Title: Worlds Within Worlds
Author: Ajay Navaria
Translated by: Nita Kumar
Publisher: Niyogi Books
ISBN: 9789391125806
Pages: 318
Buy Link: Amazon
“As
soon as someone asks for their rights, of course, there will be bitterness. No
one gives away their share willingly.”
Ajay Navaria’s Worlds Within Worlds takes readers into the lives of Dalits, an oppressed community in India. The book was originally written in Hindi as Udhar Ke Log and is translated into English by Nita Kumar.
The story is about Masterji, a Dalit professor, who struggles with his past and present. His first wife, Vandana, dies by suicide. His second wife, Sangita, leaves him. Masterji tries to win Sangita back. Along the way, he meets Ayesha, a sex worker, and they share a quaint bond. These relationships are at the centre of the story. Through them, Navaria explores caste, gender, and social issues.
“The next six months were the most humiliating and challenging days of my life. At first, there was just the pain of the loss of Vandana. Then it was intensified by the accusation that I had pushed her towards suicide. An elephant-like weight fell on me. A single page of Vandana's diary was responsible for a six-month term in jail. She had written that I had beaten her when drunk.
On the basis of that, I was called an alcoholic and wife-beater. My character was stained, my illegitimate relations were bounced around. I lost my job. I could not even see Amresh sir. He himself had been unable to understand the event. I could not figure out how Vandana, who was so afraid of death, had taken poison and killed herself? She had not left a suicide note. People had told me that she was found at the front door of the house. The door was open. She must have waited for me, and thought that I would come back in time to save her. That did not happen.”
The book looks closely at the caste system in India. It shows how love, jealousy, and mistrust affect people across caste lines. It questions the idea of a single Dalit identity and reveals divisions within the community. Nita Kumar’s foreword adds helpful insights to the story.
Tradition and modern life clash in the novel. Navaria critiques how capitalism is erasing cultural diversity, especially through wedding rituals. Education is also a big theme. It offers hope but does not fully erase discrimination.
“I understood that there could be no re-establishing of trust between these two people. The best thing would be for them to voluntarily divorce. Otherwise, it was quite possible that one day there would be a murder or suicide. And the other person would waste his or her life in and out of court. The children, even if one parent was alive, would be like orphans, and have mental health problems. They would be afraid to get married. and if they did, would ruin one more family. If families were ruined, would the nation survive? Should divorce not be made simpler? When a man or a woman ceases to want to live with their man or woman, why does the other wish to continue tolerating insult and injury to stay on? I was like an insect caught in a spider's web with my net of questions, and they were strangling me.”
World Within Words pushes readers to think—about caste, identity, and loyalty. It is a small book but leaves a lasting impact. For those curious about Dalit lives and their modern realities, this book is a good place to start.
About the Author
Born in 1972 in Delhi, AJAY NAVARIA has a BA and MA from University of Delhi, and MPhil and PhD from JNU. His stories have been widely translated. Unclaimed Terrain, a story collection translated by Prof. Laura R. Brueck, 2013, was critically acclaimed. He has published story collections Patkatha aur Anya Kahaniya and Yes Sir, in Hindi.
He
has been invited as a speaker at various universities and literature festivals.
His works have been included in the syllabus at Harvard University, Michigan
University and University of Delhi. He is a Professor of Hindi at Jamia Millia
Islamia University, New Delhi.
About the Translator
NITA KUMAR is the retired Brown Professor of South Asian History at Claremont McKenna College, California. She is the author and editor of several books. She has scripted the movie Shankar's Fairies. She publishes essays and blogs, and her plays have been performed in various places. She runs NIRMAN, which works for children, families, education, and the arts, and the school Vidyashram the Southpoint, in Varanasi.
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