Fool Bahadur

A delightful caper through colonial Bihar, Fool Bahadur by Jayanath Pati is a humorous reflection on the state’s erstwhile society and bureaucracy—told through the story of a young law officer, who hustles his way through the bureaucratic corridors to win the coveted British title of Rai Bahadur. The first-ever translation of this forgotten Magahi novel into English by Abhay K. is a tour de force that will leave you chuckling at the characters dotting its intriguing plot.

Imprint: India Penguin Modern Classics

Published: Apr/2024

ISBN: 9780143463719

Length : 112 Pages

MRP : ₹250.00

Fool Bahadur

Jayanath Pati

Abhay K.

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Jayanath Pati

Jayanath Pati (1890–1939) was born in Sadipur village of Nawada subdivision of Gaya district, Bihar. After completing his intermediate (10+2), he cleared the exam to become a mukhtar (a lawyer knowledgeable in British laws during the colonial Raj in India) and set up a successful practice in Nawada. He was well versed in Urdu
and Persian and knew Sanskrit, English, Bangla and Latin. His first novel, Sunita (1927), was about a woman who is married to an elderly man, the manuscript of which seems to be lost. His second novel, Fool Bahadur, was published on April Fool’s Day in 1928 followed by his third novel, Gadahnit, in the same year.

Abhay K.

Abhay K. is the author of a dozen poetry books, including, Celestial, Stray Poems, Monsoon, The Magic of Madagascar and The Alphabets of Latin America and is the editor of The Book of Bihari Literature, The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems, Capitals, New Brazilian Poems and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems.
His poems have appeared in over a hundred literary magazines, including Poetry Salzburg Review and Asia Literary Review. His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 160 languages. He received the SAARC Literary Award (2013) and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., in 2018. His translations of Kalidasa’s Meghaduta and Ritusamhara from Sanskrit won him the KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award (2020–21). His translation of Magahi novel Fool Bahadur has been published by Penguin Random House, India. His paintings on the Buddhist philosophy of ‘Sunyata’ have been exhibited at Bihar Museum, Patna.

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