oxford novellas
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
an orch
estra of lite
rary voices from Indic languages
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Diverse, intense, anguished, euphoric, elemental, and mellifluous—
India narrates her stories in multiple languages.
From the burning field of a drought-struck village in Andhra Pradesh
to a village under severe threat of submersion in the Maland region of
Karnataka; from the deep solitude in an apartment block in Bombay
to the intense aggression on display in a bull-taming contest in the
Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu; from a Paranaki settlement by a
river in Kerala to life in an old-age home in Calcutta, these stories are by
authors and distinguished translators, closely attached to the roots of India.
A bouquet of tiny gems, each story meticulously picked up, this new series
‘Oxford Novellas’ opens a window to the unfathomable phantom of India.
The Oxford Novellas will grow over a period of time into an
exclusive collection for your shelf and I sincerely hope you will
enjoy reading them.
Warm regards,
Sugata GhoshDirector: Publishing – Academic & General Global Academic PublishingOxford University [email protected]
CHELLA
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Encompassing
literature, popular and
genre fiction, writers
old and new, this series
presents an orchestra of
Indic voices
CHELLA
PPA
Series editor Mini Krishnan
Tamil
ISBN: 0198097476
9780198097471Paperback
ArenaVaadivaasal
‘Don’t let go of your hold, Picchi!’ Marudan
yelled … Leaping up to a man’s height, the bull
contracted its back in mid-air, tucked its head
inward, let its hindquarters drop, and thus
suspended, came down suddenly with great
force, all four hooves slamming the ground. …
Before he could find his footing, the bull had
sprung up and leapt high again.
C.S. Chellappa was a writer and an
eminent literary critic. He has short stories, poetry, plays, essays,
and short novels to his credit. To realize
his vision of Tamil literature, he founded
the iconic little magazine, Ezhuthu,
which he published for a decade.
N. Kalyan Raman is a translator of
contemporary Tamil fiction and poetry.
This is his sixth volume of Tamil fiction in English
translation.
Picchi and Marudan make their way to the bull-taming contest
at the Chellaiyi festival at Periyapatti to redeem both memory
and fear. They have a past to overcome. The local zameendar
fields his unconquerable animal and, against all odds, Picchi
jumps into the arena. As the Kaari turns to face him and
Chellappa’s outstanding Tamil classic unfolds, the ground shakes
and the page trembles. Picchi’s grip on the bull is just a breath
behind the author’s grip on our imagination as the sport of
jallikattu spins the reader in and out of the arena. Vaadivaasal,
a masterful account of power relations, describes the traditional
rituals of bull-taming and captures the life-and-death struggle
between animal and man.
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Tamil
ISBN: 0198097476
9780198097471Paperback
ArenaVaadivaasal
‘Don’t let go of your hold, Picchi!’ Marudan
yelled … Leaping up to a man’s height, the bull
contracted its back in mid-air, tucked its head
inward, let its hindquarters drop, and thus
suspended, came down suddenly with great
force, all four hooves slamming the ground. …
Before he could find his footing, the bull had
sprung up and leapt high again.
C.S. Chellappa was a writer and an
eminent literary critic. He has short stories, poetry, plays, essays,
and short novels to his credit. To realize
his vision of Tamil literature, he founded
the iconic little magazine, Ezhuthu,
which he published for a decade.
N. Kalyan Raman is a translator of
contemporary Tamil fiction and poetry.
This is his sixth volume of Tamil fiction in English
translation.
Picchi and Marudan make their way to the bull-taming contest
at the Chellaiyi festival at Periyapatti to redeem both memory
and fear. They have a past to overcome. The local zameendar
fields his unconquerable animal and, against all odds, Picchi
jumps into the arena. As the Kaari turns to face him and
Chellappa’s outstanding Tamil classic unfolds, the ground shakes
and the page trembles. Picchi’s grip on the bull is just a breath
behind the author’s grip on our imagination as the sport of
jallikattu spins the reader in and out of the arena. Vaadivaasal,
a masterful account of power relations, describes the traditional
rituals of bull-taming and captures the life-and-death struggle
between animal and man.
