Marshall’s memoir

Katharatan by Dr Ratan Rustomji Marshall. Published in 2003 by Sahitya Sankul, Chowta Bazaar, Surat 395003. Pp: 256. Price: Rs 140.

Essentially a man of letters, Dr Ratan Marshall is a journalist, a columnist, an academician, a social reformer and what not! It is not in vain that the South Gujarat University recently conferred on him the title of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his multi-faceted personality. What Marshall is today, is a result of hard work, honesty, diligence and perseverance. The scattered thorns on the path of life give one an exposure to the meaning of life. Naturally, therefore, one would be inquisitive to know something about the struggle of a man of Marshall’s magnitude. Fortunately, we have before us Katharatan, a memoir that projects the multi-colored scenes from his life on our mental screen.

Marshall: source of inspiration

In fact, Katharatan is erroneously called an "autobiography” in so far as it appears to be a conscious attempt on the part of the writer to highlight the rosy colors of his own life. A major portion of the book is devoted to his beloved wife — a true and ideal better half — the late Dr Freny. The glorification of his worthy son Rustom, a leading advocate practising in the Gujarat High Court, sounds an exaggeration. There is hardly any place in the entire book which shows the limitations that every individual is subject to. There is no denying the fact that the life of Marshall is a source of inspiration for many a young man of the present generation. He, too, like every individual, is subject to certain instincts that no civilized person would ever dare to confess the way Mahatama Gandhi has done in his autobiography. Hence, ‘memoir’ would be the right term to describe Katharatan as it is an account of the writer’s written account of his own life and experiences.

It would certainly be unfair not to acknowledge the depiction of Marshall’s struggle. His benevolent and loving nature accompanied by rare jocosity makes him larger than life. The reminiscences of a grand old Parsi reminds one of the recollections of a retired school-master in Good-bye, Mr Chips.

Dr Gunvant Shah, an eminent thinker, essayist, poet and miscellaneous prose writer of Gujarat has written a preface to the first edition of Katharatan: "If we compare the people of India with a huge cake, the meagre Parsis are the... icing on it.” I would use a different simile. The Parsis, mainly scattered on the western banks of India, are like a shining necklace worn by Mother India and Gujarat is a pendant in it. Marshall is a glittering sapphire studded in that pendant — what a justification to the very name ‘Ratan’ which literally means ‘gem!’

Prof Ashok N. Desai