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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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

-
Mahāmmāyi
₹195.00Author: Chandrasekhara Kambara, Translator: Kathyayini Kunjibettu
Mahāmmāyi is the story of the legend of Shatavithaayi – the Goddess of death, and her adopted son Sambhashiva. Out of affection for her son, Goddess Shatavithaayi blesses him with the “power of life”. The blessing was that death will evade the people who are treated by Sambashiva. But a certain condition set by Shatavithaayi forbade him from healing every ill man. The condition was that, if Shatavithaayi stood on the right side of the patient, Sambhashiva could treat that person and he would live; but, if she stood on the left side of the patient, he should not treat that person as his death was inevitable. Through a distinct method of story-telling, the story follows the life of Sambhashiva as he begins to question the ideas of fate and destiny. Thus, the conflict between fate and human efforts to change that fate is vividly described in this play. -
The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories
₹345.00Author: Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Sinha, Translator: Mahendra P Srivastava
The book The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories offers a glimpse into the lifetime of work of a forgotten pioneer of Hindi fiction, Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Sinha. It is ironic that one cannot find a single book by this author who was so dedicated to Hindi literature. The stories in this collection are a testament not only to the contributions of Sinha to Hindi fiction but also, reflect the depth of political and social milieu of the times. Many readers will be moved by the elements patriotism, feminism, secularism, and spiritualism in these stories. Strong female characters are common in most of these stories. These characters provide both a moral fulcrum to the stories as well as reflect the struggle of women to balance prevailing customs with modernity. Some of these stories provide sharp political and social commentary that still have currency (The Gandhi Cap). Sinha incorporates a unique style of writing that uses lyrical prose and poetry together. He even employs a dialogue between the storyteller and a social gathering in the form of an epilogue, to offer a discourse on social dilemma about women’s plight to become modern while admonishing them to retain their Indian essence (An Expensive Bargain). We hope the readers will enjoy this wonderful collection.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
A Shrine for Sarasamma
₹180.00Author: Shivarama Karanth Translator: D A Shankar
A Shrine for Sarasamma is the English translation of Sarasammana Samadhi written by K Shivarama Karanth in 1937, in his early thirties. It offers one of the most authentic and searing accounts of Indian womanhood, which consistently, and through the ages, has suffered deep anguish, humiliation and crushing insult from the oppressive patriarchal culture prevalent in all parts of India and among all castes and classes. The novel is a classic in Kannada and the English translation is an attempt to bring to the English reading audience a taste of the regional classic.
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.
-
The Pollen Waits on Tiptoe- Selected Poems
₹310.00Author: Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre Translator: Madhav Ajjampur
The book presents English translations of 26 selected poems of 20th-century Kannada literature’s varakavi (heaven-touched poet) and one of the greatest lyric poets to have lived: Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre.
Although no selection of Bendre’s poems, even in the original Kannada, can ever be representative of the astonishing range of his poetry, the poems in this book give the reader a sampling of some of the different types of poems Bendre wrote – including the blank verse of his sonnets, the free verse of some of his later poetry, and the overwhelmingly-euphonic lyric poems of his first period. Several of the included poems are also acknowledged classics.
A standout feature of this book is its character as a multimedia presentation. Given the exceptional aural quality of Bendre’s poetry, a provision has been made for the reader to listen to audio recordings of each poem, in both its original and translated forms. Also included are Afterwords which, among other things, contain stories about Bendre, interesting anecdotes related to the poems, and reflections on the process of translation.
Interested overseas customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on

eBook available on














