‘Fifty-five Pillars, Red Walls’: Classic Hindi novel set in girls’ college gets English translation
An excerpt from the novel by Usha Priyamvada, translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell. Author Usha Priyamvada.
Sushma again ran her finger over the copper plate on the table. The letters of her name were carved into the shiny new surface. Suddenly her name sounded sweet and musical. She pushed the nameplate to one side and began sorting through the piles of mail on the tray. She glanced outside the blinds and felt impressed at her new status. An enticing world lay beyond the fresh yellow slats – she caught glimpses of colourful dupattas and innocent dreamy faces and heard the laughter of carefree young voices. The chaprassi sat on a stool outside, his khaki uniform glowing in the sunlight.