The Book Review

“Tendulkar’s plays are about Translation from Regional languages into Hindi
violence, it is true. But this
publisher does not even bother to provide The Trauma of the
violence is not the violence a bio for Dr Damodar Khadse who is a Landless
well-known litterateur in his own right,
of the strong. It is the with several volumes of fiction, poetry and Anubhav Pradhan
translation to his credit. His publisher does
violence of the weak. This him further disservice by not inviting him BHU-DEVTA (HINDI)
to write a translator’s note, which should
is the one line that runs be mandatory when a canonical text is By Keshav Reddy. Translated from the original
presented in a new translation. Telugu by J.L. Reddy
through his cruel, pitiless,
In the West, in fact, a publisher would Rajkamal Prakashan, 2019, pp. 96, `99.00
brutal oeuvre. ” have made this the very selling point of
the edition. Vaani does the opposite. Not As lecturers and
Sutradhar: Ooo Maharaj – only does their edition not highlight the critics, we routinely
fact that this is a new translation, not only perform the delicate task of
Brahman: Taire mo pai giray gaaj! Jab does it treat its distinguished translator establishing and reinforcing
dekho tab beech mein thado! Hyan gadho, shoddily, it even mimics the cover design of the boundaries which
the older Rajkamal Prakashan edition. An mark our disciplinary
vhan adho! Paaji! unsuspecting buyer could well pick up the engagements. What, for instance, is life
Vaani edition thinking it is the translation writing as opposed to bildsungroman? At
Now consider the same exchange in we’ve been familiar with all these years. which stage do novellas become novels?
Khadse’s translation: Perhaps that is precisely the publisher’s What distinguishes literature from reportage?
intention. These and similar questions are the stock-in-
Sutradhar: Ooo Ooo Ooo Panditji . . . trade of our work, but it is never an easy or
ruko, ruko, roke! Sudhanva Deshpande is an actor and director simple job to execute. Since such judgments
with Jana Natya Manch, Delhi. He is co-director, and critical evaluations are necessarily
Pandit: Tupkei? Kiski tope? Firangiyon ki along with Sanjay Maharishi, of two documentary subjective, we must buttress them with a
ya kurangiyon ki? films on Habib Tanvir. He works as editor with sense of the collective in order to appear
LeftWord Books and is the author of Halla Bol: The creditably reasonable in our work.
Sutradhar: Tupke nahin, ruko? Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi. Keshav Reddy’s Bhu-Devta affords a
Pandit: Main to ruka hi hoon. Isme kehne pertinent example in this regard. On the
jaisa kya hai re? Book News Book News face of it, Bhu-Devta is not an extraordinary
Sutradhar: Prahar bhar raat ui, savari story. Unable to bear the burden of debt
kahan chali? Kulbhushan ka Naam Darj Kijiye (Please and bankruptcy, an impoverished farmer
Pandit: Yahin thoda . . . register me as Kulbhushan) by Sahitya passes on from this world. This narrative
Sutradhar: Yahin, yani kahan? Akademi award winner Alka Saraogi, is by now painfully familiar, rehearsed
Pandit: Yahin, udhar aage. author of Kalikatha via Bypass, is the story ad nauseam in the mainstream media by
Sutradhar: Aage, yani kahan? of Kulbhushan Jain, a man from a migrant wrangling politicians and journalists who
Pandit: Tujhe kya matlab hai re? Chal hat! family who came to India overnight from appear to be interested more in prime time
Der ho rahi hai. Bangladesh before Independence. The mileage than in alleviating agrarian distress.
Sutradhar: Panditji! story spans about four decades, covers three Unfortunately, we are all immune to these
Pandit: Tere muh mein aag lage, jab dekho linguistic public cultures, two countries and small, daily tragedies occurring in almost all
tab beech mein, beech mein, beech mein . . . one line of control that is the metaphor of corners of our country.
the chasm between countries, hearts and Yet, Bhu-Devta is a hauntingly evocative
Vasant Dev’s translation, with its relationships. work of very realistic fiction. We may know
Bagheli-touched-Bundeli, is sweeter to the all there is to know about rural crises and
ear, while Khadse’s Khadi Boli is drier. Vani Prakashan, 2020, pp. , ` .00 farmer suicide, but in Reddy’s hands this
My personal preference is for the former, very everyday tragedy becomes a unique
but this is not to take away from Khadse’s Book News Book News
translation, which possibly takes fewer
liberties with the original Marathi text. Ruktapur by Pushyamitra is Keshav Reddy
(Though it should also be noted that Vasant a diary of a vigilant-sensitive (1946-2015), an
Dev and Tendulkar knew each other well, journalist, in which his award-winning
and it is likely that Tendulkar had approved ‘Aankhon Dekhi’ is recorded, novelist, is the author
the minor liberties Vasant Dev takes.) As a but also a factual analysis of many books
practicing theatre person, I know too well of the situation. Bihar is including Moogavani
that the proof of a dramatic text is in its at the centre of this book, Pillanangrovi: Ballad of Ontillu (Oxford
performance, and I look forward to someone accounting for 73 years of Novellas Series), Atadu Adavini
putting the Khadse translation to the test of success and failure of its policy makers. But Jayinchadu, Chivari Gudise and He
performance. the issues raised are true of every State of the Conquered the Jungle (Modern Indian
country. Novels in Translation) with CLL
What is disappointing in the new edition Jayaprada.
is the packaging of it. The publisher, Vaani Rajkamal Prakashan, 2020, pp. 240,
Prakashan, is one of the most prestigious `250.00
Hindi publishers, and one knows how
strongly they feel about the step-motherly
treatment meted to Indian languages other
than English. It is shocking, then, that the

