By eminent Hindi writer & satirist Gyan Chaturvedi
Translated by: Punarvasu Joshi
When the bazaar reigns, the citizen’s identity unravels in a post-liberalisation maze.
THE MAD HOUSE: PAGALKHANA by Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi and deftly translated by Punarvasu Joshi is a novel that explores shifts in the psyche, belief systems, self-respect, politics, and societal dynamics post-liberalisation, which chronicles the psychological impact of liberalisation on Indian society during the 1990s, unravelling a cat-and-mouse chase between the citizen and the market forces in a changing society.
Niyogi Books, in collaboration with Kaffeinated Konversations, takes pride in launching the book on 5th January 2025 at Bahrisons, Indore, at 4 pm. Author Gyan Chaturvedi and translator of the book Punarvasu Joshi will be in conversation with poet, author, and translator Mrinalini Pandey during the launch.
Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi, when asked about the book, says, ‘This world and life are now badly in the clutches of the market economy. It is scary to see this; from good thoughts to power to religion—everything is in the grip of the market. The darkness has been dispelled, but the light is so dazzling that there is blindness everywhere. The definitions of justice-injustice and truth-lie have changed. The market dominates the breaths, and the marketing gurus are selling the illusion that this is the real life. But those whose eyes are open, they are scared. They are crying. They are being called mad. This is the new definition of madness: the one who is not with the market is mad. The author is one of these mad people. Millions of mad people like him are recognising the dangers inherent in the market. All of them are struggling as to where to run from this market. This novel is the story of this struggle. The story of these madmen could only be told in the style of fantasy and realism. This novel introduces its readers to this madhouse called Bazaar in a unique new craft.’
Translator of the book, Punarvasu Joshi, when asked about the book, says, ’We live in the age of consumerism where everything is a product and every person is a consumer, and we all live in a bazaar.
The Bazaar never fails in reminding and assuring us, again and again, that incessant consumerism is the real path to happiness, that the governmental systems of checks and balances on market excess are the real cause of people’s distress, and that the tsunami of economic globalisation is inevitable and an ultimate boon to the human species.
Yet, there are a few folks who consider life to be something more than mere consumption and greater than the market. They believe that the market is for life, but life isn’t only for the market; it has deeper meanings.
The Madhouse is the story of those people fighting Bazaar; this is the story of our times.
On publishing the book Trisha De Niyogi, Director and COO, Niyogi Books, says, ’’The Madhouse is a compelling allegory of post-liberalisation India, capturing the citizen’s struggles against the omnipresent forces of the marketplace. Dr. Chaturvedi skilfully portrays the psychological and societal upheavals of the 1990s, offering a powerful reflection on identity, dreams, and the profound changes wrought by a free-market economy. Punarvasu Joshi’s exceptional translation preserves the novel’s subtle depth, bringing its intricate layers and cultural nuances to life for a wider audience, ensuring the essence of the original work resonates in every word.’
About the Book
The novel ‘The Madhouse’ is an allegorical novel that chronicles the jarring transformations occurring in the psyche of Indian society by the onslaught of liberalisation in the 1990s. It is in this reign of the free-market economy and excessive consumption that the nameless characters of The Madhouse find themselves.
In fact, in a way, there are only two characters in this novel. There is ‘The Bazaar,’ representing the free-market forces, and then there is ‘The Citizen,’ whose reincarnations within the various vignettes of the novel are trapped in the vicious cycle of distress and fears that manifest themselves in myriad situations. But, fundamentally, it is only one character. Somewhere, his dreams have been stolen; somewhere else, his memories have been abducted. In another situation, he has forgotten who he is, and in yet another one, he is looking for a lock to safeguard himself from the prying eyes of the Bazaar—but the Bazaar is looking for him.
In this game of cat and mouse between the Citizen and the Bazaar, Dr. Chaturvedi manages to capture the subtle as well as profound changes related to people’s psyche, belief systems, notions of honour and self-respect, politics, and the dynamics within society that have occurred post-liberalisation.
About the Author
Gyan Chaturvedi has elevated Hindi satire to new heights after Harishankar Parsai and Sharad Joshi. With six novels, twelve satire collections, and over a thousand articles, he blends humour and social critique. A Padma Shri recipient, his writing explores politics, family life, relationships, and the contradictions of society.
About the Translator
Punarvasu Joshi, with a PhD in nanotechnology from Arizona State University, has translated 40 Hindi short stories into English for the anthology A Journey in Time. He edited a special issue of Rachna Samay on Michel Foucault, translating Foucault’s works into Hindi. Joshi lives in Mumbai, India, and his translations have been featured in the Commonwealth Foundation's Adda magazine.
About the Publisher
An internationally acclaimed publishing house, Niyogi Books, established in 2004, has more than 800 titles today. It not only specialises in textual content but also strives to give equal importance to visuals. It purveys a wide range of content on art, architecture, history, culture, spirituality, memoirs, and every aspect that connects with our rich heritage. Under its umbrella, it has fiction and non-fiction that cover books on social science, cookery, and self-help, as well as English translations of modern classics from different Indian languages. Niyogi Books, after having launched four imprints: Olive Turtle (English fiction), Thornbird (English translation), Paper Missile (English non-fiction), and Bahuvachan (Hindi translation: fiction & non-fiction), has launched its newest imprint, Perky Parrot, with an aim to provide fun reads for children and young adults. Niyogi Books has co-published a number of critically acclaimed books with reputed institutions like the British Library, Rietberg Museum Zurich, IGNCA, National Gallery of Modern Art, Ministry of Culture (Govt. of India), National Manuscript Mission, Sahitya Akademi, among many others.
Trisha De Niyogi,
(trishaniyogi@niyogibooksindia.com)