tao el!Tee Widen? Rooty inthe Eaglsh teanston/taneersation of Syed Walla’ Classe vel Lal Sha With 9 lind or sl 0 Simic run folk by epliting selon, becoming {he sl appoined guaran of ren which hice eat of aint No sted wih his ist Sf, be arcs agen she tine 4 woman whois hot as amenable at his losing fiat wile. The pore of the ew women and ei elaonship to each ether and to Majed balances Wall's pormait of the cbarlitan. In the English version, eve hewn to be by Syed Wablah href [jes aogites 2 cain grandeor at she end etoeing lone to the meer inthe mit of ging Fon witers A pierre oF rut Bangladesh in the aly fore, Tor With Rass also provides 9 Dictre of ternal Banglades, subject t the favages of atte, of atoms and foods, of (Gelones snd sing ee itl ofthe enplitation oF eign, Syed ‘Walaa lols synpatheteay a Ajeed for whom teligon meine food and sheer. Told in Syed ‘Walla imple omase and ezsionally eal Engl, Tn it Ras perv reaing for nye interest io koowing the Bega mie and the impact of felon and nspeson on the art popalce “Tu 45000 Syed Waliullah Tree Without RootsSyed Waliullah Tree Without Roots edited by ‘Niaz Zaman with an introduetion by Serajul Islam Choudhury rites inkwriters ink Contents Concord Tower Suite 805, 113 Kazi Nazrul slam Avenue Dhaka 1000 Bangladesh i Phone: 880-2-41031318 a E-mail: me@accesstelne; writers ink@accesstel.net Website: wew.writeninkbdcom Lntndaction by Serajal Isham Choudhury Tee Without Roots Bint published by Chatto and Winds 1967 First Bangladesh edition 2005, Seennd ervived edition 2915 Reprinted 2022, Copyright® The Without Roa Simine Walillah and Tex Walla Copyright this edition writes ile (Cover design bated on orignal cover by Syed Walillah Syed Walla photo courtesy Simine Walsh Diserboted by the University Press Lud 114/81, Green Road RH Home Center 2nd Floor, Suite 224.239, Farmgat, Dhaka 1215, Website warwuplbookscombd ISDN 978 904 0715.15 4 Published by Nisz Zaman, witesink, Concord Tower Suite 403, 113 Kari Nazral Islam Avenue, Dhaka 1000, Banglades. Printed at Skylark Priters, 278/A, Elephary Road (Katabon Dhl), Dhak 1205.Preface ‘THIS English translation of Syed Walialah’s Lal Shaly was originally published by Chat and Windus under the auspices SF UNESCO in 1967, The lae Syed Wall's faily war lncerested to have the novel made avaiable to an Exglish- reading public as well as t the increasing umber of young Bangladeshis who, for vasous reasons, are unable to read Bangla “Those who have read the novel in Bangla wil be surpsised at the changes in the English tanslation, especially a¢ the beginning and at the end. The Chart and Windus edition of ‘Ine Withot Roots lists the names of four tanslators: Anne- ‘Maie Thibaud, Quisar Saeed, Jeffrey Gibian, and Malic Khayyam. Anne-Marie) Thibaud — Mes Wallan ~ also translated Lal Shale into French. However, Anne-Marie "Thibaud did not know Bangla well enough to translate from it Airey. In ‘Wal, My Husband, a9 T Saw Him,’ an aceount of| hee life with Syed Walullah, she describes’ how she had translated this novel and Chander Amabape ‘from Wali’s own translations into Englch”” Anne-Marie does not refer 1 the ther translator. Tee gute ponible, dhenfore, that Syed ‘Waliallah had actully translated the book himself and for a ‘numberof reasons dil not want to publish Tre Withnt Restrin his own name. Syed Walullah was equally adept in Bangla and English — Jn the ly fortes, graduates ad to know English well ax that ‘was the medium of edvcaton at the higher secondary and tein levels ~ and had worked asa sub-ditor in te Statman. ‘What Ie also significant is that in evo of his English weings— Te Uy in by th Bangs Acne 213, en he had used pseudonyen, Abu Sharya, TT eg nt 229 — Domine 195 sa — oeFurthermore, the several changes that perin to the English version could only have been carried out bythe writer himself ‘One of the reasons for these changes might be that Lal Salt had been witten in the nineteenfortis while the ‘translation’ ‘was made abot