The Rooster

Dear Mr. Debsharma.... This is third story you have translated. All are simple and elemental and beautiful. Your translation is beautiful. It is not easy to choose right words. In every language same can be written in different ways. So translation is not easy but you have done great job they appear as if originally you wrote. You selected all stories from Bengal all not from main cities but from rural areas. Still in our rural areas the sharp edges of life remain as in your stories. They paint the life of bengal of people at that time. Life seems to be simple straight and brutal as was. No romanticism involved beautiful narration of gone by era , all 3 stories travel smooth. These are beautiful stories so readers may like but critics may not have liked these. Generally things liked and understood by readers are not liked by literary critics. When I read both earlier stories liked and wanted to write note of thank , unfortunately my mental depression possessed me. So when Mr. BJK wrote little story I wrote him and thanked you also. If you can add if possible few words about Bengali authors we will like.
Bengali language is one of soft languages. If I am right they replace ``V`` by B so and it mellows sound. Bengali women are most women speak language softly and it sounds musical compared to harsh notes in Urdu or Punjabis.
Hope you will translate more. Thanks
( It big departure this gandhi Jinnah garbage in garbage out from educated retards who are addicted with Gandhiphobia and Jinnaholics).

This is such a good story-I remember it being read to me years ago. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

the story was indeed beautifull .....cant say about the translation cuz i have yet to read the original story ......but the plot was beautifull!!

Re: # 3
I agree with you. For good story there needs to have ``story``.

Re: # 1

Dear Mr Ahmedmadani

Thank you for your kind comments.

The stories I have been translating are those that I had read as a child, but they had stuck to my mind. Hence I thought I should share them with Readers in Chowk because since I remember them after some 40 odd years, they must be worth remembering !

Unfortunately, I can barely remember the names of the Authors, and the actual titles of the stories are not in my memory.

Hence theses stories can only be ``loose translations``.

I share your view that stories liked by readers are rarely admired by critics. As Rabindranath Tagore once said : ``My job is to write - hence I write. The Critic`s job is to criticise, hence he criticises. Let him do his job while I do mine``. Loose translation, of course.

I have chosen to translate soft stories, set in Bengal, because I understand the underlying feelings, which enable me to translate in a way that can transcend the language barrier and convey to readers the original ethos of the Writer.

If I get encourgament from people like you, I will certainly translate more such stories, from memory. It is up to the Editors of Chowk to decide whether they are worth posting.

Regards

Wonderful story and the translation was splendid too.

Lovely translation. After the Ayurvedic doctor this was wonderful. I hope you will have more stories like these stashed away in your box that you can share with us.

Re: # 1
[It big departure this gandhi Jinnah garbage in garbage out from educated retards who are addicted with Gandhiphobia and Jinnaholics]

Sir you shame us. I agree with you. This little story is worth a thousand times more than the drivel that a lot of us indulge in on chowk.

nice little bed-time story
and nicely presented

as i see that this is a loose translation so the writer mustn`t have remembered the names of the characters but the way he`s used names of the type ``(falaan)-ul-(falaan)`` reminds me of something i have always wondered.... why are such names so ubiquitous in bangladesh...

i hope some chowkie from that region would edify me...

(and keeping in mind that i`m writing this at ``chowk`` where the simplest of comments can cause an uproar, let me make it clear that it was NOT AT ALL meant to be offensive or something, it`s just a little thought in my mind)

A joy to read. Thanks for the translation!

Chowk`s introduced some wonderful writers-of-the-past to us.

thanks, i have a story to narrate to my nephews for bed time and its only 11 am

(Being a man of frugal disposition, he had only one wife )

I am not particularly frugal, but have only one wife.

Regards

Re: # 12 Majumdar
[I am not particularly frugal, but have only one wife.]

She must be giving you sufficient pocket money. That`s the ticket.-)

The big fish always gets to eat the little fish.

There is no reason why things should be different in the chicken world.

In this case, the big chicken would likewise like to eat the littlest chicken. The little chicken – to be preempted by the farmer – to be preempted by the constable – to be preempted by the daroga – to be preempted by …

Oops, it just got preempted by Fate!

So the biggest chicken always gets to eat the littlest chicken – or would have done so had not the little chicken hit back – like only little chicken can hit the little chick – in this case, the Daroga’s own little chick!

Dada, I like your simple sentences and short paragraphs. Good job!

Now, to come to the REAL reason for my interact!

Let me think this over – there MUST be a way to link this story and this comment here to my very genuine reasons for bashing up those Jinnah apologizers!

I think the story shoud include description of the Daroga with a Read-Plume Safa. He is also a rooster in the story ;-)

#15 Rusty

Right on! A rasik rooster with a roster of rosy Roza-bais regularly running rampant!