Monday, June 4, 2007

Katha Prize Stories: Volume 9

Katha Prize Stories 9 brings some of the best stories from sixteen languages, specially chosen by eminent writers, critics, scholars, and translated with flair. Real stories, they explore the magic of masterly writings that are excitingly new and exuberantly alive: see a butterfly take wing, feel the moon melt in your palm, exult in the energy of fire and ice.

The Telegraph
(Friday 28 January, 2000)

Katha Prize Stories collects translations of vibrant and original short stories in 16 Indian vernaculars that cover an attractive range of experience and styles – from Manipuri minimalism to Telugu dreamscapes. This is a remarkable selection – varied, lively and inspiring the reader to want to read more of the writers represented.

First City
(March 2000)

Profound, poignant and pulsating, the present collection of short stories published during 1998-99 is another testimony to the truly commendable work that Katha has been doing since its inception. Interestingly, the anthology celebrates the magic of 9,19,99, 1999- the ninth volume of 19 prize stories, this Katha’s ninety-ninth book, offered at the end of `99. Selected by a panel of distinguished editors, the collection has vignettes from contemporary literature in the 16 Indian languages.

The Hindustan Times
(March 12, 2000)

And love appears in these stories wearing many faces. And around this dominant theme are weaved various narratives which are complex yet refreshingly creative. The complexity can be judged from stories like Afsar Ahmed’s Headmaster”, Prawn Chanachur”, first published in Bangla as Arthaheen Katha Balar Nirbharata.

The Express Magazine
(January 30, 2000)

But to Katha’s credit, the team of translators, most of whom have worked with the writers and editors, has done a credible job.

- Sudipta Datta

The Asian Age
(February 20, 2000)

Each story is a comprehensive portrayal of love in all its complexity, refreshingly creative and lending to multiplle readings. And there is not just romantic love, as we know it. There is love for theatre and love for one’s native land, the love between a mother and a daughter, the mythic Draupadi’s love for her five husbands and love as lust. But, finally, as the editor Geeta Dharmarajan points out, love is simply human.

The Hindu
(Sunday March 19,2000)

The stories have been selected from a diverse range of journals and small literary publications and affirm that the late John Gardner said about American Fiction; that the best stories are being published not in the mainstream magazines but small journals spread across the country.

Katha in its sustained efforts at searching from this vast reservoir of talent, deserves praise for its efforts. And this Nineth volume lives up to the promise that it has shown when it was launched a decade ago.

- S Sivadas

The Pioneer
(March 4, 2000)

It is an invitation to explore the various manifestations of love – betrayal and fidelity, intutitions and perceptions, vindictiveness and melting love. But to say that the nienteen stories only deal with the emotion of love, “a thought experiment, a heuristic device to capture emotions that play on faces and eyes and fingertips “ would be to limit the scope of the subject of these stories.

The Statesman
(Monday 20 March , 2000)

A lot of the credit for the change in popular perception of Indian literature must go to organisations like Katha. The Katha Prize Stories Volume 9 is an anthology of what Katha deems to be “the best short fiction published during 1998-99 in sixteen Indian languages”. It has English language translations of 19 stories culled from various Indian language periodicals.

- Sayantan Dasgupta

The Authors

Keisham Priyokumar
Afsar Ahmed
Meghana Pethe
Jeelani Bano
Na D'Souza
Sarita Padki
Gracy
Sutradhari
Imran Hussain
My Dear Jayu
Roschen Sasikumar
Mohammad Khadeer Babu
Chandra Prakash Deval
Pratibha Ray
Prem Gorkhi
Minakshi Sen
Vibha Rani
Yogendra Ahuja
Gopini Karunakar

The Translators

Robin S Ngangom
Chandana Dutta
Sumedha Parande, The Editors of the Volume
Aateka Khan, The Editors of the Volume
Bageshree S
Mukta Rajadhyaksha
Rukmini Sekar
N Ramakrishnan
Nandana Dutta
Tridip Suhrud
Pranava Manjari N
Rashmi Chaturvedi
Aparna Satpathy, The Editors of the Volume
Hina Nandrajog, The Editors of the Volume
Kalyani Dutta
Vidyanand Jha, The Editors of the Volume
Nandita Aggarwal & Neer Kanwal Mani

The Nominating Editors & Journals

Manipuri: Robin S Ngangom (Sahitya)
Bangla: Debes Ray (Baromas, Dainik Pratidin)
Marathi: Usha Tambe (Huns, Miloon Saryajani)
Urdu: Sadique (Tanazur)
Kannada: Ramachandra Sharma (Karmaveera)
Malayalam: K Satchidanandan (Mathrubhumi)
Tamil: Jayamohan (Kalachcuvadu)
Asomiya: Pankaj Thakur (Prantik)
Gujarati: Kanti Patel (Vi)
Telugu: Amarendra Dasari (Andhra Jyothi)
Rajasthani: Vijaydan Detha (Binjaro)
Oriya: R P Mishra (Jhankara)
Punjabi: Rana Nayar (Nagmani)
Maithili: Udaya Narayana Singh (Sandhan)
Hindi: Asad Zaidi (Pahal)

Edited by
Geeta Dharmarajan
Nandita Aggarwal

Publishers: Katha
Cover Design: Taposhi Ghoshal
Colours: Arvinder Chawla
Logo Design: Crowquill
Category: Katha Prize Stories
Statistics: 5.5" x 8" 336 pages
ISBN 81-85586-99-3 [PB]
Price: Rs 250 [India and the subcontinent only]

Buy now!

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