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Kannada
IslandDweepa
Now the time had come for the village to
drown. The Sharavathi had never come close to
Hosamanehalli though she would roar ferociously
from a distance during the monsoon. But she was
now thinking of swallowing it up.…
This was what Ganapayya noticed as he walked
towards the house from the farm. … what would
happen if the flood was stalled? … The warnings
of the old man from the Submersion Office
echoed in Ganapayya’s ears.
Na. D’Souza has written forty-five
novels including Manjina Kanu and
Baman besides twenty-five novels
for children. Many of his short stories and
novels have been translated into Telugu,
Malayalam, English, Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi,
and Konkani.
Susheela Punitha retired as Professor of English, Mount Carmel
College, and Centre for Postgraduate
Studies, Seshadripuram College, Bangalore.
As land wrestles unsuccessfully with water to save itself from
being swallowed, everyone leaves except Ganapayya and
his family. When the Sharavathi rises, it isn’t only snakes that
enter the little farmhouse. Unknown to Ganapayya, his wife’s
playmate from long ago finds a place in an otherwise happy
marriage. Everyone and everything changes in the farmer’s
life as the values and ways of the Malnad region disappear
under the flood waters of the hydroelectric project in this first
‘displacement-novel’ presented in D’Souza’s unique style.
ISBN: 0198097441
9780198097440Paperback
OX
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OV
ELLA
S
Order Now
Kannada
IslandDweepa
Now the time had come for the village to
drown. The Sharavathi had never come close to
Hosamanehalli though she would roar ferociously
from a distance during the monsoon. But she was
now thinking of swallowing it up.…
This was what Ganapayya noticed as he walked
towards the house from the farm. … what would
happen if the flood was stalled? … The warnings
of the old man from the Submersion Office
echoed in Ganapayya’s ears.
Na. D’Souza has written forty-five
novels including Manjina Kanu and
Baman besides twenty-five novels
for children. Many of his short stories and
novels have been translated into Telugu,
Malayalam, English, Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi,
and Konkani.
Susheela Punitha retired as Professor of English, Mount Carmel
College, and Centre for Postgraduate
Studies, Seshadripuram College, Bangalore.
As land wrestles unsuccessfully with water to save itself from
being swallowed, everyone leaves except Ganapayya and
his family. When the Sharavathi rises, it isn’t only snakes that
enter the little farmhouse. Unknown to Ganapayya, his wife’s
playmate from long ago finds a place in an otherwise happy
marriage. Everyone and everything changes in the farmer’s
life as the values and ways of the Malnad region disappear
under the flood waters of the hydroelectric project in this first
‘displacement-novel’ presented in D’Souza’s unique style.
ISBN: 0198097441
9780198097440Paperback
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Marathi
ThereafterTyanantar
Because there is no equivalent for ‘love’ in
Marathi…. Not affection, not lust, compassion,
pity … feeling of love … I love you … I love
my friend … I love him … I love her … I
love my nation … I love god … I love beauty
… I love this book … that colour … I love
butterflies … batatawada … Bombay …
bhelpuri … deep blue sea … Dilip Kumar … I
love this … that … I love you more than him!
Saniya has ten volumes of
short stories and three novels to her credit. She
has won many literary awards, two of which are State-level prizes.
Maya Pandit is Professor at the
English and Foreign Languages University,
Hyderabad, and is involved in teacher
development projects.One day, with no warning at all, Radhika’s husband Lalit
leaves her. Not for another woman, but to find himself.
Distraught at first and then angry, Radhika proceeds to
rebuild her life and even steers it on her own terms.
Saniya excels in creating an atmosphere which suffuses the
novella with both sentiment and emotion that flows without
break till the end of the narrative. There is a constant knitting
of the past and present, building up, however, to a satirical
resolution of sorts in the present.
ISBN: 019809745X
9780198097457Paperback
OX
FOR
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OV
ELLA
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Order Now
Marathi
ThereafterTyanantar
Because there is no equivalent for ‘love’ in
Marathi…. Not affection, not lust, compassion,
pity … feeling of love … I love you … I love
my friend … I love him … I love her … I
love my nation … I love god … I love beauty
… I love this book … that colour … I love
butterflies … batatawada … Bombay …
bhelpuri … deep blue sea … Dilip Kumar … I
love this … that … I love you more than him!
