Article by Mukulika Batabyal
Readomania has published the translation of a book that reflects the hopelessness and hope so integral to our lives, especially in the post-pandemic times. Poets, writers, and others gathered on 27 May to celebrate the formal book launch of Bitan Chakraborty’s Redundant (tr Malati Mukherjee) at Kunzum Books, Gurgaon.
Nestled in an evening of poetry and the themes of hope, love, and grief, the book found its cozy spot. The evening started with the beautiful poems of Prof. Swati Pal, whose book, In Absentia, has been a bestseller in Hawakal in 2021. First, she read poems of love and loss, reciting mellifluous lines like, “You will not be a memorial; you will stay alive.” Next, Sahana Ahmed’s body of works, “The Home of Others,” “River, River,” “Dear Sister,” and “We are leaving Bombay,” took us through cities and cityscapes, making intersectional explorations between themes of class, caste, and religion. Then, Aseem Sundan, who believes “all art is political,” decided to break the monotony and performed his hard-hitting poem about Danish Siddique, reciting, “in my country, the only truth is a photograph.”
The main event, the formal book launch, was graced with the presence of Dr. Mosarrap Hossain Khan, whose insightful analysis of Redundant, navigating through the dreams and aspirations of cities and city life, brought the book to life among the audience who hadn’t still managed to get their hands on the book. Bringing out the recurrent theme of hope while discussing the ethics of translation, it was unanimously agreed that it felt nothing short of a Literature lecture. The rising, emergent poet and scholar Shamayita Sen next took center stage to indulge us in a conversation about the art and politics of the book and its translation with Bitan Chakraborty and Malati Mukherjee.
The evening ended over the celebration cake, cookies, and some more poems from a set of rising poets. Debolina Dey, Kavya Sharma, Mukulika Batabyal, and Aakriti Kuntal read poems about love and romance but never left the politics too far behind. It was established by the end that everyone had gathered for an evening for their shared love of art, and everyone indeed left with their hearts full.
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