A Magahi Novel: Fool Bahadur

Surprised to learn that there is no written poem in Magahi
I run here and there then sit down to write a poem in Magahi

I listen to the people in the street talking in Magahi
paying attention to their sounds and tones in Magahi

they twitter like birds day and night in Magahi
even their abuses sound sweet in Magahi

thik hai is thik hako, accha aa gaya is acccha aa gelhu in Magahi
khana khaye is khana khailhu, chai piye is chaiya pilhu in Magahi

I go around the town looking for books in Magahi
I return home without finding a written word in Magahi

at home I hear my mother say her prayers in Magahi
Hamar betake buddhi dehu bhagwan, he wants to write a poem in Magahi.

(Thik hai: all well
Accha aa gaya : well, you have arrived
Khana khaye : did you eat
Chai piye : did you drink tea
Hamar betake buddhi dehu bhagwan: God give my son sense)

“Poetry” wrote William Wordsworth, “is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.” When I wrote this poem in June 2020, it was, perhaps, in a whirlwind of emotions, during a quest to reconnect with my roots through my mother tongue, Magahi. What is Magahi? you ask. It is believed to be the language spoken by Buddha to deliver his sermons. It was the official language of the Mauryan court and Gupta Empire, and in which the edicts of Ashoka were composed. Pali is also identified with Magadhi-Prakrit. Written in Brahmi script, it was the sacred language of Buddhism. Yet, Magahi officially ceased to be a separate language in India—earlier listed as a Bihari language, it is now grouped under Hindi.

Magahi is spoken in an area south of the Ganges and east of the Son river in nine districts of Bihar, eight districts of Jharkhand and in West Bengal’s Malda district. There are around 20 million speakers of Magahi around the world. I was born in the Nalanda district of Bihar. My mother speaks to me in Magahi, while my father used to speak in Hindi. When I came to study at Delhi University, people asked me if I spoke Bihari. I found it strange. I had no idea what they meant by Bihari. All I knew was Magahi and Hindi. In fact, in the school syllabus, we had a number of Hindi stories and poems, even English was a compulsory subject in high school and I had to learn by heart Shakespeare’s World’s A Stage, William Wordsworth’s Daffodils and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, but sadly there was no mention of Magahi stories or poems. I studied Sanskrit in high school and learnt about the literature of ancient India but I was not aware of the literary treasures in my own mother tongue.

In fact, my ignorance was so profound that I thought that there is no written literature in Magahi as I had never come across a single book written in Magahi. My ignorance was dispelled soon after writing this poem when many people made me aware of the rich literature in Magahi. It took me almost another year before I set out to find Magahi folktales, short stories and novels, and the treasures I found left me spellbound. Talking to various Magahi writers and poets, I was surprised to learn that the works of Magahi literature had not been translated into English yet. Immediately I started collecting and translating poems and short stories from Magahi into English. I began by translating the very first Magahi short story The Corner Mango Tree by Rabindra Kumar. During the course of translating Magahi literature, I came across the first Magahi novel Fool Bahadur by Jayanath Pati. Being a civil servant and from Nalanda myself, I was fascinated by it during my very first reading and immediately started translating it.

Fool Bahadur is a satirical novel set in Biharsharif in the Nalanda district, where an ambitious Mukhtar (a lawyer in India during the 19th-20th century) named Samlal leaves no stone unturned to flatter the newly-posted SDO to get the title of Rai Bahadur (an honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for faithful service or acts of public welfare to the Empire), but ends up making a fool of himself. Fool Bahadur gives a rare glimpse into the prevalent corruption in the public service in British India and the rampant sexual exploitation of women. The novel revolves around Mukhtar Samlal, SDO Maulavi Mojjafer Nawab, courtesan Naseeban and Circle Officer Haldhar Singh. The first edition of the book was published on April Fools’ Day in 1928.

The book is divided into eight chapters. It begins with Samlal travelling to Keul railway station in the Lakhisarai district to receive Maulavi Mojjafer Nawab, the new SDO, who is on his way to Bihar Sharif to take up his new assignment. Samlal takes courtesan Naseeban too along with him to entertain the SDO Nawab Saheb on the train from Keul to Bihar Sharif. Naseeban is a bit apprehensive of the reaction of the Second Officer Haldhar Singh who treats her as his mistress.

After arriving in Biharsharif, the new SDO starts sending Haldhar away on field duty so that he can spend more time with Naseeban. Samlal secretly pays a visit to Naseeban on a rainy night while she is expecting Haldhar. He asks Naseeban to use her influence with the SDO Nawab Saheb to get him nominated for the title of Rai Bahadur. He pleads with her to come with him to please Nawab Saheb. Meanwhile, Haldhar arrives at her place. He finds Samlal hiding in the toilet and threatens him with his revolver.

Haldhar thinks that Samlal may report the incident to Nawab Saheb. So he thinks of reporting the incident himself to him. The next morning Haldhar reaches Nawab Saheb’s place and starts criticising Samlal and questions his character. While Haldhar recounts the love affairs of Samlal to Nawab in detail, a postman comes with a letter sent from Ranchi, containing a complaint against Nawab Saheb’s affairs with Naseeban and an order to tender an explanation. Nawab Saheb’s heart sinks reading the letter.

Nawab Saheb calls for Samlal and hands over the letter to him and asks him to keep it a secret. He reads the letter and immediately hints at Haldhar as the author of the complaint. Samlal recounts how Haldhar was bad-mouthing Nawab Saheb at Naseeban’s place. Samlal urges Nawab Saheb to find evidence against Haldhar and to implicate him in some bribery case. Nawab Saheb asks Samlal to become the witness, luring him with the title of Rai Bahadur. The matter becomes sensational. A special commissioner is appointed to investigate the matter. Nawab Saheb frames charges of bribery against Haldhar and gets him dismissed from service.

On 1st April, Samlal receives a telegram that the title of Rai Bahadur has been bestowed upon him. He rushes to Nawab Saheb who congratulates him and announces that he has been transferred out. Several lawyers from the city gather and ask Samlal to throw a party on this big occasion. Samlal invites all the Mokhtars and lawyers and Nawab Saheb to watch a play at the town hall that evening. The compere announces that the play is titled ‘Fool Bahadur’. Nawab Saheb remarks that from the title the play looks like a satire. As the curtain is raised, the Keul railway station appears and in place of Nawab Saheb there is a police inspector and in place of Samlal, a lawyer named Vrindavan. Nawab Saheb finds something fishy and asks Samlal if he has read the play. Samlal gets him the script of the play. Nawab Saheb starts reading it and finds that in the play Vrindavan asks his friend to look at the postal stamp on the letter bringing the news of his getting the title of Rai Bahadur. He finds out that it bears the stamp of Ranchi Fools’ Paradise. Nawab Saheb asks Samlal to take a look at his own letter carefully. He finds, in place of ‘Rai Bahadur’, it is written ‘Fool Bahadur’. Translating the first Magahi was a rewarding experience. I hope its publication will open the path for the translation of many more treasures of Magahi literature.

(Abhay K. is a poet, editor and translator. His latest book-length poem Monsoon has been published by Sahitya Akademi.)