Phoolsunghi

“This novel is the first-ever translation into English from Bhojpuri. Pandey Kapil was a lifelong activist with respect to the language and its literature. He championed these even when it meant relative anonymity for himself because he wasn’t writing in Hindi, which was more accessible to and popular with readers. Based on real-life characters and set over a period of 90 years (from the 1840s to 1931), the story is well-plotted and has everything: love, music, poetry, the opium trade, feudalism, colonialism, nationalism, modernism, tragedy. And it gives a beautifully rich and real depiction of a particular culture, society, and time.” Read more...

The Best South Asian Novels in Translation

Jenny Bhatt, Translator