"Lumps of clay! All of you...lumps of clay!"
Mohan Rakesh was one of the pioneers of the Nai Kahani ("New Story") literary movement of Hindi literature in the 1950s. He wrote the first modern Hindi play, Ashadh Ka Ek Din (One Day in Aashad) (1958), which won a competition organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He made significant contributions to the novel, the short story, travelogue, criticism, memoir, and drama.
Rakesh was first married in 1950 in an arranged marriage which ended in divorce in 1957. His second marriage in 1960 too ended soon. However, in his third marriage to Anita Aulakh in 1963, he had found love. At the time of the marriage Anita was 21 year old. After his death, she continued to live in Delhi and, now in her seventies, lives in East of Kailash neighbourhood. Her autobiographical work, Satrein Aur Satrein, was first serialized in the Hindi magazine Sarika, and later published in 2002.
Literary work
- Novels (Upanyas)
- Andhere Band Kamre (1961)
- Na Aanewala Kal (1968)
- Antaraal (1972)
- Bakalama Khuda (1974)
Plays (Natak-Ekanki)
- Aadhe Adhure / आधे अधूरे (1969) ISBN 978-81-8361-325-5
- Lahron Ke Rajhans / लहरों के राजहंस (1963) ISBN 978-81-267-1595-4
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