Saniya has ten volumes of
short stories and three novels to her credit. She
has won many literary awards, two of which are State-level prizes.
Maya Pandit is Professor at the
English and Foreign Languages University,
Hyderabad, and is involved in teacher
development projects.One day, with no warning at all, Radhika’s husband Lalit
leaves her. Not for another woman, but to find himself.
Distraught at first and then angry, Radhika proceeds to
rebuild her life and even steers it on her own terms.
Saniya excels in creating an atmosphere which suffuses the
novella with both sentiment and emotion that flows without
break till the end of the narrative. There is a constant knitting
of the past and present, building up, however, to a satirical
resolution of sorts in the present.
ISBN: 019809745X
9780198097457Paperback
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Telugu
Moogavani PillanagroviBallad of Ontillu
Kesava Reddy, a dermatologist
by profession, has several published
novellas to his credit. Basing the
narrative on his own family history, he has
authored as well as translated
this novella.
ISBN: 0198097425
9780198097426Paperback
Bakkireddy lay on his back, his palms beneath
his head, staring at the wall-niche and the
rolled up document in it. He found himself
muttering, ‘This morning, selling my land at
auction, I buried my father a second time.’
He half rose from the cot on his elbow with
the intention of getting up and retrieving the
scroll. But at that moment he heard a familiar
sound in the loft of the cattle shed.
Ancestral land was life and breath to Bakkireddy who
sees his father’s corpse in the sale deed of his farmlands.
As he loses grip on reality and finally sanity itself, his
end takes on epic proportions. Bakkireddy’s history
becomes myth and the novella strikes a chord as it
brings to the fore the issue of farmer suicides. Known for
his intense poignant novellas, Kesava Reddy continues
the tradition as he captures the collective tragedy of
rural India in this novella.
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Order Now
Telugu
Moogavani PillanagroviBallad of Ontillu
Kesava Reddy, a dermatologist
by profession, has several published
novellas to his credit. Basing the
narrative on his own family history, he has
authored as well as translated
this novella.
ISBN: 0198097425
9780198097426Paperback
Bakkireddy lay on his back, his palms beneath
his head, staring at the wall-niche and the
rolled up document in it. He found himself
muttering, ‘This morning, selling my land at
auction, I buried my father a second time.’
He half rose from the cot on his elbow with
the intention of getting up and retrieving the
scroll. But at that moment he heard a familiar
sound in the loft of the cattle shed.
Ancestral land was life and breath to Bakkireddy who
sees his father’s corpse in the sale deed of his farmlands.
As he loses grip on reality and finally sanity itself, his
end takes on epic proportions. Bakkireddy’s history
becomes myth and the novella strikes a chord as it
brings to the fore the issue of farmer suicides. Known for
his intense poignant novellas, Kesava Reddy continues
the tradition as he captures the collective tragedy of
rural India in this novella.
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Bengali
TRANSLATED FROM BENGALI BY TUTUN MUKHERJEE
www.oup.com
` 0009 780198 097433
ISBN 0-19-809743-3
Sheet Sahasik
Hemantolok An orchestra of literary voices
from Indic languages
‘Can love-making be like gorging? No
… Is that how the Bengali gentleman
eats? Doesn’t he need the entire spread
of panchabyanjan, all fi ve fl avours in his
sumptuous meals? From the bitt er to the
sweet? Doesn’t he enjoy being fanned
while he eats? And the box of paan at the
end? Love-making’s like that.’
Defying Winter
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
O X F O R D N O V E L L A S
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DEV SEN
SHEET SA
HA
SIK HEM
AN
TOLO
K
Illustarion: Boski Jain
eaeaeaeaeaadddddd
hhhhhhhisisisiisisis
ooo o o ththththththeeeeee
edededdeded
aaaaaattttttt ththththtththththe eee e ee e
Novella Defying Winter.indd ii
19/07/13 4:08 PM
ISBN: 0198097433
9780198097433Paperback
Nabaneeta Dev Sen is one of the most
outstanding writers of our times. She has more than eighty publications
in a variety of genres, comprising poetry, fiction, travelogues, plays, letters,
memoirs, literary criticism, humour, and
children’s literature.
