Ratno Dholi: The Best Stories of Dhumketu
The first substantive translation of the Gujarati short story pioneer, Dhumketu (1892–1965)
Pronunciation guide: “Ratno Dholi” = “Rut-no Dho-lee”; “Dhumketu” = “dhoom-kay-tu”; “Gujarati” = “Goo-juh-raa-ti”
Shortlisted for the PFC-VoW Book Awards 2021 for English Translation from Regional Languages
[This is the 2020 Indian edition. For the updated 2022 US edition, click here.]
“The translator is deeply engaged with the context of each story and follows each dip and tremor in the narrative flow with practiced ease and linguistic flair.”
N Kalyan Raman, award-winning translator in Indian Literature (a Sahitya Akademi publication)
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- “How do you hold the gaze long enough on a spark, the ‘tankha’? Dhumketu’s stories appeared in Gujarati literature like sparks or comets, lighting up the sky, creating a desire to hear more and see more. Generations in Gujarat have grown up on Dhumketu’s stories. Although not the first, Dhumketu is the most renowned short-story writer. Jenny Bhatt’s labor in understanding, contextualizing, interpreting, and translating him deserves our gratitude and attention. Without translations, we would be living a self-absorbed life, not learning about anyone else in the world!” ~Rita Kothari, Professor at Ashoka University; translator of The Greatest Gujarati Short Stories Ever Told
- The brilliant and prolific writer, Dhumketu, is an integral part of the Gujarati canon. Jenny Bhatt’s empathetic and intuitive translations convey the signature and nuance of his short stories, and make this iconic voice available for readers around the world. ~Namita Gokhale, Author; Founder and Co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival and Mountain Echoes, the Bhutan Literature Festival; Director of Yatra Books, a publishing house specializing in translation
- “A comet that flew through other linguistic skies now visits the Anglophone firmament. Train your telescopes, ladies and gentlemen, Dhumketu is here!” ~Jerry Pinto, Author and Translator; most recently, of Baburao Bagul’s Marathi short stories, The Day I Hid My Caste and Other Stories
- “Dhumketu wrote nearly 500 short stories, and this beautifully translated, brilliant, and glittering collection from his oeuvre will go a long way in reminding readers about one of the finest short-story writers from India.” ~Aruni Kashyap, Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia; Author and Translator of Indira Goswami’s last work of fiction, The Bronze Sword of Thengphakhri Tehsildar
- “. . . powerful plots, which Dhumketu handles with sensitivity and with a sense of the subtly moving that is never mawkish. [ . . .] the English translation is reasonably fast-paced and eminently accessible. [. . .] This collection is an essential read.” ~Hindustan Times
- “The translator of this collection, Jenny Bhatt, contextualizes his work in the introduction while providing insightful details about his craft.” ~The Hindu
- “The translator is deeply engaged with the context of each story and follows each dip and tremor in the narrative flow with practiced ease and linguistic flair.” ~Indian Literature (a Sahitya Akademi publication)
- “The mellifluous translation is as close as one can get to Dhumketu’s original [. . .] well-informed choices for pivotal words open new possibilities of re-readings for a Gujarati reader. Rendering terms and expressions, idioms, and traditions of a bygone world into an alien language is a delicate job: it requires patient and skillful negotiation across two periods, two cultures, and two languages. Bhatt has accomplished the task sensitively.” ~Indian Express
- “. . . depth in each of the 22 stories in this book, which means that a) the translator has done an excellent job and b) every story in the book is satisfying . . .” ~Deccan Chronicle
- “The collection scores well on the two fronts of readability and its ability to spark the interest of the reader. It succeeds in doing this by maintaining a fine balance between the familiar and the foreign. […] Jenny Bhatt’s Ratno Dholi, a volume of selected stories from Dhumketu, is an attempt to reach out to the roots of Gujarat’s literary imagination and present something of its wealth . . .” ~The Book Review
- “Dhumketu’s layered exploration of human psychology and behavior are what make his short stories so impactful. There is definitely a master-class spread out across these pages for those who are interested in the technical aspects of writing short stories. Jenny Bhatt’s translation is nuanced but simple, and does justice to these stories.” ~Womensweb.in
- Writer’s Melon | Video interview: Getting published in the US & translation of short stories | Jenny Bhatt. February 2023.
