Spotlight Magahi: The Rebirth

“For quite some time Samlal nurtured the ambition of becoming a Rai Bahadur. Although he was well aware that he did not merit the post, he had complete faith in his art of flattery.”

The above is an excerpt from the gem of the Magahi literature ‘Fool Bahadur’ originally authored by Jayanath Pati. It is a satire set in the urban Bihar Sharif which talks about the lives and silly ambitions of the people in the law and bureaucracy in the British-ruled era. The storyline delves into the ambitions and character of the protagonist Mukhtar Babu Samlal and his quest for the then coveted title of ‘Rai Bahadur’ in the Colonial Bihar. The other important characters in the story are a Nawab, a circle officer and a courtesan. The author through his engaging and humourous style of writing sails us through the life a young and dishonest Mukhtar who anyhow wanted to acquire the title. The story showcases the rampant corruption in the corridors of bureaucracy and the judiciary at that point in time which can be evident from the words of the Nawab when he said:

“I promise to make you Rai Bahadur before I leave, and if it does not happen, I will chop off my hands. In return, you have to help me in this matter." It is interesting to note that the author has very judiciously made sure that the ending is comic and entertaining while also serving as a lesson and a reminder that in the end life comes full circle and justice does get served.

First published on 01 April 1928, the pioneering Magahi novel was recently translated into English by the poet and diplomat Abhay K. It is the first Magahi novel which has been translated in English and is likely to now reach to a larger audience after being published as Penguin Modern Classic giving a new lease of life to this timeless literature.

Hailing from the same state as the author, sharing the same mother tongue and as a bureaucrat himself Abhay’s piqued interest in this particular classic is very obvious and understandable. The shenanigans of a young lawyer aiming to climb the social ladder in the British Raj era in a race for the much-desired title is no different from the present times. The prevalent judicial and bureaucratic corruption and patriarchy depicted in the novel, sadly, makes the satire written by Pati relevant even today. The state of patriarchy in those times can be realized from the fact that when the first edition of Fool Bahadur was published, the cover page of the novel stated not for women and children. Though we have certainly moved far ahead from this but we still have a long way to go in curbing corruption at all levels in our society.

One of the most interesting part of the book is the elaborate translator’s note which has been given as a preface of the novel. It enlightens the reader about the great history and origin of the Magahi literature in detail. It also talks about how it was only post June 2020 that the translator came to know about the existence of Magahi literature which till that point in time was unknown to him. The incident goes back to the time when he wrote a poem in a pursuit to connect with his mother tongue, after which people made him aware of the treasure of the rich Magahi literature which still lay undiscovered and untranslated. It is really fascinating to learn that it is believed that Buddha and Mahavira had delivered their sermons in Magadhi Prakrit which later gave birth to the Magahi language. Moreover, Magahi was also the official language in the court of the great king Ashoka. It is definitely a matter of immense pride to be a part of such great cultural and linguistic heritage. And none other than Abhay K can be credited for bringing forth the English translation of the first Magahi novel to the world.

Abhay is a diplomat poet, translator and smiling editor and has authored several poetry collections. His poems have appeared in literary magazines like Asia Literary Review and Poetry Salzburg Review among hundreds of others. He has also been a winner of the KLF Poetry Book of the Year award in 2020-21 for his translations of Kalidas’s Ritusamhara and Meghaduta.

He also has the distinguished honour of receiving the SAARC Literary Award in 2013 and had also received the invitation to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington DC. With this caliber and a will to put his mother tongue’s literature on the world map, there is a hope that the day is not far when Magahi would get its due recognition and the precious treasure trove of literature would be available for all to consume and this emotion can clearly be felt in the words of Abhay as he writes in the translator’s note:

“I hope that the publication of Fool Bahadur in an English translation will bring greater attention to the rich world of Magahi literature and inspire more translations of literary works in Magahi in the years to come."