twenty yeas lntee, When Sy Walla wot Lal Shela be had eves been out of Bengal ‘According to a step-aunt who lived with Syed Walilahs family as a child, the wating took place when Syed Walilah was studying at Anandamohan College in Mymensingh. Wall wat, therefore, «very young man when he wrote the sovel When he tured to the book years Inter, he was act only folder but was also an expatriate looking back atthe word of ‘Bengal that he had left behind but tt formed the setting of all his late writings at well Inthe English version, as Anne-Matic Wall points ur in her recllections of er Insband, Majeed acquires ‘a certain grandeur? which is missing in the Bangla versio of the novel. Thete is also a longer desexiption of the Bengal counuyside at the beginning of the nove, Pethaps with hie western audience ia mind, We may reasonably assume, therefore, that Tree Without Root was Spee Walilah’s fowa English ranlation/trantereation of Lal Sha Introduction REE WITHOUT ROOTS is the English tanslson of Syed Wabnlah’s mack admired Lal Sha (ed Clots). Though not sAiuited by Syed Walia, x now fey extablshed dat the English rendering was realy done by the novels himself, which explains why thi new versio is, in Some respects diferent from the orignal ext in. Bangla. Ta Tre (Vidor Rots dere ae Srkyements and alerstions, and an imporeant addition in the riding, which no one bat dhe writer himel® could have made Moreover, in the orginal novel there are intiaces and soggestivenes of langage, pasicualy in the dialogues, which ‘woul have been dificult if aot imposible, fr an outsider to put ino English at satstictorily ax has been’ done ia. Tr Withat Rows This wok is cerainly 2 revised and improved version of Lal Slab La Sal was published in 1948, only a year ater Pakistan ad come into being 28a new sate, chiming to be the homeland for the Maslime of the subcontinent. Syed Walsh has written 90 father novel, a number of shore stories and plas, but his Sst bolic sppesranee has remained the mos acclaimed, and jury so. Tre Wau Rat was published ninezen yeas Iter, in 1957: inl, 4 even those who have not read the orginal Bangla work oll find out for themselves, shis work is a great arise chievement indeed. ‘With the imagination ofan att, Walla had grasped the \eprivation and sidness of dhe people inthe villages, aising out fle sak fact dat dee waste land and too many mouths fee Lite food means more religion, he as weten inthe novel What is more, be hid an almost neaany awareness of the shape of things to come, of the tae thar the ruling cata would bemaking of region to subjugate the public as well as eo legimise its own authority. Mojed, the sy impostor, who acts like a viout of the hapless men and women around him, i himself a [oor man and has been deves to his faudulence by the need for 2 iveloody nevertheless, what he does i epical of what the {ling clas as done ad is wil doing Like Majeed, the euler ate “unproductive; they are parasia; whatever they do ~ and being idles and basybodies they do alo produces only misery fr the ‘people, and nothing else "Wall has efeated the fsionalvllage Mahabbarpur as the ‘heat for the doings of the fortine-hanting Majeed, who has transformed into a shrine she hithero neglected grave of an Tunknown perion about whore iensity he knows nothing but Teh be dies tw Ue slat who visited Majeed ina dream. ‘The willie is almost mythical its without connection withthe Wwodd outside; it has no radio set; no newspaper teaches it; 20 Shoo! exists; even that favourite pastime of the Bengals called polis in abeent. Life hese is elemental Even for backward Benga sch a vllge is exceptional Making fall use of his ste, which is subd, often ironical and always ively, the novelist ‘compels us exedence entry “The game that Majed plays has al dhe makings ofan abvord ply, Majeed i a vetable colonials ard an active missionary, the two rolled into one. He plants far ito the hears ofthe innocent peasants, maces them feet gully for their neglect of the patron faint. He becomes the rler and seeks to transform the simple peasants, almost pagans in thee ife-se, todevout Muslims. In the proces he testo dive out wong and laughter fom their lives, Waliulah nodces the drama ~ sometimes tac, often farcical ~ fom a distance and with detachment; but he is aot ‘without pay. dndeed he wees with sadness nhs Heat. He Taderstands his Majeed; he knows the ins and outs of dhe man, but does not make hin the wilin of the pice. On the contrary, [Majeed arrives as the hero ad remains so. He is as lonely a8 the shine he has created and has become the slve of his own creation, Majeed is hardworking, be is fearfal to others but Irghicned within himselt, He i nostalgic; he feel for his ‘ldo home hich he as lf e res 0 strke roots in a land ‘where he fas never been before He has no sharer of his secrets, Ani incapable of opening his hear to anyone Tn an odd, apd somewhat izonica, manner, this village repwercnts Bangladesh in miniature, pariculacly in zespece of very and fandameneaism, which i fact go hand in hand, one Fring the other “here as moch as esewhere. Wallllah's memorable obseration, There ate more “ype than heads of ‘atl, moe ae than sheaves of ie reminds us ofan abiding coloration beeen poveryzod selon. Walla died of heart faite dacing our wa of liberation in which his emotional involvement was deep snd for which he was eying, ia his own ten, to rave pubic opinion in Pars where ewan ving a ue time, He must have fel thatthe war was aimed aot mercy at vn away the occupiers, bu at changing the very way of ife in the coamry to which he belonged. That dieam of social transformation has aot come te; and the novels of Lal Shab for one knew how dificult would be t change Socey, sven he deer of poverty and the heartless machinations oft raling ‘lass. The lads reall infested with swarming Majceds of all binds. hues and denominations. And yet. despite all hi play cing, Majeed ime is no. simple rogue in a free or a Cavicnie in a satire e is human, 9 tage character fending for Ione ana causing harm to others, not out of any il wil but i the harrwing neces of eng ou ing. The change in the se of the new version of Lal Sha Indleter «aft of emphasis from the shine tits carter Ang wl-nigh impossible to separate the two, here the fos on the man sharper than it was inthe orignal novel Tin erly Fre Hite Rowe 6 new. Lal Statens wth 2 Julio, the new version the halstonn is described in grater shi, eopasising the devastation it has caused tothe standing fo Hive ore noticeable and sgncar is what Majed docs ‘awn the aston stops. He does noe go to sce what has jen tthe suger orto dhe crops in his Hels. Instend herushes to Khalequs, the indowner and the richest man in the village. And the novelist tes us dat deep within him Majeed linew why he was ping to Khalesue, ahowgh he di aoe wish 0 sci i too ted. “The main souree of his vlibood was not hi Jnd and his rops, but faith, and faith he knew, though not 8 cauly destroyed by natural calamity a8 material wealth, if once Gesttoyed may never be eetored” He knew that the damaged ‘nagar could be tepid, but not the damaged faith ofthe public in hin and their exust in the moqor That is why the man of relipion must rin tothe man of mateal wea; andthe two must Collaborate to preserve faith inthe syst. Majed’ seeking help ftom Khalege i rode, but realistic. And by making him do this, dhe novelit adds substantially co he saalism of his vr halque, we remember, had ea subservient to Maja the rman of religion. Feeling gully on the palpable account of bis alu to take cae of the saints grave, Khsleque had consbuced generously 10 the seting up of 2 matish and a mossue. Majeed ‘had inflicted punishment om Khaleque for showing the temerity to send for bleed water fom a fir in the neighbouring wlage, ‘auting pent pin tothe simple ndowner and his harmless wie ‘Bat now hat things have then a melodramatic sam, Majeed must fun to Khalegue call Bin it Send, and seok his help, abeie