- The Quint | ‘Tomb of Sand’ – And Why There is No Such Thing as ‘Untranslatability’. Story by Ayesha Jain. June 2022.
- The Hindu | Dropping their invisibility: 12 Indian translators discuss their forthcoming works. Story by Anusua Mukherjee. May 2022.
- Chitralekha Magazine | Heart-to-heart with Jenny Bhatt (in Gujarati) by Ketan Trivedi. December 2021.
- Global Voices | Literary translation from South Asia lags in international markets. Interview by Dr. Sangita Swechcha. September 2021.
- Valley of Words | An Author’s Word: Jenny Bhatt. Interview. August 2021.
- BlogChatter | A Reader, An Author, and A Translator Together Make a Translation Successful Say Jenny Bhatt and Jayasree Kalathil. August 2021.
- Purple Pencil Project | In Conversation with Jenny Bhatt. Interview by Prakruti Maniar. July 2021.
- Bombay Reads | ‘I Aimed to Stay True to the Writer’s Intention’. Interview by Noman Ahmed Shaikh. November 2020.
- Firstpost | ‘Bringing Dhumketu to a new century: Jenny Bhatt discusses translating the pioneering Gujarati writer’s short stories’. Interview by Aishwarya Sahasrabudhe. November 2020.
- Scroll.in | ‘A debut can happen at any age. Coming late to publishing doesn’t mean coming late to writing.’ Interview by Urvashi Bahuguna. November 2020.
- India Booked Podcast | ‘Gujarat, Dhumketu, and Translations’. Interview by Ayushi Mona. November 2020.
- The New Indian Express | ‘Timeless Connections’. Interview by Monika Monalisa. October 2020.
- The Quint | ‘Tomb of Sand’ – And Why There is No Such Thing as ‘Untranslatability’. Story by Ayesha Jain. June 2022.
- The Hindu | Dropping their invisibility: 12 Indian translators discuss their forthcoming works. Story by Anusua Mukherjee. May 2022.
- The Dispatch | The best books of 2021 so far: Fiction, non-fiction, translations and more. July 2021.
- Deccan Herald | ‘Best Indian Reads of 2020’. December 2020.
- TheNewsNow.co.in | Books We Recommend This Week. December 2020.
- Caravan Magazine | Caravan’s Bookshelf. October 2020.
- Deccan Herald | Bookrack for the Week (Oct 25th to Oct 31st). October 2020.
- The Daily Guardian | Book Beat Feature. October 2020.
- Firstpost | Books of the week. October 2020.
- HarperCollins India | Celebrate World Translation Day with Advice From Some Favorite Translators. September 2022.
- Times of India | Sunday Special Feature: ‘New genres in new tongues; Indian translations are getting richer’ by Sonam Joshi. November 2020. (view clipping)
- Bombay Reads | Ratno Dholi, English Translation of Dhumketu’s Short Stories is Here. October 2020.
- Literary Hub | Breaking Down the Translation Pyramid: On Translating Dhumketu’s Pioneering Short Stories from Gujarati. (excerpt from the book’s introduction.) August 2022.
- Asymptote Journal | ‘Nameless’ by Dhumketu. Translated from Gujarati to English. July 2021. [NOTE: This story was accidentally left out of the book due to my oversight.]
- Scroll.in | Excerpt from ‘Ebb and Flow’. January 2021.
- TheDispatch.in | Excerpt from ‘Gulabvahu’. January 2021.
- ShethePeople | Excerpt from ‘When a Devi Ma Becomes a Woman’. December 2020.
- Firstpost | Excerpt from ‘Unknown Helpers’: Healing the helpless, only to be banished by society. November 2020.
- News18 | Excerpt: ‘Dhumketu, an Under-appreciated Gujarati Author, Who Changed the Landscape of Indian Storytelling’ by Aishwarya Sahasrabuddha. November 2020.
- Rediff.com | Excerpt from ‘The Post Office’ (Part 2). October 2020.
- Rediff.com | Excerpt from ‘The Post Office’ (Part 1). October 2020.
- HarperCollins India Blog | Excerpt from ‘On the Banks of the Sarayu’. October 2020.
