New Delhi: Celebrated Urdu writer Mohsin Khan’s acclaimed first novel, “Allah Miyan ka Karkhana,” has been translated into English for the first time by noted translator and poet Maaz Bin Bilal, announced publishing house Harper Collins India.
Scheduled for release on June 23, “Allah Miyan’s Workshop” is a story about childhood and its travails, at once “humorous, tender and piercing”.
Set in a village in Awadh, Uttar Pradesh, the novel tells the story of 14-year-old Gibran, a curious and mischievous boy whose conservative father wants him to work at a mosque. His carefree childhood is shattered when his father is arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
Faced with loss, separation, and uncertainty, Gibran turns to his imagination for refuge and hope.
Indian-Muslim tale of boyhood
Originally published in Urdu, the book, according to the translator, is at once a universal as well as an Indian-Muslim tale of boyhood, its joys and travails.
“It drew me to itself immediately with its emotional roller-coaster of a ride, and its inquisitive, skeptical, yet innocent protagonist, Gibran, who has a unique narratorial voice,” Bilal said.
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“The socio-political churn of our time also provides an important backdrop to the novel, a churn that is tough for so many of us to escape in our own,” said Bilal, who has also translated Mirza Ghalib‘s “Chirag-e-Dair” as “Temple Lamp” in English.
According to commissioning Editor (Literary), Rinita Banerjee, the book is a tale that carries “love, fear, anguish and measureless wonder”, all of which come alive in Bilal’s luminous English translation.
“Much like Gibran’s kites, it becomes a thing to be treasured. ‘Allah Miyan’s Workshop’ is perhaps one of the finest works of Urdu literature in translation, which we at HarperCollins are delighted to bring to readers this June. Do read it,” she added.
The Hindi translation of “Allah Miyan ka Karkhana” has won the inaugural Bank of Baroda Award in 2023. Khan has also won prizes for the radio plays “Khvaabon ki Taabeer” and “Kaisi Kaisi Majbooriyan” in the multilingual All India Radio national play contests in two different years.
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