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Seducing the Rain God
Seducing the Rain God is a collection comprising fourteen short stories, originally written in Bishnupriya Manipuri—enlisted by the UNESCO as an endangered language. Some stories have been translated into Assamese, Bengali, Kannada and English.
The fourteen stories in this compilation are rich in structure and texture, novel in theme, innovative in terms of technique and expression... weaving a tapestry of secret rituals, ancient customs and simple lives. The translation from Bishnupriya Manipuri aims to present the vital essence of the stories, the unique regional culture of North-East India and subtle nuances of this endangered language.
Bishnupriya Manipuri is an Indo-Aryan language. The speakers of this language, estimated to be half a million, mainly reside in some of the north-eastern states of India (Assam, Tripura and Manipur), Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is already a dead language in its place of origin at Bishnupur, Khangabok, Heirok and Ningthoukhang areas near Imphal, Manipur. The people migrated to Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh in different phases due to Burmese invasions and political unrest. The community had to struggle for ethnic identity for more than eight decades. Finally, it was resolved by the Supreme Court of India which gave a verdict in favour of the claimed identity of the speakers of this language as ‘Bishnupriya Manipuri’ on 8 March 2006.
The language was almost on the verge of extinction in the 19th century. However, with the revitalisation initiatives, Bishnupriya Manipuri has emerged as a strong voice from north- eastern India. The identity struggle spanning over eight decades created mass awareness among the speakers, lending vigour and vitality to the language. Creation of an etymological dictionary by eminent linguists helped to put the language on a strong footing.
The fourteen stories in this compilation are rich in structure and texture, novel in theme, innovative in terms of technique and expression... weaving a tapestry of secret rituals, ancient customs and simple lives. The translation from Bishnupriya Manipuri aims to present the vital essence of the stories, the unique regional culture of North-East India and subtle nuances of this endangered language.
Bishnupriya Manipuri is an Indo-Aryan language. The speakers of this language, estimated to be half a million, mainly reside in some of the north-eastern states of India (Assam, Tripura and Manipur), Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is already a dead language in its place of origin at Bishnupur, Khangabok, Heirok and Ningthoukhang areas near Imphal, Manipur. The people migrated to Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh in different phases due to Burmese invasions and political unrest. The community had to struggle for ethnic identity for more than eight decades. Finally, it was resolved by the Supreme Court of India which gave a verdict in favour of the claimed identity of the speakers of this language as ‘Bishnupriya Manipuri’ on 8 March 2006.
The language was almost on the verge of extinction in the 19th century. However, with the revitalisation initiatives, Bishnupriya Manipuri has emerged as a strong voice from north- eastern India. The identity struggle spanning over eight decades created mass awareness among the speakers, lending vigour and vitality to the language. Creation of an etymological dictionary by eminent linguists helped to put the language on a strong footing.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2015
About the author
Smriti Kumar Sinha
2 booksA life srtiving for creativity in science, literature and life.
A voice for the voiceless
Dr. Smriti Kumar Sinha is considered as a leading and dedicated short story writer in Bishnupriya Manipuri. He has to his credit three collections of short stories published.
Dr. Sinha stands for minor and endangered languages and has been working in this direction for the last three decades. He believes that Indian literature is not the sum total of works published only in English, Hindi and other major Indian languages. This partial sum provides only a partial view of the vast literature of India, where there are more than one thousand six hundred languages and dialects. A language is an encoding scheme of creations. Literary works in other dialects and minor languages of India are also important components of Indian literature. Recognition of quality works in such minor and endangered languages will be the true recognition of creative writings, regardless of encoding schemes.
Dr. Sinha's short stories are translated into Assamese, Bengali, English and Kannada. His stories found place in Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. A collection of fourteen short stories, translated into English by Ramlal Sinha, entitled "Seducing the Rain God", is published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi.
Dr. Sinha received the Geetiswami Memorial Award, 2010, instituted by POURI, a leading Manipuri Socio-Cultural Organization, Bangladesh where too the author has a sizable audiance. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science in Tezpur University, Assam.
A voice for the voiceless
Dr. Smriti Kumar Sinha is considered as a leading and dedicated short story writer in Bishnupriya Manipuri. He has to his credit three collections of short stories published.
Dr. Sinha stands for minor and endangered languages and has been working in this direction for the last three decades. He believes that Indian literature is not the sum total of works published only in English, Hindi and other major Indian languages. This partial sum provides only a partial view of the vast literature of India, where there are more than one thousand six hundred languages and dialects. A language is an encoding scheme of creations. Literary works in other dialects and minor languages of India are also important components of Indian literature. Recognition of quality works in such minor and endangered languages will be the true recognition of creative writings, regardless of encoding schemes.
Dr. Sinha's short stories are translated into Assamese, Bengali, English and Kannada. His stories found place in Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. A collection of fourteen short stories, translated into English by Ramlal Sinha, entitled "Seducing the Rain God", is published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi.
Dr. Sinha received the Geetiswami Memorial Award, 2010, instituted by POURI, a leading Manipuri Socio-Cultural Organization, Bangladesh where too the author has a sizable audiance. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science in Tezpur University, Assam.
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January 16, 2024
I have always enjoyed reading Indian language translations so I was very happy to get my hands on this book which is translated from Bishnupriya Manipuri. This collection of 14 stories has a couple of absolute gems. The namesake, Seducing the Rain God, Lilavati and The Muse of a Modern Poets are must read short stories.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review