Tutun Mukherjee is Professor at the
Centre for Comparative Literature, University
of Hyderabad. She is a translator who has
also edited translations from different
Indian languages.
Sheet Sahasik Hemantolok
Defying Winter
Women fight; they remember; they forget; in the
twilight of their days they weep and curse their
children and fellow lodgers in a shelter home. As they
open up about the lives they lived and left behind, the
closed world of relationships of women within their
homes implodes on every page: anger, intolerance, and
the inevitable unfolding of power at different stages
in a woman’s lifespan; the tension between different
generations of women; and their dependence on
men, both economic and emotional. Nabaneeta Dev
Sen’s genius for retrieving the past is matched by the
wonderfully powerful lyric quality of this novella.
‘Can love-making be like gorging? No … Is
that how the Bengali gentleman eats? Doesn’t
he need the entire spread of panchabyanjan,
all five flavours in his sumptuous meals? From
the bitter to the sweet? Doesn’t he enjoy
being fanned while he eats? And the box of
paan at the end? Love-making’s like that.’
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Order Now
Bengali
TRANSLATED FROM BENGALI BY TUTUN MUKHERJEE
www.oup.com
` 0009 780198 097433
ISBN 0-19-809743-3
Sheet Sahasik
Hemantolok An orchestra of literary voices
from Indic languages
‘Can love-making be like gorging? No
… Is that how the Bengali gentleman
eats? Doesn’t he need the entire spread
of panchabyanjan, all fi ve fl avours in his
sumptuous meals? From the bitt er to the
sweet? Doesn’t he enjoy being fanned
while he eats? And the box of paan at the
end? Love-making’s like that.’
Defying Winter
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
O X F O R D N O V E L L A S
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
DEV SEN
SHEET SA
HA
SIK HEM
AN
TOLO
K
Illustarion: Boski Jain
eaeaeaeaeaadddddd
hhhhhhhisisisiisisis
ooo o o ththththththeeeeee
edededdeded
aaaaaattttttt ththththtththththe eee e ee e
Novella Defying Winter.indd ii
19/07/13 4:08 PM
ISBN: 0198097433
9780198097433Paperback
Nabaneeta Dev Sen is one of the most
outstanding writers of our times. She has more than eighty publications
in a variety of genres, comprising poetry, fiction, travelogues, plays, letters,
memoirs, literary criticism, humour, and
children’s literature.
Tutun Mukherjee is Professor at the
Centre for Comparative Literature, University
of Hyderabad. She is a translator who has
also edited translations from different
Indian languages.
Sheet Sahasik Hemantolok
Defying Winter
Women fight; they remember; they forget; in the
twilight of their days they weep and curse their
children and fellow lodgers in a shelter home. As they
open up about the lives they lived and left behind, the
closed world of relationships of women within their
homes implodes on every page: anger, intolerance, and
the inevitable unfolding of power at different stages
in a woman’s lifespan; the tension between different
generations of women; and their dependence on
men, both economic and emotional. Nabaneeta Dev
Sen’s genius for retrieving the past is matched by the
wonderfully powerful lyric quality of this novella.
‘Can love-making be like gorging? No … Is
that how the Bengali gentleman eats? Doesn’t
he need the entire spread of panchabyanjan,
all five flavours in his sumptuous meals? From
the bitter to the sweet? Doesn’t he enjoy
being fanned while he eats? And the box of
paan at the end? Love-making’s like that.’
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Malayalam
Jeevichirikkunnavarkku
Vendiyulla Oppees
Requiem for the Living
Johny Miranda
MIRA
ND
A
www.oup.com
` 0009 780198 097464
ISBN 0-19-809746-8
Illustration by Author and
Boski Jain
Mammanji’s body lay there in the exact
state it had been in when she was buried!
Her face serene and beautiful, and still
rosy-cheeked …! The long, shiny white
robe she had been dressed in that day,
the wreath on her head, the black cross
in her hands; all of it intact. The flowers
looked as if they had been freshly plucked
and a fragrance flowed from the coffin.
