The Partings (Xeuji Pator Kahini)

Author: Rasna Barua
Translator(s): Mrinal Miri
Publisher: Sahitya Akademi
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 263
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8126019190

Description

The original Assamese novel, Xeuji Pator Kahini, of which this is the English translation, was first published in 1954.

Set in pre-independence Assam, the story juxtaposes the morally oppressive life in a typical Assamese village and the life of the tea garden workers, which, even if marvelously free from the moral pretensions of a small village community, is harsh and unrelenting.

Nareswar, the outsider from the village, finds meaning in the free fun loving ways of the coolie; and the mercurial Sonia, illegitimate daughter of a white manager and a young coolie girl, is the unfailing critical eye which sees through all human deceptions. This is the story of love between Nareswar and Sonia woven into the extraordinarily rich texture of life in a tea garden.

TRANSLATOR

MRINAL MIRI, the translator, is a well-known philosopher. He was educated in Cambridge University and has several philosophical books to his credit. This is his first attempt at translation. Currently he is Vice-Chancellor, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong.