'Shesha Prashana', translated by musician and poet Avas, has been brought to the market by Publication Nepalaya.
A Nepali translation of Bengali writer Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's excellent novel 'Shesh Prashana' has been published. 'Shesh Prashana', translated by musician and poet Abhas, has been brought to the market by Publication Nepalaya.
Avas said that he was inspired to translate the book at the request of Narayan Wagle after the pleasant impression of ‘Shesh Prashan’, which he read as a teenager, never left him. At the book launch event held at Aarshala in Kalikasthan on Tuesday evening, translator Avas said, ‘When we were talking about which novel was his favorite, I first remembered ‘Shesh Prashan.’ Much later, when I read the same book again, I liked it even more.’
Avas explained his translation work as adding his own melody to a song.
Regarding the launched book ‘Shesh Prashan’, Durga Karki, author of the story collection ‘Kumari Prashanharu’, said, ‘Even after a hundred years since the novel was published, the main character seems like a dream. The multidimensionality, complexity, subtlety and revolutionary consciousness of her character are rarely found in progressive literature. Even less so in stories written by men. The sad thing is that we are still far from the concepts of love, morality, marriage and gender social values through ‘Shesh Prashan’. Its characterisation, dialogue style and progressiveness are beautiful. She said that she found the main female character Kamal inspiring.
In the program, translator Abhas said that he was influenced by Bengali literature and music. He began his speech by singing a Rabindranath Tagore song, recounting his experience of living in Bengal for a long time. Finally, he sang a new song ‘Nasunau Malai Khair Jhuta Timra Kura’ written by Sanjay Bantawa, who teaches at North Bengal University, in his own tune.
Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay is one of the most widely read writers in the world. More than a hundred of his novels, stories, plays, essays, etc. have been published. Sharat Chandra’s works have been translated into various Indian languages and many international languages. Dozens of films and series have been made based on his work ‘Devdas’.
Publication Nepalaya has announced that it has published four translated books in 2025.
At the launch event, Bimal Acharya, editor of Publication Nepalaya, said, “We have published ‘Saat Salko Katha’, a book written by Indian writer Phanishwarnath Renu about the 2007 Nepali revolution, a book of translations of selected stories and novels by Nobel Prize-winning writer Mo Yan, an English translation of Narayan Wagle’s ‘Korean Coffee Guff’, and now Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel ‘Shesh Prashana.’
