Kabuliwala and Other Stories: A NOTEWORTHY VENTURE IN THE FIELD

Kabuliwala and Other Stories is a collection of twelve outstanding stories of Rabindranath Tagore, translated into English by Prof Shawkat Hussain, a former professor of the Department of English, University of Dhaka. He frequently translates poetry and fiction from Bengali to English and modestly calls himself an 'occasional translator of Rabindranath Tagore.' But in his few words on the book carried on its flap, Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury doesn't fail to notice that "it is a noteworthy venture in the field" and that Professor Hussain has "deep interest in Tagore." Professor Kaiser Haq, our premier English language poet and brilliant translator, calls Rabindranath 'inexhaustible' ('afuronto' was the word used by Buddhadev Bose) and is very satisfied that Prof Hussain has "lovingly translated a dozen of his best stories into eminently readable English – with a sprinkling of words carried over unaltered from the original."

A quick glance through the list of twelve stories on the first day saddened me a bit. My favorite "Poyla Nombor" was not there! And where was "Athiti," the story of Tarapada, the lovable tramp? Or "Bolai," the story of the nature-loving child? "Subha," the innocent village damsel who can't speak but can easily enter your heart? Or, the disturbingly brilliant "Noshtoneerh"? But soon I realized that Prof Shawkat Hussain's choice and taste are excellent. He has translated stories like "Kabuliwala," "Strir Patra"(The Wife's Letter), "Malyadaan" (The Gift of a Garland), "Shasti" (Punishment) and "Samapti" (The End) with dexterity. Professor Hussain's fluid translation of twelve wonderful Tagore stories make them true to the originals. Among the other stories are "Taraprasannar Kirti" (The Achievement of Taraprasanna), "Adhyapak" (The Professor), and the amazing "Shesh Ratri" (The Last Night).

Sometime in September 1914 Rabindranath Tagore had requested Edward Thompson, his first English biographer, to translate some of his short stories and bring out a selection of them that might appeal to the Western audience. "Please make your own selection, for it is difficult for me to know which of my things will be palatable to the English taste," he had said. Even Victoria Ocampo, his Argentinian friend and admirer, once ruefully commented in a different context, "Tagore had doubts as to the Westerners' capacity of understanding Eastern thoughts." The situation is certainly different now. The West and the East have come to know each other better. Tagore's own translation of Gitanjali (Song-Offerings) had fetched him the Nobel Prize. Many Europeans, Americans and sub-continental translators have translated his poems, fiction, essays and letters. The stories (and also the songs) have captured every possible human emotion. Kaiser Haq (1950- ) and William Radice (1951- ) are two of his best translators. Now Professor Shawkat Hussain has translated his short stories with brilliance. When some of these translations were printed in the literary pages of Dhaka newspapers, stories like "Shasti" and "Strir Patra" made quite a stir.

Rabindranath Tagore has two powerful rivals as writers of short stories, one Frenchman and a Russian. Guy de Maupassant and Anton Chekhov were brilliant story-tellers. But the musical quality of Tagore's prose and his deeper grasp of the human mind probably exceed them by far. Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury reminds us, "Tagore was a poet even as he wrote in prose; and the nuances, metaphors, ironies and, above all, the music of his writings refuse to be translated adequately." Professor Hussain was very much aware of this and has been quite successful. In his "Translator's Note" he writes, "The act of translating Tagore's short stories has been challenging as well as a great pleasure. I have tried, as much as possible, to remain true to the content, the style, the tone and the music of Tagore's prose. How much I have succeeded is not for me to judge," but I am sure examples will prove that he has been quite successful.

In a story as tragic as "Shasti" (Punishment), how beautifully Tagore describes Chandara, the ill-fated female protagonist: "Chandara was no more than seventeen or eighteen. Her face was soft and round, her stature not very tall. There was such a lilt in her petite, lithe limbs that every movement seemed fluid and rhythmic. Like a newly-built skiff, small and graceful, she moved with unhampered ease and speed. She was curious about everything in the world and had a sense of humor. She loved visiting her neighbors for a chat; on her way to the bathing ghat, she took in all that was worth noticing with her restless, bright, black eyes by parting slightly the end of her sari with two fingers." Simply amazing! Both the original and the translated words.

Nature in Tagore's stories is indifferent to human sorrow. We may remember the serene nature after Raicharan has lost his master's child (Khokababur Pratyaborton), or the unperturbed nature after Dukhiram has unthinkingly killed his wife Radha in "Punishment": "Outside, it was very peaceful. The shepherds were returning home with their herds. The peasants who had gone to the sandbank on the other side to harvest the newly-ripened paddy, were returning home in groups of seven or eight, sitting in small boats, carrying sheaves of paddy on their heads as payment for their labor." What a description! And translated so well!

Take also "Strir Patro" (The Wife's Letter), one of the best stories of the book. After the ailing Bindu dies, Mrinal sadly thinks about her and her own fate: "When the music of death floated through the broken heart of this girl and touched the shores of my being, it pierced me the first time. I asked God why that which was so insignificant was also so momentous. Why was this walled-up pleasureless bubble of a life, in this alley in Kolkata, so very difficult to burst? Why could I not cross the threshold of the inner house even for a moment when the magnificence of the six seasons of the universe beckoned me?" Unforgettable words translated so poignantly!

Professor Shawkat Hussain has chosen his twelve stories well. There is a variety of themes in the stories chosen. He has called this 'labor of love' and has been very successful as a translator, neither missing the nuances of Tagore's language nor the musicality of his prose. The colorful cover by Pradip Chakraborty is attractive. The book will be liked by translators, students and teachers of literature, the common reader and young boys and girls of Bengali parents growing up abroad with little or no knowledge of Bengali or Tagore. Printing is of good quality and mistakes are almost absent.

Junaidul Haque writes fiction and essays in Bengali and English. He is also a translator.