The Book Review / October 2020 51

Translation from Regional languages into Hindi

catastrophe with the power to unsettle even only reason which makes Bhu-Devta such a Intertwining Life
the most apathetic heart. This is the true strikingly perceptive work of art. Its language and Fiction
litmus test which separates reportage from too, the way in which this story is narrated,
literature, the presentation of apparent and is what marks it as a memorable masterpiece. Aakriti Mandhwani
alleged facts from the representation of the Consider, for instance, Reddy’s portrayal of
inner life and subterranean conflicts which the tempest which rips through the village BASHEER: TEEN LAGHU UPANYAS
underline and constitute our daily lives Ontillu and claims Bakka’s life:
and lived experience. What fails to provoke Translated from the original Malayalam by
interest as news evokes deep sympathy as a ‘Khoob jor ki baarish ho rahi hai. Bina Dr. Santosh Alex
novel. apni disha badle hawa tez beh rahi hai. Saari Authors Press, Delhi, 2019, pp. 84, `295.00
galiyaan sunsan hain. Bikk Reddy galiyon se
This is due largely to the way in which hota hua gaon se bahar nikal aaya...Phir bijli From the very beginning,
Bakka Reddy, the novel’s protagonist, dies. ke prakash se ussne apne poore khet par ek Vaikom Muhammad
Having lost his ancestral fields to bankruptcy, nazar daudayi...Bikk Reddy ke poore shareer Basheer’s writing grips you.
Bakka loses all grasp on reality. His sense par se baarish ka paani fisal raha hai...Hawa The very first story in the
of self had been rooted in his attachment to aur baarish dono usske shareer ka nirdayata se collection declares itself
land and his all-encompassing, all-enveloping mardan kar rahi hain...Dheere-dheere usska as a love story. Not only
work as a farmer. Without his land, he feels, shareer samvedanshunya ho gaya’ (Reddy, pp. that, the narrator of this story does so by
he is a beggar, a man with no purpose in 62–63). directly asking the readers a simple question:
life: his very shadow, he tells himself, will be ‘Aap logon mein kisi ne Deewaarein naamak
a curse to all around him, prosperous and (It is raining heavily. The wind is chhoti-si prem kahaani ke bare mein kabhi
self-respecting men secure in their places in billowing fiercely. The lanes are all deserted. sunaa hai?’ or, ‘Has any one of you ever
life. The onset of rain after a long spell of Walking through them, Bakka Reddy heard of a little love story called Walls?’ This
backbreaking drought sees him tilling the emerges from the village...He sees his fields sentence is simultaneously a play on reading
fields against all odds: his land, no longer his, in a flash of lightning...Bakka Reddy’s entire as well as the art of narrating: we find that
calls out to him, and he answers one last time body is drenched in the storm...The wind the story that the narrator is asking the
with all his mind, body, and soul. and rain are beating down mercilessly on readers about is actually the story that the
his body...Slowly, slowly, his body loses all readers are currently reading. In other words,
However, this extraordinarily elemental sensation.) ‘Deewaarein’ is the title of the story.
immersion of man with land is not the The writer’s playfulness is visible
The strength of Reddy’s narration lies throughout this first story. This is not only
JL Reddy has in conveying singular sensations of loss, a love story between two people, but also
translated several grief, and awe with just the most simple and a story of the protagonist—also a writer—
novels and short ordinary of words. This is also what elevates and his everyday life in prison. The time
stories from Telugu the story, lending it a kind of totemic power period that the story is set in, the colonial
into Hindi and which makes Bakka’s tragedy everyone’s period, was also when Basheer himself was
has been awarded tragedy—society’s loss and shame on the incarcerated in prison. This return, not only
the Translation Award by the central whole. It seems only fitting that Bakka to the site of the prison but also thinking
Sahitya Akademi. Reddy’s forest becomes Ontillu’s defining about the narrator as writer, forces the
feature along with the Hanuman stone and readers to re-think the distinction between
52 The Book Review / October 2020 Sinamma devra: the elements themselves lived experience and fictional narrative,
seem to consecrate his supreme devotion and how these are often intertwined.
and sacrifice by making his fields fatal to The first story in the collection is also an
all manner of fertile beings, human and exercise in re-visiting questions of genre: as
otherwise. marked before, at the heart of it, the story
is a love story, between the imprisoned
Before concluding, though, a few words narrator and another imprisoned female
of felicitation must also be said for this inmate called Narayani. The narrator and
publication’s translator, JL Reddy. Originally
published in Telugu, Bhu-Devta had till now Vaikom Muhammad
been inaccessible to Hindi speaking and Basheer (1908–1994),
reading audiences. The translator has ably also known as Beypore
and competently rendered the novel into a Sultan, was an
kind of rustic, conversational Hindi which Indian Independence
does justice to the characters and context. activist and writer
His short preface usefully locates the novel in of Malayalam literature. He was also
the author’s oeuvre and life experiences as a a recipient of the Sahitya Academy
farmer’s son. It is often difficult for those of Fellowship, Kerala Sahitya Academy
us who live mobile lives to fully comprehend Fellowship, and the Kerala State Film
a farmer’s bond with land and the pain and Award for Best Story.
trauma of landlessness. Such urban readers
will find Bhu-Devta as a strikingly intuitive
rendering of this connection which is both
intimate and collective in equal measure.

Anubhav Pradhan teaches urbanisms at Ambedkar
University, Delhi.

Translation from Regional languages into Hindi

Narayani never meet each other and only of his search for employment. In turn, the The Chronicle of
communicate with each other across a third story of the collection features two Dying Wells
boundary wall. However, a love story is elephants as protagonists.
used as a vehicle to communicate not only Sukrita Paul Kumar
romantic loss—the narrator of the story However, while the collection does
is released before he is ever able to meet provide some key insights into Basheer’s KHALI KUON KI KATHA: A NOVEL
Narayani—but also to speak about the literary world, it is unable to provide the
pecking order in prison where life inside readers of Hindi with a taste of another By Avtar Singh Billing. Translated from the original
may just be more comfortable and, even important preoccupation of the writer’s, Punjabi by Subhash Neerav
preferred, to the life outside. that of language registers. I gain this insight
not from my own primary reading of the Aman Prakashan, Kanpur, 2019, pp. 240,
The collection under review includes writer’s works—I cannot read or write `275.00
three sets of very slim ‘laghu upanyas’ or Malayalam—but from an incisive preface
novellas, a genre of literary production with accompanying another collection of his An ardent Punjabi,
a long-standing history in Hindi literature. stories translated into English titled Basheer having lived all my
While the genre itself may be familiar to Fictions. There, the writer of the preface, life outside of the Punjab, I
Hindi readers, the collection serves as a MN Vijayan, hails Basheer as a ‘master am delighted to have been
good introduction to the now canonized of the colloquial style’, who ‘unwittingly given such an evocative
Basheer for a reader of Hindi unfamiliar became the first Muslim writer in Kerala to tour de force in Avtar
with his past work. It does so by introducing challenge the prevalent literary conventions Singh Billing’s novel Khali Kuon ki Katha.
certain important themes that were major of Sanskritized Malayalam’. This challenge This book is my first experience of having
preoccupations of the writer, such as the to literary convention is not visible in the effectively entered into rural Punjab in the
site of the prison and connected ideas of Hindi translation. Partly, this has to do same way as Thomas Hardy had taken me to
freedom. In addition, the readers are also with the problem that lies at the heart of the Wessex of Great Britain or Phanishwar
introduced to different styles of writing any translation, that is, the difficulty, if not Nath ‘Renu’ to Purnea and RK Narayan
prevalent in Basheer’s works. For example, near impossibility, of representing colloquial to Malgudi. Each of these writers possess
the playfulness of the first story is absent registers. However, one way to address this some special felicity to bring their chosen
from the second story of the collection, could have been by simply marking this in region alive through words. In Khali Kuon
where the Muslim protagonist undergoes the preface to the Hindi collection. ki Katha the reader traverses into the Dhaha
great mental and physical suffering because region of Punjab effortlessly, experiences
Santosh Alex, the translator of this the smells and sounds of the land and gets
Santosh Alex, collection, is not only a multilingual totally absorbed in the narrative of the novel
( b.1971) is a translator who has translated several running over four generations.
poet, writer and collections of poetry and stories from The magic is not merely in the content
multilingual Malayalam and Telugu to Hindi and of the novel. It is also in the way the tale is
translator. His two English, as well as Hindi to Malayalam told, the style with which words begin to
poetry collections are and English, but also has written in Hindi throb and the language which holds one
Dooram and Njan Ninakku Oru Ghazal about translation theory. This important captive in the exclusive world created by the
in Malayalam and one poetry collection translation introduces Hindi readers to writer. The setting is rural and authentically
(Panv Tale Ki Mitti) in Hindi. He has another world, that of short fiction in so in both the ambience of the locale as
9 books in Hindi and one in English. Malayalam, and not only that, skillfully well as the behaviour of the characters
His translations include Shuruatein, brings to life a master of that fiction. inhabiting that land. Two brothers married
Dehanthar, Samakaleen Kahaniyan, K Satchidanandan describes Basheer’s to two sisters, an extended joint family and
Aligarh Ka Kaidi, Kavita Ka Girna. ‘identification with the outcastes, even its intricate relationships along with the
those the world considers clowns, idiots, complicated social and cultural practices
cheats and villains whom his magic wand present themselves dramatically through
converted into lovable human beings.’ This the narration by Pashi, the curious and
translation adds to the urgent need for observant grandson of the elder brother,
subsequent translations of Basheer in Hindi Charan Singh. Pashi is supposed to have
that introduce us to these rich worlds. It is a come to Dhaha to spend his vacation at his
welcome addition to the growing number of maternal grandparents’ household which
translations being made available in Hindi
where, more often than not, English is the
source language.

