Strangers on the Roof - Softcover

Rajendra Yadav; Ruth Vanita (Tr.)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143423827 ISBN 13: 9780143423829

Publisher: Penguin, 2014

Synopsis

Samar, a young scholar, is married to Prabha against his will. Ego and frustration combine to make him refuse to say even a single word to his wife on the day of the marriage. They live thus, without speaking, for nearly a year. Until one moment when their suppressed emotions burst through, and lead to a passionate reconciliation. Funny, affectionate and hard hitting, this is one of the most unique love stories in Indian writing.

About this title

About the Author

Rajendra Yadav (1929-2013) was among the most important and famous modern Hindi authors and intellectuals. Raised and educated in Agra, he wrote his first and greatest novel, Sara Akash, in 1951 (first published as Pret Bolte Hain). Never out of print since, it has sold over 500,000 copies, and was made into a film directed by Basu Chatterjee in 1969. Along with Kamleshwar and Mohan Rakesh, Yadav started the Nayi Kahani movement which transformed the Hindi literary scene in the 1950s and 60s. Author of seven novels and twelve short story collections, Yadav reinvented himself as an editor, political commentator and translator. In 1986, he re-launched Premchand s magazine Hans, and, with assistance from associate editor Archana Varma, turned it for over a decade into Hindi s most prominent literary journal. Yadav ran his own publishing house Akshar Prakashan, where his office became a centre for literary debate, and he developed Hans into a controversial forum for women s and minority voices. He is survived by his wife, well-known Hindi fiction writer Mannu Bhandari, and their daughter Rachna.

Ruth Vanita, raised and educated in Delhi, taught at Delhi University for 20 years and now teaches at the University of Montana. Founding coeditor of Manushi, India s first nationwide feminist magazine, she is the author of several books, most recently Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry 1780-1870, and co-editor of Same-Sex Love in India: A Literary History. She has translated many works of fiction and poetry from Hindi to English, most recently Alone Together: Selected Stories of Mannu Bhandari, Rajee Seth and Archana Varma.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0143423827
• ISBN 13: 9780143423829
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264