Author Sheoraj Singh Bechain Recalls Path From Rajouri Garden To DU Hindi Department
Hindi author and former Delhi University Hindi department head Sheoraj Singh “Bechain”, who once hawked lemons across west Delhi's Rajouri Garden to survive childhood poverty, has spoken about his trajectory from severe deprivation to literary prominence.
Born into a Dalit family in western Uttar Pradesh, the 66-year-old writer lost his father, a shoe cobbler, at age five after his family and basti elders subjected the ailing man to exorcism and flogging instead of medical care. After a schoolteacher praised the young boy's aptitude for studies, his stepfather burned his books, broke his wooden slate, and later mortgaged him and his sister to a brick-kiln owner. Relatives rescued them and brought them back to their native village of Nadroli in Badaun district.
To escape severe hardship, his mother left him with an uncle who crafted shoes in Rajouri Garden. At age eight, Bechain supported himself by taking early morning buses to Azadpur Mandi, purchasing lemons, and peddling them across the neighbourhood with self-composed rhyming jingles.
Bechain later worked at a farmhouse in Nainital district and polished shoes near a railway crossing in Bulandshahr. A local Arya Samajist farmer, Prem Pal Singh Yadav, offered him food and shelter in exchange for work after hearing him recite poems at a village gathering during Holi.
After reading Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s 'Madhushala', sent by a cousin studying at Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College, Bechain pursued further schooling and completed his higher education. He graduated from SM College in Chandausi, adopted the pen name “Bechain”, and earned a PhD from Rohilkhand University on the impact of B.R. Ambedkar on Hindi Dalit journalism.
His breakthrough short story, 'Asthiyon ke Akshar', was published by editor Rajendra Yadav in 'Hans' magazine in February 1996, and he served as guest editor for the magazine's first Dalit special issue in August 2004. Bechain eventually rose to become the head of the Hindi department at Delhi University.
His 2009 autobiography, 'Mera Bachpan Mere Kandhon Par', documented his childhood struggles. Bollywood filmmakers have expressed interest in adapting the memoir, with discussions currently underway.