Works Cited: Avtar Singh Billing is a
K. Satchidanandan. ‘Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Punjabi writer, novelist
and Indian Literature’. Indian Literature, January/ and story writer. He
February 2009, Vol. 53, No. 1 (249) (January/ has written eight
February 2009), pp. 57-78. novels, six short-story
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. Basheer Fictions. Ed. collections and three
Vanajam Ravindran. Delhi: Katha, 1996. books on children’s literature. His novel
Khali Khoohaan di Katha won The
Aakriti Mandhwani is Assistant Professor, Dhahan Prize in 2014.
Department of English, School of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, UP.

The Book Review / October 2020 53

Translation from Regional languages into Hindi

he finds so intriguing and colourful. The language of the saga is certainly not banal, “The novel sensitively records
narrator’s mastery over details is noteworthy sanitized or standardized. Since I have had generational changes,
which is also what makes the novel realistic, access to this novel in Hindi and not in its
compelling and charming. Billing’s use of original Punjabi language, I wish to also captures transformative
the authentic local language makes the story comment on the quality of the translation
all the more convincing. here. The translator, Subhash Neerav has attitude to marriage,
carefully integrated the Punjabi flavour into
...vkt brus o’kZ ckn eq>s feV~Vh ukuh dk his Hindi translation of the novel and it goes women, and caste, and
eksg fQj ls lrkrk gSA mldh tqcku ij tSls to his credit that he has not felt compelled
crkls j[ks gksrsA og cksyrh rks Qwy >jrsA mnkl to follow any notion of ‘purity’ of language. seems to be moving towards
gq, dks tc cxy ls yxk ysrh rks esjk <qldkuk While it is obviously not a transcription
can gks tkrkA (p. 83) of Punjabi into Hindi, the idiom and even progressive ideals on the
some vocabulary from Punjabi has been
(Today, after so many years, the memory very effectively retained and woven into the one hand, and on the other,
of Mithhi Nani is again troubling me. It narrative throughout. The translation of this
was as though there were sugar cubes on her novel into English, however, would be quite towards commercialism
tongue. When she spoke, it was like flowers a challenge considering the lack of cultural
falling. If one was sad and she hugged you, proximity between Punjabi and English. and greed for money. Caste
my moans would stop.)
In his Preface to Khali Kuon Ki Katha, barriers and prejudices are
Conceptually, the language of this novel Billing introduces the reader to the metaphor
resonates with the language used by Ismat of the ‘well’ which runs through the ruthlessly exposed and an
Chughtai in her fiction, that is the idiomatic narrative, starting with the title itself. The
and metaphoric language actually spoken by intrigue about the well then gets established inter-caste marriage has had
the aunts and grandmothers of the house, right at the outset when the metaphor of
laced with proverbs and colloquialisms ‘vacant wells’—or does it actually translate to be accepted eventually in
that sometimes become homilies and at as ‘dried wells’—is evoked in the saga’s title.
times ironical statements or sarcastic digs The story begins with reference to wells that ”the story.
at the other. But, in this novel, the writer are full of water, implying the prosperity of
is not just a master of women’s language, people around. Towards the end of the novel the one hand, and on the other, towards
he is able to offer different voices, those of the wells are dry and that is in sync with the commercialism and greed for money. Caste
men, children and women, through their adversity met by the characters towards the barriers and prejudices are ruthlessly exposed
specific register of vocabulary and style. The end. The well actually acquires the status of a and an inter-caste marriage has had to be
Khwaja, a Sufi master or a spiritual presence accepted eventually in the story. Also the
Subhash Neerav is specially for the older generation. ranting young woman, Kiranbir, defies the
a Hindi storyteller, patriarchal set up in the family, children
poet and writer who ‘Hkyk ogk¡ D;k gS? ixyh cqf<+;k? vuwik look westwards for material prospects and
has published several the transition from the old to the new world
novels and poetry [kh>dj dgrkA surfaces in a pronounced fashion in the
collections since 1979. novel. But the wells dry up!
‘D;k js! D;k ugha gSxk] ogk¡? oks gekjk dqvk¡
54 The Book Review / October 2020 What is remarkable in the narration of
gS] gekjk [oktkA eq>s rks [oktk&f[ktj dks ekFkk the story, Khali Kuon ki Katha, is the fact
that the inner scape of the characters is
Vsd dj vkuk gh vkuk gS] dkdkA (p.172) mapped and projected as skillfully as the
(‘After all, why there, Mad old woman?’ outer detailing of the practice of living.
When Pashi starts reciting the poem taught
asks Anoopa annoyed. ‘Why, you! What is to him by his grandmother Mithhi Nani,
not there?’ ‘That is our well, our Khwaja. towards the end of the novel, he actually
I have to go and make my obeisance to sums up the story by saying, ‘now we
Khwaja-khijr and come, Kaka.’) understand the story of “zero’’ and “one”
but where is the thinker/sage Kalu Pandit
One of the main protagonists of with whom we could have debated several
the novel, Mithhi Nani would want to propositions regarding life?’ Pashi has yet to
sometimes go pay homage to the well which go around Raipur, his grandparents’ village,
is Khwaja to her. She deeply laments the fact that fondly throbs in his dreams.
that its water was being sucked by the earth
below. She perceives the drying of the well Avtar Singh Billing’s novel Khali Kuon
as a curse. The author’s understanding of ki Katha oscillates between the past and
a woman character such as that of Mithhi the present and is a powerful probe into
Nani is very impressive. Avtar Singh Billing the dream that comes close to becoming a
portrays her as a woman of vision as well as nightmare. A captivating read!
wisdom, someone who upholds old values
and tradition but is also ready to accept the A noted poet and critic, Sukrita Paul Kumar
new world order in which the young women (born in Kenya) was an invited poet and Fellow at
may discard their roles as passive wives. the prestigious International Writing Programme,
The novel sensitively records generational Iowa, USA. She is a former Fellow of the Indian
changes, captures transformative attitude Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and honorary
to marriage, women, and caste, and seems faculty at Durrell Centre at Corfu, Greece. She has
to be moving towards progressive ideals on published several collections of poetry, translations
and critical works.

