Readomania is excited to announce the acquisition of rights to the translation of a work of literary fiction originally written in Bangla, by Bitan Chakraborty. The work has been translated into English by Malati Mukherjee and titled Redundant.
Redundant is a book about characters who represent the man on the street. The ordinary person, whose pains we—the advantaged—experience only through the medium of books and films. People we rarely glance at, although we walk past them on the road every day. Through his writing, Chakraborty compels us, though, to listen to their heart-breaking stories and marvel at their brave treading of paths we would hesitate to walk on. The characters in Redundant sensitise you to their world. It forces you to become part of the ordinary, struggling pedestrian’s reality. There is no letting up—no happy endings, just life in all its authenticity.
Bitan Chakraborty is a story-teller and has authored eight books: Avinetar Journal (prose), Santiram-er Cha (short fiction), Sharanarthi (Bengali rendering of Kiriti Sengupta's Reflections on Salvation), Chinha (short fiction), Landmark (short fiction), Haat Kata (novelette), Dhasa (novelette), Brishti Sahay (Bengali translation of Sanjeev Sethi's selected poems). Bitan has received much critical acclaim both in India and the United States. Bougainvillea and Other Stories, and The Mark are two full-length collections of his short fiction, translated into English.
When asked about Redundant, Chakraborty says, 'Limbs come for a purpose! So it's essential to realize their impetus to lead a meaningful life. But how many people can live up to their abilities? Hold on to a promising future they dream about? Open your eyes! You will find aimless young people whom our nation failed to utilize to the best of their capacities. Had the country employed them, India would indeed have turned into sare jahan se accha!'
World Literature Today says, 'Every detail is credible, anchored in the mundane reality of city-dwellers in urban metropolises in contemporary India. Chakraborty is not a fantasist or fabulist; reality is an unvarying constant in his stories. Reality inevitably impinges on us. Where is la dolce vita? The question is purely rhetorical.'
Malati Mukherjee is a writer, translator, and editor. She has published Nature Songs of Tagore, a book of songs of Rabindranath Tagore translated from Bengali. She has edited and part-written a 200-page coffee table book, The Legendary Fr. E.H. McGrath SJ–Revered Teacher, Inspiring Forever. She has translated from Bengali, Shri Mani Sankar Mukherjee’s book, Swami Vivekananda–The Feasting, Fasting Monk. Malati runs Words and Space, a writing and editing service. She lives in Coonoor, in the Nilgiris, where she leads and drives social projects in the areas of nutrition and education for tribal women and children.
Mukherjee says, 'Franklin Roosevelt once said, 'The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.' All of us seek constant progress. Our country seeks to be known as a 'developed nation.' But development means giving freedom to people–freedom to choose what they want to do with their life, choice of vocations and workplaces, choice of livelihood, and living spaces. Even after so many decades of our independence, have we been able to give these choices to our people?
Redundant speaks of the grim reality of our youth, bound in chains of want and hunger and the ignominy of being turned away from every possibility of succour. It calls us to action. To step up and provide for those who have too little.'
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