Swan Song
₹320.00
Author: T R Subba Rao| Translator: Pramod Mutalik
Swan Song is the poignant tale of Venkatasubbiah, a legendary musician from 18th century Chitradurga. Written by renowned Kannada author Late Shri T R Subba Rao (TaRaSu) and translated into English by Prof Pramod Mutalik, the novel explores the extraordinary journey of an artist whose unwavering dedication to his craft defines his life.
The author weaves together perspectives from people of varied backgrounds to reconstruct Venkatasubbiah’s story, revealing his innate musical genius and determination. It narrates the tale of a musician’s steadfast devotion to art against all odds.
The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Venkatasubbiah defies Tippu Sultan’s order to perform in his palace. To protect the dignity of his art, he sacrifices his ability to sing by cutting off his tongue. Undeterred, he continues to produce swaras through his nose, earning him the metaphorical title of the swan. His life ends while performing, leaving an unforgettable legacy of self-respect and artistic integrity.
| Category: | Indian Literature in Translation |
|---|
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Format |
Related products
-
Caught in the World of Binaries: Selected Poems of K S Nisar Ahmed
₹310.00Author: K S Nisar Ahmed Editors: C N Ramachandran, M S Raghunath
Professor K S Nisar Ahmed (b 1936) is a geologist by profession and a major writer in Kannada. His first collection of poems, Manasu Gandhi Bazar (My Mind is like Gandhi Bazar) was published in 1960, and since then he has published poetry (15 collections), prose (five collections), and translations from Shakespeare and Neruda. He has been honoured with many awards, including ‘Padmashri’, Honorary D Litt (Kuvempu University), and Pampa Prashasti (Karnataka Government). Living between two languages and two cultures, Prof. Nisar has successfully achieved the balance necessary for the tight-rope walking as a poet. He believes that, “Only when you understand another religion (or culture or language), you really understand your own religion (or culture or language).” The present volume of 100 selected poems exhibits the multifaceted poetry of Nisar that reflects his creative pluralism. The 13 translators of the poems in this volume include A K Ramanujan, V K Gokak and Tejaswini Niranjana.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Comasya Dhakka
₹195.00Author: Shivarama Karanth Translator: Ananthapadmanabha Shastri
Set in the coastal Karavali region of Karnataka, Chomasya Dakka is the story of Coma, a Dalit bonded-laborer. Set in the pre-independent India, Comasya Dakka tells a poignant tale of dalit lives, and the suppression of their fundamental rights and identity through the character of Coma. Denied the right to even till and cultivate their own land due to their caste and identity, Coma and his children work as bonded-labourers for their landlord, Sankappayya. The plot of the novel follows the lives of Coma and his children and the tragedies that befall them. The original work in Kannada, Comana Dudi, was adapted into a well-acclaimed, national award-winning film in the year 1975. Directed by B V Karanth, it won the Swarna Kamal, Indias National Award for the Best Film in the year 1976.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
U-Turn
₹180.00Author: Anand Mhasvekar, Translator: Neeta Inamdar
ಮರಾಠಿ ನಾಟಕ. ಯು-ಟರ್ನ್ ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರಾಚೆಗೆ 585 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಹೃದಯಗಳನ್ನು ಗೆದ್ದಿದೆ. ಗುಜರಾತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಅನುವಾದವು 115 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹಿಂದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ 50 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿದೆ. ಈ ಯಶಸ್ಸು ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿಯವರ ಬೆಂಬಲದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುವಾದಿಸಲು ಪ್ರೊ.ನೀತಾ ಇನಾಮದಾರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಿತು. ನಾಟಕವು ಉದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಕೇವಲ ಎರಡು ಪಾತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇಡೀ ಅವಧಿಗೆ ವೇದಿಕೆಯ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಧ್ವನಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ನಾಟಕದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಕಲ್ಪನೆಯು ಆಧುನಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಲ್ಲಿನ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡು ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ತಲೆಮಾರುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಸಂಘರ್ಷಗಳು. ವಿಚ್ಛೇದಿತ ಸೇನೆಯ ಮೇಜರ್ ಮತ್ತು 50 ರ ದಶಕದ ಅಂತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಿಧವೆಯ ನಡುವಿನ ಒಡನಾಟವನ್ನು ಅವರ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ವಿರೋಧಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತಾವು ಆಧುನಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೂ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನೀತಾ ಇನಾಮದಾರ್ ಅವರು ಮಣಿಪಾಲ್ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ (MU) ಯುರೋಪಿಯನ್ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ವಿಭಾಗದ (DES) ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮಣಿಪಾಲ್ ಯೂನಿವರ್ಸಲ್ ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ನ (MUP) ಮುಖ್ಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಂಗೀತ ಮತ್ತು ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ ಅವರ ಆಸಕ್ತಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ ಅವರ ನೆರವಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಈ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿತು. ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ ಅವರು ಮಣಿಪಾಲದ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಉದ್ಯಮಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಅವರು ಬಾಬಾ ಆಮ್ಟೆ ಅವರ ಆನಂದವನಕ್ಕೆ ಧನಸಹಾಯವನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವರು ಮರಾಠಿ, ಹಿಂದಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ನಾಟಕಗಳ ಓದುಗರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ಅವರು ಈ ಅನುವಾದ ಯೋಜನೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಬಲವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದರು.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Two Plays – The Sahyadri Saga and The World of Swayamvara
₹199.00Author: Akshara K V Translator: Jayanth Kodkani
These two plays negotiate with the real problems of contemporary India. If Sahyadri Kanda is about the ripples caused in the life of the people in a village on the Western Coast which will soon have a nuclear plant, Swayamvaraloka, is an allegorical narrative set in a small village that extends to include the larger contemporary world. Both the plays dwell on the seeming binaries of village-city, success-failure, modern-traditional while examining the nature of human relationships in the changing world. These plays also reflect an ambition to elevate the real experience to a mythical level. While most playwrights attempt to echo contemporary concerns by reinterpreting history and mythology, for these plays, the epics, their grandeur, the struggle, the wars are not episodes that happen in kingdoms and palaces and battlefields, they are also that which takes place in the microworld of one’s consciousness. Each character in these plays find their own dharma, yet it offers no model for the reader, and remains only a pointer to the complex process of finding it.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on

