Ratno Dholi: Best Short Stories of Dhumektu Translated by Jenny Bhatt - Gripping tales of Human psyche

Title: “Ratno Dholi: The Best Short Stories of Dhumketu

Translated by Jenny Bhatt

Publisher: HarperCollins India
Paperback: 324 pages  
ISBN: 978-9390327782

“Stefan Zweig once wrote about Tolstoy ‘one who sees so much and so well does not need to invent, one who observes imaginatively does not need to create imagination’. This is also an apt description of Dhumketu’s art and craft”

After reading translated works of Vijaydan Detha, Mahasweta Devi, Ambai, Vivek Shanbhag and Sachin Kundalkar , I often feel a certain hunger for literature linked with our regional languages. Glimpses of particular state, Usage of colloquial words, their nuances and culture, evolve us as a reader, more than that ─ a better human being.  

It is not an easy task to explore the diversity of Indian literature without the selfless efforts of our translators. In 2018, Jenny Bhatt, the translator of “Ratno Dholi: The Best Short Stories of Dhumketu” announced this project on twitter. Frankly, I never heard of ‘Dhumketu’ till then, and while I have been exploring author’s world now, Dhumketu seems even more relevant in an absorbing translation.

Dhumketu had contributed more than 500 short stories, collected in 24 volumes.  In his rich canon of work he explored the internal struggles of characters with compassionate eye, how their conscience dealt with unwanted situations, differences of caste and gender, and heartfelt experiences of navigating one’s life into small town.

Although most of his stories are set in rural Gujrat, yet themes are based on all kind of social strata. Besides of that, he broke many stereotypes, while introducing independent-minded women and emotionally sensitive men to the literature, well ahead of his time.

Also, it is fascinating to take a glance on writer’s journey, “Early in his teaching career, Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi was assigned the task of reading biographies and historical novels to a nobleman’s wife – an activity that fed both his reading habit and writing aspirations.

The adoption of ‘Dhumketu’, meaning comet, came later during his university years of trying and failing (initially), to get his early short stories published. “

Here is handful of stories, closest to my heart.

In the title story “Ratno Dholi,” a beautiful relation is withered out due to people’s assumptions, inner rage and hollow doubts. With two protagonists, Dhumketu had woven an unforgettable tale of diminishing love.   

“Ratno Dholi told this dhol and its sticks all the secrets of his heart. It was as if he had no words to say to or before men. If he wanted to say anything – make merry, cry, express his happiness, show his disappointment, reveal his hopes – whatever he wanted to say was through this dhol.

He was intrigued too. When the dhol and sticks were separated, they meant nothing, and when they came together, there was a language. What was this? He had become a child of the dhol. Without the dhol, Ratno was as if without his soul.”

 Another story “Tears of the Soul,” sets in an era of kings and courtesans, how a breathing person forced to do a certain job, and yet she survived all, that too on her own terms, a brilliant read on human psyche, “In this world, things by themselves are unchangeable, untainted. Only emotions make them holy or unholy.”

In “The Rebirth of Poetry,” author introduces an intriguing character, who lives in his fantasy world, where things run at certain pace. With enigmatic prose and strange human condition, it seemed thought-provoking tale.  

“You are asking for dreams? You want to talk about things that do not exist? Dance, music, art, poetry, literature – haven’t these intoxicants made beggars of you in the past? You are asking for it again today?

We may well become beggars again, but the poverty of this emotionless life is unbearable. Instead of making us strong like thunderbolts, you are making us dull as inanimate objects?

With voices that pierced the skies, the people said only one thing. Do not turn us into emotionless machines. Give us dreams! They may well be false, they may well be vain! But when is life itself real?”

 “The Post-Office,” depicts the longing of a father who waited for his daughter’s letter throughout his life, and how his expectation fulfilled in the end. This story dangled between hope and despair.

“One day, Ali sat under a palash tree and cried his heart out. From that time on, he would awake at 4 a.m. every morning to arrive at the post office. There was never a letter for him but, with fervent devotion and hope-filled cheer that his daughter’s letter would arrive one day, he always showed up before anyone else and sat waiting outside the post office.”

Besides of all these beauties, I recommend more stories for their detailed observation of surroundings, Dhumketu’s lyrical prose and unique approach to depict nature’s beauty. Some readings were really mesmerizing.

“Psychology is a dear subject of mine and, when it comes to the weakness of emotions, without understanding half of it, mixing some philosophy and to conceal my own foolishness. I scribble a lot. So, now I was making just such jottings.” (Anaami)

 “Like a star falling from the sky, he arrived in the village on a night overcome with darkness, with calm, noiseless feet, in an imperceptible way.” (Unknown Helpers)

“On a moonlit night, when both its water-filled lakes look like serene skies and begin to make the night lotuses sway lovingly, that vision is one of life’s invaluable privileges. In the slow and gentle ripples of the breeze, the waters of both peaceful lakes do a twinkling dance, like some divine beauty’s smile.” (Svarjogi)

“Clouds lay like heaps of cotton in the valleys between those hills and their long rows filled those valleys as if a flowing river had stopped and frozen there. Several stray clouds rested in the laps of the hills, like children in a comfortable, deep sleep.” (The Queen of Nepal)

Although, I loved the book, still felt bit distracted at some passages, due to lack of flowing sentences And Jenny Bhatt stated this point into introductory section very well,   

“Translation involves understanding and leveraging the subtexts, cultural implications and stylistic choices made by the original writer in language a so that they can be recreated in language b without losing any literary merit in terms of plot, story, dialogue, insight, action, character, setting, etc. it is about being a close reader in language a and a skilled writer in language b, both of which require deep cultural understanding, literary sensitivity, and a writer’s intuition.”

This collection of twenty-six stories of Dhumketu, translated in English by Jenny Bhatt, unfolded an era of memorable characters. With gripping themes and skillful craft, Dhumketu introduced his culture to Indian literature which he felt underrepresented during his time. These slices of human lives will surely linger long in the heart. I would certainly recommend this wonderful work. 

About the Author

Dhumketu was the pen name of Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi (1892-1965), one of the foremost writers in Gujarati and a pioneer of the short story form. He published twenty-four short story collections and thirty-two novels on social and historical subjects, as well as plays, biographies, memoirs, translations, travelogues, literary criticism, etc. Dhumketu was a contemporary of Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Premchand and Saadat Hasan Manto, and his contributions to Indian literature are just as wide-ranging and groundbreaking.

Jenny Bhatt is a writer, translator and book reviewer. Her short story collection, Each of Us Killers, was critically well-received. Her writing has appeared in venues like The Atlantic, BBC Culture, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, Longreads, The Millions, Electric Literature, and others. Born and raised in Gujarat, India, she now resides in Texas, USA. 

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