Kaikini’s Mumbai tales out in English

Kannada poet, writer and playwright Jayant Kaikini’s new book of short stories and his craft were discussed at a centre in Domlur on Wednesday.

The event, titled ‘How to tell a Mumbai story’, kicked off with the launch of Kaikini’s ‘Mithun Number Two’, translated into English by Tejaswini Niranjana. The life of transcendence, anonymity and routine migrants lead in Mumbai is at the heart of these 16 stories. Mumbai was also the setting for Kaikini and Tejaswini’s award-winning 2017 collaboration, ‘No Presents Please’.

In the panel discussion that followed, translator Vanamala Vishwanatha and writer Indira Chandrasekhar weighed in on Kaikini’s writing process, Tejaswini’s ability to translate with a sense of ownership, and why Mumbai is a city like no other.

Vanamala said though Kaikini has been writing for 50 years, there is a “young energy” in his works that has resonated with generations of Kannada readers. Indira shared that the people, sub-locales, and character of Mumbai are reflected accurately in the book. “In any square metre (of Mumbai), a million things are happening at the same time — conversations, grief, elation, and more. The city carries a sense of resilience and humanity... Kaikini captures that well,” she said.

Talking about Kaikini’s affinity for bringing together the real and surreal, Tejaswini cited a story from ‘No Presents Please’. A bus driver is denied vacation time. He steals a double-decker bus and drives it all the way to his village.

This story took shape after Kaikini thought what would happen if somebody escapes with a bus in Mumbai, a city he spent 24 years in. An impulsive writer, he said he gets drawn to “one character, one moment”.

‘Mithun Number Two’, Eka, Rs 599, available online and in stores.