Of Cultural “Translation from Regional languages into Hindi
Nostalgia of the beings. The story The delightful and impressive
Exiled is a portrayal aspect of the novel is its
of people in
Alka Lakhera
exile with their attempt to weave a vivid
BESHARAM: ‘LAJJA’ UPANYAAS KI UTTAR-KATHA
own pasts and picture of cultural nostalgia
By Taslima Nasrin. Translated from the original insecurities trying
Bengali by Utpal Banerjee
Rajkamal Prakashan, 2019, pp. 256, `695.00 to navigate their through delicate emotional

When the characters way in a society ruminations, cuisine and
the author weaves in where the notion
Lajja take a shape of their
own in the sequel, readers of shame is well exploration of the shared
are taken into a journey
beyond the political realm entrenched. ”bonds.
of Lajja to the social and emotional realms. The story subtly
Besharam takes the story of Lajja forward grapples with the ease giving readers an immersive experience
in a way where the author delves into the idea of shamelessness at an individual level and at the same time delving deeper into
inner turmoil and emotional complexes and what happens when the author peels the social realities of these characters. It is
of the characters of Lajja. The political the layers of shamelessness, only to lay bare interesting to see the narrative unfolding
premise takes a personal turn when the main the palpable humane core of individual via the past of the characters and constantly
character knocks at the door of the author existence. Suranjan’s hovering presence in merging with the present, without
and it sets the ball rolling for unveiling of the Besharam is more than a reminder of his compromising on curiosity. The characters
inner lives and emotional complexes of the primacy as the protagonist of Lajja; his are negotiating with their cultural-religious
characters who were victims of communal unveiling as an individual is a careful exercise identity in a foreign land with a nostalgia
violence in Bangladesh and are living in exile of meta fiction where the character’s story for their land and individual past; the guilt,
in a foreign land, India. If Lajja narrated unravels the prequel. The author’s inquiry trauma and the evolution of these characters
the trauma of communal violence inflicted into the life of Suranjan Datta and his is weaved and held together by the presence
on Hindu minorities living in Bangladesh, family post the events of Lajja constantly of the author. She is not just the lynchpin of
Besharam is a peek into the emotional reminds the reader of the nature of fiction the story but the bridge between their past
trauma and miserable consequences of a and its relationship with reality. The changes and present.
socio-political event. Suranjan, Kiranmoyee, which the author sees in Suranjan vis-á-
Maya, Zulekha Sobhaan and the author have vis the Suranjan of Lajja is an attempt to It is her desire to understand her
a shared trauma and the plot of the novel unmask the nature of fictional reality and predicament as an individual living in exile
tries to delve beyond this to find the voices probe the events of the text in its entirety. due to fundamentalists in her country
of these characters. The unmasking of the lives of the character, that sets the trajectory for the unravelling
Taslima Nasrin attempts to peel off the nature of fiction and the intricacies of of shame and write more about the
masks of these fictional characters and see
how they managed to build their lives post collective memory builds a narrative which shamelessness of the individual characters.
the traumatic events of Lajja; however the
emphasis is more on their internal conflicts derives strength from the meaning every Once the readers scratch beneath the surface
and deep-seated vulnerabilities as human
character attaches to their experiences. of the story, the nuanced realities of a society
Taslima Nasrin is
a noted writer and The delightful and impressive aspect and its shamelessness unfold where the Datta
humanist thinker. She
often faced fatwas for of the novel is its attempt to weave a family is trying to grapple with the ‘shameful
her ideas and writings.
On the controversial vivid picture of cultural nostalgia through past’ and forging or creating a new narrative
novel Lajja, she was expelled from her
country where she has not gone since delicate emotional ruminations, cuisine for themselves where their identities are not
1994. She has been awarded various
honours and honorary titles from many and exploration of the shared bonds. The just dependent on the pen of the author.
countries including India. Her works
have been translated into about thirty fast-paced lucid prose paints a visual picture Alka Lakhera completed her MPhil from Jamia
languages of the world. Millia Islamia. She has a Masters in English from
which shifts from one frame to another with

University of Delhi. She is a guest faculty at

Book News Book News University of Delhi, Delhi.

Sachchi Ramayan (Hindi) by Utpal Banerjee was
Periyar EV Ramasamy, edited born in 1967 in
by Pramod Ranjan, was Bhopal, Madhya
published in Tamil in 1940, in Pradesh. His published
English in 1959 and in Hindi poetry collection is
in 1968, when it was banned Iron is Very Sad. He
by the UP Government as has published eleven books translated
being hurtful to Hindu religious sentiments. from Bangla to Hindi. He is also an
Periyar considered Ramayana a political text, Honorary Member of the Advisory
and said that it was written to justify the Board of the American Biographical
victory and dominance of the Aryans of the Institute of North Carolina and
North over the southward non-Aryans and Research Fellow. He is presently
it is a tool of male supremacy over Brahmins teaching Hindi at Daly College, Indore,
and women over non-Brahmins. Madhya Pradesh.

Rajkamal Prakashan, 2020, pp.152, `160.00 The Book Review / October 2020 55

Writings for Young Adults
56 The Book Review / October 2020

Of a Dystopian Noir pocket knife with her at all times, treating Writings for Young Adults
World* the object and its symbolism of defensive
violence as her best chance to stay alive. In that it is
Sucharita Sengupta the meantime, everyday bonds of friendship the most
and love also blossom and die out in this accurate
FIERCE FEMMES AND NOTORIOUS LIARS: A dark world, drawing out a necessary human description
DANGEROUS TRANS GIRL’S CONFABULOUS normalcy. of an ugly
MEMOIR reality.
By Kai Cheng Thom A fatal attack on one of trans women There is
Young Zubaan, New Delhi, 2019, pp.188, leads to the formation of a vigilante group no trace
R350.00 of transgenders, who unleash retaliatory of any
violence, and are predictably hunted down frothiness
Gender-based by men and police in the City, leading to the merely
violence has taken murder of a member of the police force. This because
many forms. One of the forces the protagonist to think deeper about the book
worst depredations has using violence, and leads her to confront is targeted
been reserved for the her own rage. She also analyses her own at a
transgender community. community, the various roles her friends younger
Awareness about varying gender identities play, who is aggressive and who is passive audience,
have increased, but mistreatment has not aggressive, who is right and who is wrong. possibly girls. Instead, it explores gender,
necessarily reduced. Fierce Femmes and sexuality, consent, harassment at the
Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom is a One of the techniques that the author workplace, socio-economic and political
bold and raw novel that brings the tragedy uses to show the double life led by trans conditions for trans persons with a clear eye
of marginalization of the transgender persons is the letters to her younger sister that manages to be both brutally truthful
community, particularly of trans women, to Charity. These letters describe a life that is and empathetic. The book is a must read for
light. safe and mundane, where the protagonist courageous young adults who do not feel the
The protagonist of Fierce Femmes, who is lying about working in a grocery store need to shy away from the dark bits of life.
remains unnamed throughout the book, to earn a living and taking French classes
is born a boy to Asian immigrants in the at night. The fantasy world of normalcy Sucharita Sengupta is Assistant Professor,
imaginary city called Gloom. She discovers described in these letters are a complete Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia,
her trans identity early in life, and dreams contrast to the heroine’s real life, heightening New Delhi.
of living as a woman. Facing both poverty the sense of tragedy. It would be a mistake
and ridicule, she flees Gloom in her late to believe that the author is trying to evoke Book News Book News
teens for another imaginary place, the City pity in the reader. The writing is meant to
of Smoke and Lights, just called City. Here hold up a mirror to how easily individuals The Waiting by
she starts living with other members of the are stripped of personhood and dignity, Dipavali Sen is a
trans community in an area called the Street forcing them to lead dangerous lives, which mystery that spans
of Miracles. then triggers a vicious cycle of being further Jurassic and modern
Life is far from safe here. The novel castigated by society. times. Beginning with
paints vivid portraits of the kind of violence a fossilized egg, the
brought to bear upon trans women. Faced Yet another beautiful technique is the novel takes up the live
with ridicule, the threat as well as the use of poetry about the knife that the issue of bullying or
reality of sexual violence, homelessness protagonist carries with her. Over the ragging and connects
and unemployment, every day is a struggle pages of the novel, the author captures the it with mythology,
for survival. The protagonist carries a heroine’s complicated relationship with and magic, historical
understanding of the knife that symbolizes research, scientific experiment, contemporary
*Reprinted from TBR, Volume XLIII Number 11 violence. The object never disappears, only attitudes, and mystical practices.
November 2019 her feelings towards its role in her life are
recorded as being simultaneously useful and Invincible Publishers, Gurugram, 2020,
Kai Cheng Thom is redundant, never in any particular order. pp. 220, `199.00
a writer, performance
artist, social worker, In the end, the heroine faces her own Book News Book News
fierce trans femme tumult, and with that she finds herself
and notorious liar and her confidence. She also finds love Moodunnit by C. G.
who loves lipstick and acceptance, and just when the reader Salamander, a writer and
and superhero cartoons. A prolific thinks that there will be an ending comic journalist, weaves
essayist and poet, her first collection of befitting a romance, the author confounds a trail of strange clues
poetry, A Place Called No Homeland, everyone by not granting such an ending, for Ammu to find when
was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in rescuing the protagonist from the threat of she sets out to catch the
2017. heteronormativity. thief who steals vegetables
from her parents’ cart.
This book is a depiction of a dystopian, Who could have stolen
noir world. Usually, this style of writing them? Find out when you read this Hook
is reserved for the world of men, full of book.
blood and gore, set in public places, with
a prominent role for the night time. The Duckbill, 2020, pp.40, `175.00
writing is akin to a horror fantasy, except
The Book Review / October 2020 57

