Ramkumar Bhramar (1938–1998)
About the Author
Ramkumar Bhramar was born on 2 February 1938 in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). He was one of the most highly regarded Hindi novelists of the period after India's independence. In 1958 Bhramar first started out as a journalist. From 1959 to 1965 he worked as a literary critic for the regional daily newspaper "Yugdharm" (Nagpur/Jabalpur/Raipur). At the end of 1965 he moved to the literary magazine "Kadambini" of the "Hindustan Times". In 1968 he became editor of the "Hind Pocket Books". From 1969 onwards he worked solely as a freelance author. Bhramar died in 1998; he last lived in Delhi.
Work
Bhramar wrote in all literary genres and also composed political essays. He published more than 70 books, most of them novels. He is regarded as an author with a deep understanding of the political and social conditions of his time, who also took political positions in his works. With great courage he wrote critical novels during the period of the so-called "Emergency" (1976–77), such as kaccī-pakkī dīvāreṃ ("Walls of Clay and Stone") and qaid āvāzeṃ ("Imprisoned Voices"); later, in many works, he criticised the superficiality of Indian politics and its unfavourable effect on public life. In the last years of his life Bhramar turned to ancient Indian literature and wrote, among other things, an adaptation of the Mahabharata in twelve tales, published in four volumes.
Many of his works were honoured with national prizes. He twice received the Premchand Prize of the provincial government of Uttar Pradesh (Akhil Bhāratiya Premchand Puraskār). Some of his works were translated into English and Polish, and some novels were made into films.
Jürgen Neuß
Published in German
- Bichiya (1962)
- Bholi (1963)
Both stories in Chili, Chai, Chapati. Geschichten aus Indien, Kitab-Verlag, Klagenfurt-Vienna, 2011 (in German).
Reading Excerpt: Bichiya
The following is an English rendering of the story's opening as printed (in German) in the author portrait; the full German text is available in the PDF below.
Take a bottle of the finest English liquor, the sparkling liveliness of a river, the tenderness of young cotton and the youthful freshness of jasmine – all this mixed together makes Bichiya. Such a mixture, however, is difficult to produce – just as difficult as finding on anyone's face a mark like the one Bichiya bore on her chin, which lent her countenance a very special grace.
This splendid mixture called Bichiya was brought home from the jungle by the fortunate city-born clerk Sudesh, through marriage.
Bichiya was a girl of the Gond tribe. Sudesh, an employee of the forest administration, had fallen in love with her when he was posted for duty to the forests of the region around Mandla. Sudesh had gone there alone; he came back together with Bichiya.
Bichiya could not get used to life in the city. She understood neither how to style her hair properly nor all the other customs of city life. Her movements lacked the theatrical touch and her laughter the required restraint. Sudesh began to see something improper in these qualities of Bichiya's. The very things about her that had once enchanted him in the jungle – the swing of her hips, her smile, her open, steady gaze, her unconventional clothing and her light-heartedness – now aroused his anger. When one day, in front of a colleague, he denied his wife and called her a servant girl from the jungle, Bichiya's heart stood still for a moment. An hour later Sudesh returned home. Bichiya stood in the room, wearing once more the sandal blossoms at her ears and the short cloth of the jungle. "City Babu! I have found a position as a maid elsewhere! Please forgive me if I made mistakes in my work," she said, her voice regaining its youthful strength. "You should keep the household in order." Then she ran swiftly out of the room, out of the house. Sudesh wanted to hold her back. But whatever it was – something prevented him.
Bichiyā (1962) from: Rāmkumār Bhramar Racnāvalī. Khand 1: Kahaniyāṁ. Ed.: Kamalkishor Goyanka. Parag Prakāshan, Delhi: 1990. Published in German in Chili, Chai, Chapati. Geschichten aus Indien, Kitab-Verlag, Klagenfurt-Vienna, 2011, translated by Jürgen Neuß. The complete story in German can be found in the author portrait PDF below.
📄 Download this author portrait as PDF (in German, includes the complete story "Bichiya")