The Greatest Assamese Stories Ever ever told: Selected and edited by Mitra Phukan

I enjoy reading short stories and have read quite a few in the past few years. With all humility and without claiming any authority, I humbly state that many of the present collection of 25 short stories in the book titled, ‘The Greatest Assamese Stories Ever Told...,” have been read by me long ago and remain among my all-time favourites that encompass acclaimed world-class stories in different languages spanning over several centuries. ‘Editing is something almost everyone can do at a simple level and enjoy, but to take it to a higher level requires the same dedication and persistence that any art form does’, goes the famous saying. It needs to be asserted categorically that Ms. Mitra Phukan’s strong literary acumen and deep understanding of the nuances of world literature in general and Assamese literature and society in particular have contributed to accomplishing the challenging task of selecting twenty-five stories from the rich treasure of Assamese short stories th aplomb and literary finesse.

The various literary traits of the selected stories that have, at one time or another, struck a deep chord in the general readership, glorifying eternal human values and championing the cause of ‘truth’ that lies at the kernel of any genre of literary creation, have been illuminatingly delineated in the introductory chapter by Mitra Phukan. In fact, the scintillating ‘introduction of the present book is like an enlightening journey through the gems of Assamese stories spread over several decades.

From the iconic story ‘Patmugi’ by Sahityarathi Lakhminath Bezbaroa to contemporary writers like Arupa Patangia Kalita, Anuradha Sarma Pujari, and others, Ms. Phukan takes an aesthetic trip, making incisive comments and shedding illuminating lights on the classic, epochal stories that have stood the test of time, winning appreciation from a cross section of connoisseurs.

Edgar Allan Poe once said, “A short story should be read in one sitting, anywhere from half an hour to two hours.” The English translation of the poignant short story ‘ Ismail Sheikh r Sandhan t’ (Looking for Ismail Sheikh), compiled in this edition, has been read in one sitting, the same way the original story was read by me as a student, long ago. In those days, there was near consensus among many of our friends that this story by Homen Borgohain was “unput-downable’ and possessed all the literary ingredients to be listed among the realms of the best stories of the world. Subjectively speaking, I feel that Homen Borgohain was a master storyteller with enviable command over the Assamese language. His prose style is lucid and mesmerising, which compels any of his writings, literary or otherwise, to be finished in “one go” In this backdrop, full credit goes to Pradipta Borgohain for his wonderful translation of the story, which evokes the same emotion of helplessness at surrounding inhumanity and religious intolerance as in the original one.

‘Now it was necessary to look for the enemies of Ismael and Ananda, the foes of humanity.” The line in the concluding paragraph magnificently sums up the essence of a soulful, multidimensional, socially indicting story.

True to the saying that ‘a translator needs to stay faithful to the original work with the need to create something distinctive that will evoke the same feelings and responses as the original,’ Ms. Gayatri Bhattachayya’s translation of Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia’s well-acclaimed story, ‘Endur’, titled ‘Rats’, is superb, evoking the same tragic feeling and touching the readers’ artistic sensibilities as experienced in the original story. The characters and situations have been faithfully recreated in the translation work. To quote, ‘Moti’s mother was always hungry.” In time, the sack became lighter and thinner. It was becoming difficult to bring out much rice with her fingers. After some time, Moti’s mother could put her entire hand through the hole.

The marvellous narrative above holds before the reader’s eyes the tear-arousing predicament of the protagonist. Her abject poverty and mental duress flash before the readers’ minds with all intensity. The magnificent word picture that emanates is a verbatim reproduction of the explicit scene from the award-winning movie “Sandhyarag,” directed by the maestro, Dr. Saikia himself. Set against the backdrop of a vexed Bangladeshi porous border and the associated burning issues, Anuradha Sarma Pujari’s story, ‘No Man’s Land’, epitomises humanism in the midst of gruesome human conflict. The glorification of human values forms the nucleus of the writings of Ms. Anuradha, the Sahitya Akademi winner. The heart-touching story of Lily, Silvia, and Riyaz has been excellently translated by Ms. Parbina Rashid.

Departing from her familiar style and theme, the versatile Arupa Patangia Kalita weaves a story centering around an imposing lady with strong likes and dislikes and idiosyncrasies. Titled ‘Close of Day with Miss Havisham’, the story delineates the personality of an old, heartbroken lady for whom time has come to a grinding halt. An analogy is drawn between the character of ‘Boroma’, the old lady leading a life of recluse, and Miss Havisham, the iconic character, from the classical novel Great Expectation’ by Charles Dickens. ‘ The “flashback technique” adopted by Ms. Arupa, which keeps going back and forth, is engrossing. Ms. Mitra Phukan’s translation of the compassionate story is immaculate and exquisite.

The story titled ‘Oxanto Electron’ (The Restless Electron) by Saurav Kumar Chaliha is an eye-opener. It needs to be explored how many Indian languages can boast of such a story with a ‘unique and unconventional theme,’ written as far back as the 1950s, exposing the hollowness of urban, artificial middle-class existence. Jiban Goswami’s translation of the famed story is outstanding.

My esteemed readers, I have no pretence of having literary sensibility, not to speak of critical analytical ability. I have attempted to put my views and appreciation as a humble reader—a reader’s perspective, to be precise—on a few of my favourite stories compiled, edited, and translated brilliantly and impeccably in the book under reference.