Travails of Lost narrated in great detail. Writings for Young Adults
Childhood There are stories that describe the politics
looks at the
Savita Singh of communal riots and what these riots bring exploitative
for its victim. ‘Asli Baat’, for example, deals system of
GALION KE SHAHZADE with the economic harshness that riots bring production.
By Nasera Sharma to the point that people of one particular gali Beauty is
Prabhat Prakashan, Delhi, 2019, pp.144, `300.00 where the violence was quite severe, beg for produced in
the curfew to be lifted. Curfew is not just to circumstances
There are hardly any quell the unrest, but to punish poor people that are ugly.
women fiction writers who cannot go out and work. Most of the Reality is
in Hindi other than Nasera victims actually begin to starve. So, they go contradictory
Sharma who knows Farsi to the Daroga and put up a united front. after all.
and draws from it a refined Nasera Sharma has a punch line at the end Marxist
sensibility required by a of the story: ‘Roti can both divide and unite theorists have
writer to tell tales of human aspirations and people.’ been saying
suffering. Having written more than twelve this for a very
novels, nine collections of short stories ‘Mr. Browny’ is a unique tale of racism long time. In
and very many reportage, she has actually faced by the character, Bhurelal, hailing from the Indian
mastered the craft of writing stories for India who is a petty shopkeeper in London situation, if nothing else works to keep the
children. No wonder she has spent most of selling things Indian. While returning workers down, in this story, to break their
her working life in serving either children home, young white boys playing in his solidarity Lalaji wants a communal riot to
in the capacity of a member of Bal Bhawan lane, call him Mr. Browny in a manner that be instigated. That will not only burn their
(Delhi) or attending meetings of such can only be racist. He ignores them but he meagre properties, but also their solidarity.
bodies in Jammu, Mandi and Daman & cannot pass by without giving three pence This may well be the real story of politics of
Diu, also influencing the decision to set up as they demand from him. They are poor India since Independence. A fiction writer
such bodies in Patna and other places. As white urchins, after all. But this is nothing knows how to create its microform with
a journalist she attained the distinction of compared to the threat of deportation the details and structure of the story crafted
identifying and rescuing Iranian children that often comes up from the conservative brilliantly. Nasera Sharma has the facility of
trapped in Iraqi possession who were finally politicians. Once he runs to Scotland for both Hindi and Urdu language to tell her
handed over to Iran. The book under review safety. But he gets married and comes to tales. For a moment you forget that it’s a
is a collection of her latest short stories, live in South Hall, London, and faces the story and that you are within a language. All
twelve in all, Galion ke Shahzade. The first ambiguity and complexity of an immigrant’s the humour, wit and tragedy of life has just
story sets the tone for the entire book. A life. There comes a day in his life when one been made so intense in narration that you
bunch of six girls, poor, surviving on the of the children, grown up now, who used to become one with the fiction just as you are
railway platform by selling plastic toys, water vex him meets him and shakes hands with in reality.
bottles or just about anything that can be him. He feels accepted and reaches home The last story, as the first one, is about
sold quickly to passengers. The individual feeling better. five young boys, orphaned or not, but on
lives of this group of girls, some orphaned, the street, rag pickers trying to live out
some simply tossed around by fate which There is another story about racial their lives. The story opens up their inner
is nothing but poverty, has been told with degradation of black lives set in Ethiopia. lives, their struggles and courage, and the
great sensitivity. The way people treat them, Rahab loses all her children to death one fact woven in silently to show how they
the way the police always suspect them of after the other just like many other women would intoxicate themselves with sniffing
theft and the way they fight back to remain who gave birth to twelve or even eighteen gum bottles, licking ink waste and other
dignified as working children has been and lost them to starvation and drought, such trash, makes the story so very grim,
both man-made. Everything black is pushed almost death like that you look at these
Nasera Sharma, to death, it seems, Rahab figures out before children sleeping on pavements with a
writer and translator, going mad. In her madness she sees greenery new awareness. The vanishing of the spots
is the author of Dillu around, food in the market and home, also from where rags can be picked has posed an
Termites, Ghosts of one of her dead sons, young and well built, existential challenge to these kids, and their
McDanal, Sansar Apne having returned to her distributing sweets small minds are restless. They are thinking
Apne (story-collection) to neighbours. The story in its starkness that cities are becoming smart, with newer
(also in Persian and Urdu), The Relation shows that what is normal for other parts systems of disposal of waste, new kinds of
of Pain, True Friends, Ek Sultana, Gillobi of the world is insane in this part. Insanity people living in urban India. What else to
Gullu, Reading Haka. A serial by her for is somewhere else though. Those who have do is the question with which they wake
children titled Badlega Zamana won the pushed Africa to this level of penury and up and go to sleep on the streets these days.
Indo-Russian Literary Club ‘Children starvation must themselves be inhumanly The vulnerable section of our society lives
Writing Award’ at the Children mad people, not just greedy and cruel. more precariously and hopelessly than before
Writers’ Conference. is perhaps the message of the story. What
The story about the chikankari women plans do we have to include the vagabonds,
58 The Book Review / October 2020 workers is heart wrenching again. Their orphaned children, working children in
exploitation by the Lalaji and the middleman new schemes of development? Are they part
makes one depressed. Women as workers, of urban planning in new India? Cruelty
as crafts women with skill and hunar, are against children moves the writer the most in
nobodies in the production of the most
beautiful embroidered cloth when one

