Ratno Dholi: The Best Stories of Dhumketu

“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

Dhumketu (1892–1965) was the pen name of Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi, one of Gujarat’s most prolific writers in the early-20th century. During his lifetime, he wrote some 600 short stories in twenty-six volumes, twenty-nine historical and seven social novels, various plays, travelogues, memoirs, and more. He was also an avid translator of Rabindranath Tagore and Kahlil Gibran.

It is fair to say that he is the Gujarati Chekhov or Tagore. He pioneered the short story form in Gujarati literature, taking it beyond mere storytelling to a creative art form with advanced literary devices, universal themes, and characters drawn from all walks of life — rural to royal, young to old. In particular, his strong, independent-minded women and emotionally sensitive men were well ahead of their time. Many of these stories, if transposed to contemporary times, would still work just as well as in their time.

When Dhumketu’s first collection of short stories, Tankha, came out in 1926, it revolutionized the genre in India. Characterized by a fine sensitivity, deep humanism, perceptive observation, and intimate knowledge of both rural and urban life, his fiction has provided entertainment and edification to generations of Gujarati readers and speakers.

Ratno Dholi brings together the first substantial collection of Dhumketu’s work to be available in English in the US. Beautifully translated for a wide new audience by Jenny Bhatt, these much-loved stories — like the finest literature — remains remarkable and relevant even today.

Unfortunately, in addition to suffering the same neglect as many other regional language writers in India (there is a language hierarchy or pyramid where certain Indian languages get translated and published more than others), Dhumketu’s brilliance has been forgotten because, in India, the short story form has also lost the audience it once enjoyed. With this translation, I hope to help shine a brighter spotlight on his rich legacy.

“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

Dhumketu (1892–1965) was the pen name of Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi, one of Gujarat’s most prolific writers in the early-20th century. During his lifetime, he wrote some 600 short stories in twenty-six volumes, twenty-nine historical and seven social novels, various plays, travelogues, memoirs, and more. He was also an avid translator of Rabindranath Tagore and Kahlil Gibran.

It is fair to say that he is the Gujarati Chekhov or Tagore. He pioneered the short story form in Gujarati literature, taking it beyond mere storytelling to a creative art form with advanced literary devices, universal themes, and characters drawn from all walks of life — rural to royal, young to old. In particular, his strong, independent-minded women and emotionally sensitive men were well ahead of their time. Many of these stories, if transposed to contemporary times, would still work just as well as in their time.

When Dhumketu’s first collection of short stories, Tankha, came out in 1926, it revolutionized the genre in India. Characterized by a fine sensitivity, deep humanism, perceptive observation, and intimate knowledge of both rural and urban life, his fiction has provided entertainment and edification to generations of Gujarati readers and speakers.

Ratno Dholi brings together the first substantial collection of Dhumketu’s work to be available in English in the US. Beautifully translated for a wide new audience by Jenny Bhatt, these much-loved stories — like the finest literature — remains remarkable and relevant even today.

Unfortunately, in addition to suffering the same neglect as many other regional language writers in India (there is a language hierarchy or pyramid where certain Indian languages get translated and published more than others), Dhumketu’s brilliance has been forgotten because, in India, the short story form has also lost the audience it once enjoyed. With this translation, I hope to help shine a brighter spotlight on his rich legacy.