Her Stories 20th Century Bengali Women Writers
Her Stories is a set of eight stories by eight eminent Bengali women writers translated by Sanjukta Dasgupta. It is a collection of short fiction centred around women, where some reconcile with and some fiercely resist patriarchy. The unique thing about Her Stories is that each story is preceded by a brief introduction and a […]
Karimayi by Chandrasekhar Kambar
Translated by Krishna Manavalli Karimayi by Chandrasekhar Kambar is a history of the tussle between literacy and modernity on one hand and the wisdom of experience and traditional beliefs on the other. It is a multi-layered narrative of intimate truths of lives, serving as a mythical episteme for the reader. At the core of Karimayi […]
Bheda by Akhila Naik
Translated from Odia by Raj Kumar Akhila Naik’s 90-page Bheda published in 2010 is considered to be the first Odia Dalit novel, and is centred around caste violence. ‘Bheda’ means a sense of difference, one that’s deeply ingrained in our society; the caste hegemony that has led to economic exploitation, cultural subjugation, social discrimination and […]
Sheet Sahasik Hemantolok by Nabaneeta Dev Sen
Translated from Bengali by Tutun Mukherjee Sheet Sahasik Hemantolok is a poignant reminder of universal truth. Age is a heartless abductor. Youth arrives with a lot of fanfare, like a king, it leaves surreptitiously, like a thief. The silent arrival of middle age is barely noticed – a couple of grey hairs, a wrinkle or […]
The Resignation (Tyagapatra) by Jainendra
Translated from Hindi by Rohini Chowdhury “… No, I cannot analyse vice and virtue, morality and immorality. I am a judge; so I know the limitations of the system of justice. Which is why I say, those who have the authority to pronounce someone a sinner, basing their verdict only on the weighing and measuring […]
After Yesterday and other stories
Written by Appadurai Muttulingam, Translated from Tamil by Padma Narayanan. Appadurai Muttulingam’s After Yesterday and Other Stories reminded me of another anthology of short stories in Tamil I read recently – In a Forest, a Deer by Ambai, translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom, where the author’s note states – “One writes because the act of writing […]
Traitor translated by Rakhshanda Jalil
Originally written in Urdu as Ghaddaar by Krishan Chander The air in August 1947 was laced with poison. The overcast monsoon skies spelt doom. The wind though laden with moisture caked the skin and parched throats dry. Little did the people of an undivided India know that a cataclysmic event would rip their lives apart […]
