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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.
Imprint: India Penguin Modern Classics
Published: Apr/2024
ISBN: 9780143463719 (Paperback)
Length : 112 Pages
MRP : ₹250.00
Imprint: Penguin Audio
Published:
ISBN:
Imprint: India Penguin Modern Classics
Published: Apr/2024
ISBN:
Length : 112 Pages
MRP : ₹250.00
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.
Abhay K. is an internationally acclaimed poet-diplomat, translator, artist and polymath. Author of over a dozen poetry collections, he has edited several landmark anthologies such as The Book of Bihari Literature, The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems, Capitals, New Brazilian Poems and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems. His poems have appeared in leading literary magazines across the globe in multiple languages. His ‘Earth Anthem,’ translated into over 160 languages has been used by the United Nations to celebrate Earth Day. He received the SAARC Literary Award (2013) and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, USA, in 2018. His translations of Kalidasa’s Meghadutam and Ritusamharam from the Sanskrit won him the KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award (2020–21), and his translation of the Hanuman Chalisa from the Awadhi earned him the Sarojini Naidu Poetry Award (2026). His translation of the Magahi novel Fool Bahadur has been published as a modern classic by Penguin Random House.
His poetry collections, historical nonfiction, anthologies, and translations are widely catalogued in leading academic libraries and research networks, including those of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania. His works are also held by national libraries around the world, including the Library of Congress.
His art works have been exhibited in several countries including at the National Museum, New Delhi.