Chaar_Bagh reviewed Zindaginama (Katha Hindi Library) by Krishna Sobti
Review of 'Zindaginama (Katha Hindi Library)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I thought of writing this review when I heard Krishna Sobti is no more. This is the only work I have read of hers though I have been wanting to read her other works especially Mitro Marjaani. The reason I gave three stars for Zindaginama is the poor quality of the translation and not the work as such. Reading through the book I found myself constantly frustrated by the inability of the translation to capture the text in so many aspects- poetry, idiom, narrative style. The work itself is so ambitious. It deals with a whole range of characters, and while set in a specific location - west punjab- at a momentous moment in South Asian history it is a micro look at everyday life especially how caste, religion and gender shape the everyday in rural colonial Punjab. At some point I want to attempt reading the book in hindi …
I thought of writing this review when I heard Krishna Sobti is no more. This is the only work I have read of hers though I have been wanting to read her other works especially Mitro Marjaani. The reason I gave three stars for Zindaginama is the poor quality of the translation and not the work as such. Reading through the book I found myself constantly frustrated by the inability of the translation to capture the text in so many aspects- poetry, idiom, narrative style. The work itself is so ambitious. It deals with a whole range of characters, and while set in a specific location - west punjab- at a momentous moment in South Asian history it is a micro look at everyday life especially how caste, religion and gender shape the everyday in rural colonial Punjab. At some point I want to attempt reading the book in hindi which itself I am told is a hindi which draws from Punjabi and Urdu/Persian traditions. Meanwhile we have to hope that someone else will attempt a better translation.