महान) 1943 Naī pīṛhī (नई पीढ़ी) (New Generation) 1949

Miscellaneous works

Dhruv carit (ध्रुव चरित) 1921 Ugra kā hāsya (उग्र का हास्य) 1939 Pārijātoṁ kā balidān (पारिजातों का बलिदान) 1942 Vyaktigat (व्यक्तिगत) 1954 Kañcan ghaṭ (कंचन घट) 1955 Apnī Khabar (अपनी खबर) (About Me) [autobiography] 1960 Fāil profāil (फ़ाइल प्रोफ़ाइल) (File Profile) [correspondence] 1966 Ghālib-Ugra (ग़ालिब-उग्र) (Ghalib-Ugra) [commentary] 1966

References