POOR RELATIONS

I have come to the bitter con¬clusion that if Hindi writers are treated like poor relations of English ones, they have only themselves to blame. Why on earth do distinguished Hindi novelists allow their work to be hastily translated into clownish and farcical English? Is it impossible to wait till a reasonable translator comes along? A couple of years ago, Bhisham Sahni’s brilliant novel Tamas was, so to speak, done for in the translation. It is now the turn of Mannu Bhandari’s Aapka Bunty. This is rightly considered a land¬mark in recent Hindi fiction, but it may as well be said at once that the author has no hope of being treated seriously—or treated as a writer at all—by anyone who happens on this English version. Incident¬ally, she is lucky that her other novel Mahabhoj has found a far better translator, and among English readers that may save her reputation to some extent.
Aapka Buny is original in theme as well as in the detail with which it depicts psycho¬logical interaction. It focusses almost wholly on a child, which alone is unusual for an adult novel. Bunty lives with his divorced mother and longs uncomprehendingly for his father.