Academics
A delightful caper through colonial Bihar, Fool Bahadur by Jayanath Pati is a humorous reflection on the state’s erstwhile society and bureaucracy—told through the story of a young law officer, who hustles his way through the bureaucratic corridors to win the coveted British title of Rai Bahadur. The first-ever translation of this forgotten Magahi novel into English by Abhay K. is a tour de force that will leave you chuckling at the characters dotting its intriguing plot.
Jayanath Pati (1890?1939) was born in Sadipur village of Nawada subdivision of Gaya district, Bihar. After completing his intermediate (10+2), he cleared the exam to become a mukhtar (a lawyer knowledgeable in British laws during the colonial Raj in India) and set up a successful practice in Nawada. He was well versed in Urdu and Persian and knew Sanskrit, English, Bangla and Latin. His first novel, Sunita (1927), was about a woman who is married to an elderly man, the manuscript of which seems to be lost. His second novel, Fool Bahadur, was published on April Fool?s Day in 1928 followed by his third novel, Gadahnit, in the same year.
Jayanath Pati; Abhay K. (Tr.)Add a review
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