O X F O R D N O V E L L A S
An orchestra of literary voices
from Indic languages
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
JeevIc
hIR
Ikk
uN
NA
vA
Rk
ku
veN
DIyu
llA O
pp
ees
TranslaTed from malaYalam bY sajai jose
Johny Miranda paints portraits
and is a writer who lives in Kochi. He
has published a collection of novellas.
Sajai Jose works as a copywriter in
Bangalore. Requiem for the Living is his
first published work of translation.
Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees
Requiem for the Living
ISBN: 0198097468
9780198097464Paperback
Josy Pereira, a young church sacristan, finds a key of gold in a
freshly dug grave that once held a woman who died at childbirth.
It begins to haunt his waking life, and soon, his sleep. Is it in
some way connected to a recurring dream he has, of a brutal
celebration with echoes of animal—or is it human—sacrifice?
The first Kochi-Creole work to appear in English, this novella
is set in a community descended from the dependants of the
Portuguese who had ruled the city four centuries ago. It is
a world that revolves around the church and the locals’ own
peculiar brand of faith—one where the vicar is permanently
drunk, the sacristan steals from the offering-box, and sainthood
is a reality that can be touched. A fresh sensitivity marks Johny
Miranda’s fictional imagination.
Mammanji’s body lay there in the exact state it had
been in when she was buried! Her face serene and
beautiful, and still rosy-cheeked…! The long, shiny
white robe she had been dressed in that day, the
wreath on her head, the black cross in her hands; all of
it intact. The flowers looked as if they had been freshly
plucked and a fragrance flowed from the coffin.
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Order Now
Malayalam
Jeevichirikkunnavarkku
Vendiyulla Oppees
Requiem for the Living
Johny Miranda
MIRA
ND
A
www.oup.com
` 0009 780198 097464
ISBN 0-19-809746-8
Illustration by Author and
Boski Jain
Mammanji’s body lay there in the exact
state it had been in when she was buried!
Her face serene and beautiful, and still
rosy-cheeked …! The long, shiny white
robe she had been dressed in that day,
the wreath on her head, the black cross
in her hands; all of it intact. The flowers
looked as if they had been freshly plucked
and a fragrance flowed from the coffin.
O X F O R D N O V E L L A S
An orchestra of literary voices
from Indic languages
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
JeevIc
hIR
Ikk
uN
NA
vA
Rk
ku
veN
DIyu
llA O
pp
ees
TranslaTed from malaYalam bY sajai jose
Johny Miranda paints portraits
and is a writer who lives in Kochi. He
has published a collection of novellas.
Sajai Jose works as a copywriter in
Bangalore. Requiem for the Living is his
first published work of translation.
Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees
Requiem for the Living
ISBN: 0198097468
9780198097464Paperback
Josy Pereira, a young church sacristan, finds a key of gold in a
freshly dug grave that once held a woman who died at childbirth.
It begins to haunt his waking life, and soon, his sleep. Is it in
some way connected to a recurring dream he has, of a brutal
celebration with echoes of animal—or is it human—sacrifice?
The first Kochi-Creole work to appear in English, this novella
is set in a community descended from the dependants of the
Portuguese who had ruled the city four centuries ago. It is
a world that revolves around the church and the locals’ own
peculiar brand of faith—one where the vicar is permanently
drunk, the sacristan steals from the offering-box, and sainthood
is a reality that can be touched. A fresh sensitivity marks Johny
Miranda’s fictional imagination.
Mammanji’s body lay there in the exact state it had
been in when she was buried! Her face serene and
beautiful, and still rosy-cheeked…! The long, shiny
white robe she had been dressed in that day, the
wreath on her head, the black cross in her hands; all of
it intact. The flowers looked as if they had been freshly
plucked and a fragrance flowed from the coffin.
OX
FOR
D N
OV
ELLA
S
Forth
coming Novellas...
Aranyakand (Konkani)Author: Mahabaleshwar SailTranslator: Vidya Pai Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan (Malayalam)Author: K.R MeeraTranslator: J. Devika Apeetha (Tamil)Author: La.Sa RamamrithamTranslator: Padma Narayanan Sunnar Pande Kee Patoh (Hindi)Author: AmarkantTranslator: Madhubala Joshi Kusumabale (Kannada)Author: Devanoora MahadevaTranslator: Susan Daniel
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