Abstract
The commented translation of a chapter from the Chāṅgiā rukh (Against the Night) autobiography (2002) by Balbir Madhopuri, a renowned Indian writer, poet, translator, journalist and social activist, brings forward episodes from the life of Dalit inhabitants of a Punjab village in the 1960–1970s. Following the school of hard knocks of his childhood in the chamar quarter of Madhopur, a village in Jalandhar district, Balbir Madhopuri managed to receive a good education and take to literature. He has authored 14 books including three volumes of poetry, translated 35 pieces of world literary classics into Punjabi, his mother language, and edited 42 books in Punjabi. In 2014, he was awarded the Translation Prize from India’s Sahitya Academy for contribution to the development and promotion of Punjabi. Narrating the story, Balbir Madhopuri shares memories, thoughts and emotions from early days that determined his motivations to struggle against poverty, deprivation and injustice. The chapter Kãṭīlī rāhõ ke rāhī (The Thorny Path [Madhopuri, 2010]) tells readers about the destiny of low-caste Punjabis as well as about village traditions and rituals featuring Hindu, Sikh and Muslim beliefs deeply intertwined in the Land of Five Rivers. Memories of childhood joys and sorrows go side by side with Balbir Madhopuri’s reflections on social oppression and caste inequality that still remain in contemporary India’s society. This commented translation is the final one in a series of four chapters from Balbir Madhopuri’s autobiography scheduled for publication in this journal in 2020.
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