The
beauty of my country is its colourful culture and diverse language which makes it
so rich yet so different. I have always regretted not knowing to read all our
languages and hence indulge in reading a lot of translations. This pick was one
of them and I am glad I made a wise choice.
This
book is timeless and quintessential. You can finish it in one sitting and would
not even realise, that you have completed a novel. The translation is brilliant
and very lyrical. The wonderful facet of this book is its multiple layers of
emotions, which adds to its lushness.
This
is a book by Padma Bhushan recipient Nirmal Verma, translated by Krishna Baldev
Vaid about an Indian student who lives in Prague for over two years and is
spending the Christmas holidays in the city, instead of returning home, with a
few friends who are still around. A Burmese student Than Thun (TT), a restless
German cinematography student Franz and his girlfriend Maria are his points of
salvation in this frigid city. Much of their time is spent visiting pubs,
lolling about in their gloomy hostel and spending the whole day drinking vodka
or beer according to their capability to spend; not just for the sake of
getting drunk but to keep themselves warm.
Life
takes a turn for this unnamed India student, when he is assigned an interpreter’s
job for an Austrian lady named Raina who comes for a holiday in Prague. The
professional meeting explodes into an intense, passionate relationship. Prague
in winter with its beautiful and moody setting makes this love-affair more
viral.
This
could be an essentially sad story disguised as something brighter; or the
converse, a breezy, slice –of-life tale narrating a tragic love story. The
complicated and inevitably short-lived romance is poignant and deeply moving.
This
is one of the most moving novels I have read in a while and among the most
unusual.
Genre
: Fiction
Publisher
– Penguin Modern Classics