almost all her stories. You cannot argue here; Traversing Tales Writings for Young Adults
it’s the bottom-line vulnerability of a huge
section of India’s teeming population that a Ruchi Nagpal town which has been abandoned by the
fiction writer like Nasera Sharma deals with young seeking better opportunities in big
in her stories. Her stories tell more about KHIDKIYON SE JHAANKTI AANKHEIN cities and the plight of the old ‘eyes’ which
the real India than our trained theorists or are forever forlorn. He envisages a future in
philosophers are able to. The unique power By Sudha Om Dhingra which he one day will become as desperate as
of fiction lies in understanding reality in these elderly, away from his homeland and
its starkness which, in fact, enables Nasera Shivna Prakashan, 2019, pp. 132, `150.00 loved ones, seeking nothing but someone to
Sharma to bare things and leave the reader to share his story with.
face it. Sudha Om Dhingra is an
Indian diasporic writer In the story titled ‘Aisa Bhi Hota Hai’, it
This book of twelve sensitive stories from Jalandhar, Punjab who is the migration of the protagonist after her
opens a world to readers which they may not currently resides in North marriage that frees her from the profoundly
be able to see otherwise. I read these stories Carolina, USA. The book patriarchal clutches of her family and makes
searching for the required sensitivity within under review is a stirring her as independent as she could be. As she
myself. anthology of short stories titled Khidkiyon gains courage to envisage and chart her
se Jhaankti Aankhein. In the eight vignettes life, she also gains the courage to stop her
Savita Singh, a Professor in the School of Gender included in the anthology, Dhingra looks exploitation at the hands of her own parents
and Development Studies, at the Indira Gandhi at various aspects of life abroad and the who never valued and loved her as the
National Open University, New Delhi, is a poet and dilemmas which surround every being and boys of the family. Dhingra has paid close
political theorist. She writes in Hindi and English. Her story. Dhingra skillfully crafts every story attention to the plight of the elderly who are
books include Apne Jaisa Jeevan (2001), Neend Thi which traverses many plains and touches abandoned at an age when they need their
Aur Raat Thi (2005), Swapna Samay (2013). She has upon ideas related to migration, family, children the most. ‘Vasuli’, ‘Ek Galat Kadam’
a collection of fifty poems, Nayi Sadi Ke Liye Pachas nostalgia and traditions which seem to have and ‘Cosmic ki Custody’ are such tales which
Kavitayen (2012). Her latest work is Reality and Its been altering in the current times. bring out this idea. Abandoned by one, they
Depth: A Conversation between Savita Singh and Being a diasporic writer, Dhingra’s seek sustenance from the other children and
Roy Bhaskar (Springer, 2020). stories inevitably invoke the idea of nostalgia sometimes just a loving company which
towards the homeland per se but the idea would make their days less lonely. Through
Book News Book News never seems to dominate any of the stories such stories, she also attacks the orthodox
giving the reader a very fresh perspective mindset of the elderly which at times is
Do Bahnon ki Masai on diasporic narratives which have always responsible for creating the gulf between
Mara Yatra by been dominated by the theme of nostalgia. them and their children. As the elderly
Kamala Bhasin with She transcends that plane, normalizing refuse to forgo their conformist attitude,
photographs by Bina the movement abroad and pens every they swallow the bitter pill of letting their
Kak is a book to be story without the pressing concerns of children slip away. Dhingra also touches
read and dream about quintessential diaspora. Through these upon the idea of caste through her story
a free world for a narratives, Dhingra looks at other glaring titled ‘Andhera-Ujala’ making the collection a
few moments.Two sisters on a splendid issues of modern society. The stories, potpourri of myriad themes and emotions.
adventure in Africa in the company of therefore, touch upon the ideas of caste,
spectacular wild animals. Says Kamala gender and condition of the elderly in our Analepsis runs as a definite motif in all
Bhasin, ‘in seven days, Bina took nearly society today which has become a matter of the stories where protagonists recount the
7000 photographs and I wrote about 7000 deep concern. In the eponymous story, the past events explaining everything patently
words and this book came into being.’ gaze that constantly follows the protagonist for the readers. The motif however loses its
is symbolic of the elderly who wait for their
Jugnu Prakashan, an imprint of Takshashila children, every minute of their day and every The Book Review / October 2020 59
Educational Society, 2018, pp. 52, `175.00 day of their lives. When the protagonist
befriends the ‘eyes’ following him, he
Book News Book News understands the state of affair of the entire

The Grand Chapati Sudha Om Dhingra,
Contest by Asha president of Vibhom
Nehemiah, author of Enterprises, a poet and
Granny’s Sari, The Rajah’s short story writer, has
Moustache, The Mystery won several awards.
of the Secret Hair Oil She is editor of the
Formula, The Mystery Hindi Chetna, a magazine published by
of the Silk Umbrella, the Hindi Pracharini Sabha, Canada
Meddling Mooli and The and the USA representative of Pravasi
Blue-Legged Alien is about the hunt to find a Today, published from Delhi. She came
champion chapati maker to make the fluffy- to the US in 1982 and lives in the
puffy chapatis that the king loves. So the Triangle area since 1991.
grand chapati contest is on!