eBook available on

-
Just a few pages: Some Memories of Saraswatibai Rajwade
₹210.00Author: Vaidehi, Translator: Deepa Ganesh
This book is a coming together of two women writers of modern Kannada literature; one from its early period, the other, a contemporary. Saraswati Bai Rajwade, the early writer, became a fable, a mythology, leaving behind only the shadows of her writing. Vaidehi, the contemporary writer, reinvents Rajwade from the folds of history and gives her a life in the present. Saraswati Bai Rajwade was born into a poor family in the Dakshina Kannada of yore. By chance, she stepped into theatre and later into films. But all the glory that came to her unexpectedly, vanished just as suddenly. She later became the wife of a rich and high official, travelled abroad and underwent immense suffering. In her pain and loneliness, she took to books and also began to write and attained glory as a writer. In the last years of her life, she returned to a life of austerity and anonymity. Vaidehi has collected bits and pieces from her life and writing, presenting before us a unique tapestry. In this tapestry, Vaidehi?s perceptions criss-cross with Rajwade?s life and writing. Art does not reside in the object, but in its close encounter with life. This work unfolds before us as a grand illustration of such twin narratives.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
BAKA – Collection of Two Plays
₹340.00Author: M S Keshava Prabhu, Translator: L V Shantakumari
Baka dramatizes the episode of Bakasura, from the Indian epic, Mahabharata. Baka is a cannibal demon that terrorizes a village with its horrifying attacks. The king of the village strikes an agreement with the demon, putting its people in peril. They live in constant fear for years until the sudden arrival of a hero changes everything.
A theatrical and evocative narration, this play satirically mirrors society’s greed and irresponsibility. It depicts power struggles through the conflict that arises between Baka the demon, the cowardly king, and the oppressed people.Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book. -
The Other Face
₹550.00Author: Na Mogasale Translator: N T Bhat
Set in a fictitious village called Kanthapura in Kasaragod district, Mukhāntara spans across the life of seven generations of a Havyaka Brahmin family. A story about the realities of living in a society marked by caste distinctions, the desire to find communal harmony and the tribulations of the characters through the entirety of the novel, it is also a tale of changing times and people. After unexpectedly coming into possession of a huge portion of land, Thirumalēshwara Bhat of Īshwarīmūle becomes a satisfied man. But childless, Thirumalēshwara Bhat and his wife Pārvathakka decide to adopt Venkappaiah and also give shelter to his widowed mother, Rathnamma. Venkappaiah is to inherit Thirumalēshwara’s vast wealth but when Krishnaiah, the illegitimate child of Thirumalēshwara and Rathnamma is born, rivalry ensues. Through the overlapping narratives of the characters, we get a glimpse into their journey from tradition to modernity. The characters strive to reshape new values when old values are slowly questioned and erased as they move on and are swept along in the waves of globalization.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on

eBook available on

-
The Preferred Pronoun and Other Stories
₹400.00Author: Guruprasad Kaginele, Translator: Narayan Shankaran
The Preferred Pronoun and Other Stories is a unique collection of twelve short stories by Guruprasad Kaginele. These stories arise from the restless tension of being away from one’s roots, the haunting nostalgia for the home left behind, and the interplay of diverse cultures, while also exploring the process of integrating into a new environment. Set against the backdrop of America and within the medical world, the stories reflect the author’s thoughts and experiences.
From Osama, who nervously sweats after discovering a semiautomatic pistol in a schoolteacher’s house, to Morris, a middle aged individual on a quest for the perfect pronoun after gender transformation, the collection brings a wide array of characters and situations to life. The Nesting, a story that triggers many thoughts with its metaphorical allusions to a home blooming over the doom of another, and The Big Save, a story about a doctor yearning to regain his lost mojo despite realizing that it requires jeopardizing a life to save another, along with other stories, amply illustrate the author’s uncanny prowess in the dramatic presentation of compassion, love, jealousy, torts and their befitting punishments, the thin line between good and evil, and other subtle nuances.The stories depict three phases of a migrant’s life: the naiveté and challenges of a new immigrant, the process of assimilation, and the adaptation to American culture, seamlessly woven together to create a cohesive narrative of diverse experiences. Stemming from the choice to build a life in a foreign land, the narratives explore the politics and ethnic consciousness tied to that journey. Through the lens of a doctor’s work and family life in America, Kaginele captures the dynamic political changes in the country, while revealing subtle shifts in ethnic sensibilities and the evolving nature of interpersonal relationships in the migrant experience.
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.













