From Out Of Clay and A Few Other Stories of Narasiah
Translated from Tamil by C.G. Rishikesh
Palaniappa Brothers, Konar Maligai, 25, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai – 600014 – 44-28132863, www. palaniappabrothers.com - Rs. 75.
Narasiah is well-known for his writing that shows rare perception of human psyche, be it novel or short story. Rishikesh has done justice in his effort to convey to readers of English the flavour of the original and the thought process of the Tamil author.
Flow, which is vital in any translation, is maintained in this slim volume of 11 stories. In other words, the style is not laboured.
Even abstract ideas involving philosophy have been tackled with minimum fuss. “In A Hurry,’ ‘The Pursuit of Wealth’ and ‘Contradictions’ belong to this category. A crossword buff, Rishikesh has managed to find English equivalents even for tricky usages.
Dr. Indira Parthasarathy concludes his introduction thus: “I finished reading the book in one sitting.” One would concur with him.