Duckbill, 2020, pp. 40, `175.00

force as it appears story after story, making Bursting Idealistic Writings for Young Adults
it tantamount to presumption. All the Bubbles
stories excruciatingly detail the past events to play a saviour in shining armour, but will
leaving nothing to the imagination of the Gauri Sharma they?
readers which makes the work wearisome
at times. All the stories start in the media A CLOUD CALLED BHURA: CLIMATE CHAMPIONS The author takes a dig at Head
res, recounting what has happened and end TO THE RESCUE Minister Mota Bhai’s character seeing this
on a note which looks promising. Starting burnt-yellow dust storm as an intentional
with an active first sentence, the stories By Bijal Vachharajani implantation by inter-border terrorist forces.
grip the imagination of the readers as they Talking Club, 2019, pp. 256, `399.00 He prioritized the boycott of cricket matches
progress but the element of surprise seems and foreign movie industry as a befitting
to abominate the narratives. As the stories Mumbai City is arrested reply but who can tell Mota Bhai that
begin, the expectation of the reader rises by a sooty grey haze climate change doesn’t discriminate as it is a
with every word but the closing stages of with toxic gases swirling borderless challenge for the world.
the story neutralize the effect in lieu of a around the skyscrapers
happy ending minus any twist which could in a sinister intention to This story highlights true bonds of
have been plotted. The stories fail to deliver stay. No one knows where friendship among four pre-teens—Amni,
anything out of the box and invest in some it came from but it appears something Tammy, Mithil and Andrew who navigate
of the well known formulaic plots which like an eclipse casting a dark shadow over through the tumultuous entry of a brown
seldom fail. the city of dreams. The twitter trends blot in their lives. In the middle of chaotic
like #BhuraCloudusWhoRU becoming repercussions of ever-growing Bhura, the
Dhingra’s vignettes are realistic and the talk of the town while on the other indifference of adults is quite perplexing for
compelling. Her characters, however, lack side the popular media channel Khabar the kids while naked proof is shushed under
depth and fail to resonate and stay with the Bhayankar’s host is shouting at the top of the carpet.
readers after the story ends. The characters his voice. The audience is forced to notice
are essentially flat, unlike some of the well- the sensationalizing indicatives of this The interesting entry of Settu Pandit
crafted literary characters that have outlived exaggerated cloud-like ghost hovering over in saffron robes and saying the situation
both the stories and writers. Dhingra’s the city. is an act of God to purify the human race
characters are one among many in the The book endeavours to show figuratively and the fact that his sermons are so deeply
crowd, brushed with the clichéd strokes of how India would tackle a life-threatening valued reflects how religious obscurantism
good and bad. Stories like ‘Aisa Bhi Hota issue diesel-ed by the clutches of climate easily takes over logical reasoning. The plot
Hai’ derail from the narratorial track and change, that many still refuse to see as becomes murkier with medical insurance
run like a long rant which reduces the gap a tornado-in-making with potential to companies upset over doling out money for
between the text and the reader so much be an existential killer. The scientists are the lined-up public in front of hospitals.
so that the reader predicts the end long left mouthing words where evidences They are willing to fund Settu Pandit’s
before the story has ended. Wolfgang Iser are blatantly ignored. The business- advice to get rid of Kalyug’s manifestation
talks about the psychological excitement of minded invent ‘Vision plus plus goggles’ as a great distraction for the people. None
reading which sustains the text, wherein the to see through and a big budget movie is of the country’s front-liners seem to care
reader has some expectations from the text announced on this plot, ‘KKloud Kon Kya about questioning such an extreme weather
which he feels would be thwarted or should Kaha?’. The media views this situation as a condition whisked out of thin air. The
necessarily be thwarted for the success of moment of pride for the country because stark contrast of class comes into play with
the text. The psychological excitement is of the international attention it garners. the rich having the liberty to shift to their
the play between the reader and the text Our priorities are shining bright as the remote farm properties and the middle-class
wherein the text subverts the expectations Cloud chose India whereas all fanfiction has providing crisp 2000 rupee notes for the
of the reader, balancing the gap and leading an inherent bias for New York attracting mandir association. But the poor masses
to the ultimate triumph of the storyteller. In lethal aliens, beasts and monsters. This
Dhingra’s case, the stories annihilate the gap automatically translates to a golden-ticket
in order to uphold the moral fibre making
the stories drab towards the end. Bijal Vachharajani,
journalist and editor,
Dhingra, nevertheless, succeeds in Pratham Books,
capturing the attention of her readers as her has a Masters in
stories show an excellent and deep-rooted Environment Security
knowledge of Indian society. Transliteration and Peace from the
and translation of several Punjabi sentences University of Peace in Costa Rica.
here and there in the stories authenticates She is the author of three children’s
the narrative and show her command over books, So You Want to Know About
Punjabi as well. The stories are written in a the Environment, What’s Neema Eating
non-convoluted and simplistic manner. Today? and The Seed Savers. She has co-
authored The Great Indian Nature Trail.
Ruchi Nagpal is a research scholar in the
Department of English Jamia Millia Islamia. She
has worked as a Project Fellow under the aegis of
UGC SAP DRS, Phase III, Department of English,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

60 The Book Review / October 2020

“The book endeavours to show humorous punches and thought-provoking Writings for Young Adults
figuratively how India would instances that stay with you long after one is
done reading the text. Amidst the callousness Celebrating
tackle a life-threatening issue of the rest, the sincerity of children and Women*
organic ease with which they’re able to stand
diesel-ed by the clutches of on the right side of the battle is just the hope Padma Baliga
we need to flush the cloud of negativity of
climate change, that many still self-doubt, lethargy and blame-game with a THE DAUGHTER FROM A WISHING TREE: UNUSUAL
message to ACT NOW. TALES ABOUT WOMEN IN MYTHOLOGY
refuse to see as a tornado-in- By Sudha Murty. Illustrations by Priyankar Gupta
One cannot compartmentalize this Puffin Books, 2019, pp. 180, `250.00
making with potential to be book as Child-fiction fit for school-going
kids during a free library period. This T h e Daughter from a
”an existential killer. book has the potential to burst idealistic Wishing Tree is the
bubbles for people of all ages to accept the fourth in a series of books
fight to survive as many homeless succumb realistic struggle of this country’s snail-paced by Sudha Murty on
to an unnatural heat wave. If the activists decision-making power. How long can we unusual tales from Hindu
question, they’re shut up by the powerful afford to ignore our sense of responsibility mythology, this volume
Sab Sanghatan Party for being alarmists for and anthropocentric vision for the world is the only one that focuses on women in
no reason. that’s clearly blowing out of proportion? mythology. Sudha Murty writes in the
Each and every line in the book is a subtle Preface that she was ‘disappointed and
The four self-motivated enthusiasts wake-up call. But the author manages not disillusioned’ to find that ‘there is minimal
notice that the adults’ moans and groans to turn it into some heavy, anxiety inducing literature that highlights the important
are limited to the social media. The pill. The topic of climate change, even for roles that women have played.’ This book
Government’s response to the thick smog the ones who care for the environment, attempts to fill a large gaping hole in our
is in advertisement for external air purifiers can become a daunting task specially knowledge and understanding of religion,
and giving a green chit to doubled AC when a majority of people are in denial mythology and society. Women abound in
prices. The enraged farmers beg for relief as mode. But this book has a playful balance Hindu myths, from the warrior Durga to
their crops fail due to erratic atmospheric by incorporating the story of those four the fiery Draupadi, from the apsaras such as
behaviour but the replies are reduced to children, each carrying a depth of character Urvashi and Menaka in Devlok to Ahalya,
paying for genetically modified seeds as on their tiny shoulders. Their innocence Bhamati and Sukanya, wives of great sages
there’s no political will to get to the bottom to not accept the situation as it is served and learned men. However, since the stories
of the cause. The apathy of the rest of by the news if it doesn’t fit the bracket of have been traditionally told from a male
the privileged herd in burning crackers to common sense will make you realize how perspective, the presence of women has been
celebrate a virtual cricket victory is quite unnecessarily complicated adults have made side-lined, ignored, cast in guilt and shame
evident. Other States pace up industrial their lives. The metaphoric relevance of A or described in stereotypes.
growth by sanctioning deforestation projects Cloud Called Bhura is so close to our present Sudha Murty gives us twenty-four tales
leading to worrying disregard for the things state of affairs that one can’t help but feel a of amazing women, ambitious, intelligent,
that truly matter. part of the story and experience the yearning assertive, fearless, spiteful, humble, forgetful,
for change to make everything alright. dedicated and dutiful women. The stories
Mota Bhai enters the conversation with are written in a simple and direct manner
chai, frustrated by people to questioning Gauri Sharma has an MA in Human Rights and making them easy to read and understand.
the carbon impact of the industries that Duties Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. I particularly loved the story titled ‘Goddess
generously fund his party’s bank balance. of Fruits and Vegetables’ in which we learn
He announces that the issue be treated as Book News Book News that the compassionate Parvati, described
Voldemort’s name—‘Not to be mentioned’. by her husband Shiva as being ‘independent
The author reaches the depth of shallow Neela of me in thought and action’ not only kills
politics where exodus of countless Darwaza:Vishwa ki the demon Durgamasura but rebuilds the
unemployed migrants is callously ignored Lok Kathayen retold
while opportunists hoard food in great by Manglesh Dabral *Reprinted from TBR, Volume XLIV Number 7 July
numbers. and illustrated by 2020
Kavita Singh Kale
The glimmer of hope in these bleak is a collection of Sudha Murty, MTech
circumstances are the four children who eight folk tales from in computer science,
question the system with a resolve to put Finland, Corsica, Africa, Estonia, Latin is the chairperson
an end to this disgraceful discourse with a America and Nigeria, which will take the of the Infosys
scientific temper. Ambedkar’s plan of action, young reader on a flying carpet to faraway Foundation. A prolific
‘Educate, Organize and Agitate’ never lands. Manglesh Dabral, the well-known writer in English
fails the test of time and inspires the four Hindi poet, brings this collection together as and Kannada, she has written novels,
crusaders to spread the word of fact-checked his first venture at writing for children. technical books, travelogues, collections
truth amongst the youngsters in their reach. of short stories and non-fiction pieces,
When the next generation refuses to foot Jugnu Prakashan, an imprint of Takshashila and six bestselling books for children.
the bills of inconsiderate damage caused by Educational Society, 2020, pp. 68, `210.00
adults glued to transitory success, the scream The Book Review / October 2020 61
for change is louder than ever.

