Unjacketed Library Edition |
Girls for Sale Kanyasulkam, a Play from Colonial IndiaGurajada Apparao Translated from Telugu by Velcheru Narayana Rao |
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A masterpiece of British Indian literature in a vibrant modern English translation "[A] scholarly event of the first importance. . . . This translation is a work of artand I predict that it will, on its own terms, become a classic." —David Shulman, Hebrew University
"[A] scholarly event of the first importance. . . . This translation is a work of art, and I predict that it will, on its own terms, become a classic." —David Shulman, Hebrew University First staged in 1892, the South Indian play Girls for Sale (Kanyasulkam) is considered the greatest modern work of Telugu literature and the first major drama written in an Indian language that critiqued British colonialism’s effects on Indian society. Filled with humor, biting social commentary, parody, and masquerade, the plot revolves around a clever courtesan, a young widow, and a very old man who wants to buy as his wife a very young girl. Velcheru Narayana Rao has prepared the first idiomatic English translation, with notes and a critical essay. Itself a masterpiece of Indian literature in translation, this edition makes Apparao’s work available to new audiences.
Gurajada Apparao (1862–1915) is regarded as the father of modern Telugu literature.
Velcheru Narayana Rao is Krishnadevaraya Professor of Languages and Cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
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Distribution: World excluding Indian Subcontinent Publication date: 4/6/2009 |
