Needle at the Bottom of the Sea: Bengali Tales from the Land of the Eighteen Tides“Brave and vivid.”—New York Review of Books These enchanting stories from early modern Bengal reveal how Hindu and Muslim traditions converged on timeless themes of human morality, social culture, and survival. The Bengali stories in this collection are first and foremost tales of survival. Each story in Needle at the Bottom of the Sea underscores the need for people to work together—not just to overcome the challenges of living in the Sundarban swamps of Bengal, but also to ease hostilities born of social differences in religion, caste, and economic class. Translated by award-winning scholar of early modern Bengali literature Tony K. Stewart, Needle at the Bottom of the Sea brims with fantasy and excitement. Sufi protagonists travel through a world of wonder where tigers talk and men magically grow into giants, a Hindu princess falls in love with a Muslim holy man, and goddesses rub shoulders with kings and merchants. Across religion, class, and gender, what binds these fabulous stories together is the characters’ pursuit of living honorably and morally in a difficult, corrupt world. |
Contents
| 3 | |
The Rāy maṅgal of Kṛṣṇarām Dās | 31 |
Gāji kālu o cāmpāvatī kanyār puthi of Ābdul Ohāb | 131 |
Bonbibī jahurā nāmā of Mohāmmad Khater | 257 |
Satya nārāyaṇer puthi of Kavi Vallabh | 331 |
Khoyāj Khijirs Instruction to Musā in Nabīvaṃśa of Saiyad Sultān translated with Ayesha A Irani | 375 |
Glossary | 393 |
Acknowledgments | 405 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ajupā al-Khidr Āllā Amitav Ghosh auspicious Bada Khān Bangla beauty beeswax began beloved Bengal Berāhim betel quid Bibī body Bonbibi Brāhman brother called Campā Cāmpāvatī Chirā crocodiles Daks.in Daks.in.ā Dakșiņ Rāy Dās daughter Dhonā Dukhe Dukhe's eighteen tides elephants eyes færies father feet forest Gājī Gāji Sāhā Gāji's Gangā ghat goddess Golāl groom hand head hear heard heart honey husband Islamic Jangali jāti Julhās Kalikātā Kālu Kālu Sāhā kathās Kavi Khodā Khoyāj Khijir king Kr.s.n.arām Kṛṣṇarām Kuntalā land Listen looked Lord low-lying machjed Madan magical Manasā mangal mangrove marriage Matuk Rājā māyā merchant Mohammad Musā musalmāni Nagar Nārāyan narrative neck night obeisance phakir Prophet pūjā Puspadatta puthi quickly rāga Rām replied river Śāhā Satya Pīr Sekandar ships Sītā Śiv soon spoke Śrī story Sufi Sundarbans tale tell tigers took translated tree waters weep wife woman women words worship young