It is truly amazing how the author tackles
such a pressing topic with just the right

agrarian economy Animals and Their Writings for Young Adults
which he had Relationship with
destroyed. What Humans* places in various locations
a promising in India that normally
beginning! Andaleeb Wajid one would not get to go
to. The stories she has
However, A TIGRESS CALLED MACHHLI AND OTHER TRUE gathered from these places,
in many of the ANIMAL STORIES FROM INDIA specifically to do with
stories, the women animals, have a wholesome
appear for the By Supriya Sehgal. Illustrations by Jit Chowdhury. appeal about them. I loved
greater glory of Hachette Publishers, 2019, pp.161, R299.00 reading about the Jackals
the male. Stories of Kalo Dungar in the Rann of Kutch that
such as ‘The As someone who has she describes so vividly that I could picture
Goddess of the White Lake’ or ‘The Temple never been drawn myself to be there. Or the description of the
with No Deity’ are about the journeys and to reading non-fiction road that leads to Mehrangarh Fort in ‘A
transformation of a man with the woman personally, I think the idea Feast for Kites’ is charming, especially as one
being a side actor or a tool. In fact, one can of a collection of true stories reads about the many street dogs who follow
safely say that none of these stories will pass about Indian animals is still Abdul Latif Kureshi to the fort where he
the Bechdel test. Each of the women seems something that is intriguing enough to make feeds hundreds of kites every single day.
to have earned her place in the book through me want to pick up the book. Supriya Sehgal There are also stories that talk about the
her relationship with a man, be it her father, doesn’t disappoint. not-so-good relationship between humans
husband, son, lover, king or a villain who An easy to understand style, an almost and animals. In ‘Wildlife SOS’, she tells
must be dealt with. conversational banter between the author us about Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta
While it feels good to read some little- and the reader, draws you in to the many Seshamani who set up the rescue and
known stories of women such as the title different fascinating stories that populate rehabilitation organization to help animals.
tale which is about Parvati’s desire to have this book. Animals and their relationship There are stories about wrongful breeding
a daughter and the many adventures the with humans forms the fulcrum of almost (‘Life of a Tigon’) and flying birds for sport
young lady Ashokasundari had, one wishes every story and it is heartening to read or kabootarbaazi (‘The Sport in the Sky’)
that the treatment of the tales and their about everyday people who care for animals, which tell us about the harm that humans
central figures had been carried out more who go out of their way to help animals in cause to animals, either out of ignorance or
thoughtfully. For instance in her narration of distress, who try to make the lives of our just malice.
the story of Nala and Damayanti titled ‘The furred and four-legged fellow creatures There are also amusing stories such as
Princess and the Ugly Dwarf’, Murty misses easier. These stories are inspiring and never donkeys being married off to ensure rain
the opportunity to highlight Damayanti’s enter the didactic category even when the (‘A Monsoon Wedding’) or the vegetarian
intelligence and freedom to make choices, author is warning us of some wrong practices crocodile which will keep you smiling
to love and choose the man she wants to that are harmful for animals. much after you have finished reading the
marry, to follow him into the forest and There are numerous heart-warming stories. The titular story of Machhli is also
later to have a second marriage where again, stories here and it is hard to choose a fascinating as is the somewhat sadder story of
she reserves the right to choose her husband. favourite. All of them have an extra element, ‘The Tiger Boy’. There are plenty of stories
Instead, this account of an extremely something that makes you go back to the about dogs here and the author writes about
intelligent and agential woman is offered up story and wonder why it made you smile. them with such fondness that it will make
as a story of the workings of fate, how life Whether it was the story about Dr. Mathur you want to reach out to the nearest stray
is filled with good and bad times and one who makes prosthetics for animals, or and give them a pat on the head.
must bear them with patience. Similarly, in the myths surrounding the chill-inducing What I also enjoyed about the book was
the story ‘The Secret of Youth’, the author’s monitor lizard, or Gowri Shankar’s efforts to the sidebars in every story that offered more
focus is on the creation of the herbal paste make snakes less feared, each of these have information about either the animal or the
chyavanaprash, rather than Sage Chyavana’s something special about them. sanctuary or just a nugget of history that was
wife Sukanya who had the agency to act on The author’s profession as a travel writer connected to the story. The author’s tone is
her own behalf. Sukanya chooses to save an has taken her to a number of interesting consistent and is perfectly suited for anyone
entire army, reject the handsome Ashwini who wants to talk to children and actually
twins who try to lure her away from her *Reprinted from TBR, Volume XLIII Number 11 make them listen. There’s never a boring
aged husband, and even sees through their November 2019 moment and as the author herself says in
deceptions. the introduction, ‘If you love animals, are
Discovering and narrating tales of Supriya Sehgal endlessly entertained by their antics, and find
women is only one part of the task at hand. is a Delhi-based them funny, sweet and outright ridiculous
The other and more important part is to travel writer who sometimes, this book is for you. And if
celebrate and honour the qualities, nature has written for you’re scared of them or not very sure you
and achievements of these women and to tell several Indian like them, well, this book is also for you.’
these tales from a woman’s perspective. We and international
look forward to Sudha Murty undertaking Andaleeb Wajid is a Bangalore based writer
this task in the next volume. publications. who has been writing books for adults, young
adults and children for the past ten years. She
Padma Baliga writes on children’s literature and has recently published a romance novel called A
runs reading programmes in schools. Sweet Deal, published by Fingerprint.

62 The Book Review / October 2020

The Book Review / October 2020 63

Posting Date: 10th & 11th of every month at N.D PSO Postal Registration No DL-SW-01/4079/2018-20
Publishing Date: 8th of every month R.N.I.No. 28686/76 ISSN: No. 0970-4175

RUSKIN BOND • GANESH SAILI

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