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swathiblogs 's review for:
Timeless Tales from Marwar
by Vijaydan Detha
Vijayadan Detha , popularly known as Bijji , was one of the popular authors in Rajasthan who immortalized oral folktales and stories by writing them. Starting off as an author in Hindi, the pull for his mother-tongue Rajasthani, led him back to his hometown where he would hear tales from everyone and then ink them. Sometimes giving his own twists and perceptions, he talks on how the best tales come from women and why he would sit around and listen to their stories. Also a Nobel prize nominee in 2011 and recipient of numerous awards form Sahitya Akademi to Padma Shri, many of his stories were adapted to movies. One of the recent ones being SRK starrer, Paheli.
'Tales from Marwar' translated from Rajasthani are picked from various volumes of Batan Ri Phulwari (Garden of Tales). Translated by VIshes Kothari , he has tried to maintain the nuances of the languages by keeping intact the local words evoking sounds and of the local fauna.
What is beautiful about the stories is how along with humans he also gives a voice to animals and inanimate things like sun, stars, trees etc. The stories are simple and meaningful , a mix of prose and poetry/couplets here and there. The story starts with that of a king and his wives - 'tell' and 'don't tell'. There are stories of ghosts, of joo i.e lice, of dreams , about the origin of constellations, of selfishness, of cheating, of parent child relationship , of brother - sister relationship and so on. My favourites were ' Naagan, May you line prosper' about a man who has a snake coiled around his neck and 'The Kelu Tree' about a sister who gets killed by her brother but with elements of magic in it.
Each stories begin with some anecdote or introduction about the origin. Though I feel certain elements get lost in translation, the translator has tried to retain the humour and essence of the original stories. Bijji himself was a master storyteller and retold the folktales. A great way to carry forward the age old stories and traditions in the digital age is by preserving them by writing them. Kamakshi who read the original stories, told me how his language was his strength. Luckily for us translations pave way for an insight into different land and cultures. A few of the stories I have also heard in my childhood albeit a little different probably the local influence.
Highly recommend this treasure house of stories and the author Vijayadan Detha. I finished the book in a day and was left feeling warm and fuzzy.
'Tales from Marwar' translated from Rajasthani are picked from various volumes of Batan Ri Phulwari (Garden of Tales). Translated by VIshes Kothari , he has tried to maintain the nuances of the languages by keeping intact the local words evoking sounds and of the local fauna.
What is beautiful about the stories is how along with humans he also gives a voice to animals and inanimate things like sun, stars, trees etc. The stories are simple and meaningful , a mix of prose and poetry/couplets here and there. The story starts with that of a king and his wives - 'tell' and 'don't tell'. There are stories of ghosts, of joo i.e lice, of dreams , about the origin of constellations, of selfishness, of cheating, of parent child relationship , of brother - sister relationship and so on. My favourites were ' Naagan, May you line prosper' about a man who has a snake coiled around his neck and 'The Kelu Tree' about a sister who gets killed by her brother but with elements of magic in it.
Each stories begin with some anecdote or introduction about the origin. Though I feel certain elements get lost in translation, the translator has tried to retain the humour and essence of the original stories. Bijji himself was a master storyteller and retold the folktales. A great way to carry forward the age old stories and traditions in the digital age is by preserving them by writing them. Kamakshi who read the original stories, told me how his language was his strength. Luckily for us translations pave way for an insight into different land and cultures. A few of the stories I have also heard in my childhood albeit a little different probably the local influence.
Highly recommend this treasure house of stories and the author Vijayadan Detha. I finished the book in a day and was left feeling warm and fuzzy.