Madhavan Edasseri
I have to prepare myself to face the days without engine driver, Nancy thought. So, after getting out of home she went to the temple. It was after she finished the pradakshinam that she noticed it. Instead of the young Poojary, Prasadam is being distributed by an old Namboothiri. She had this impulse to take the prasadam and throw it back into the sanctum sanctorum. ‘God, you too have abandoned me!’ Mourning, she came out of the temple. At this rate there is no use going to the church also. Instead of Father Valiyedath who resembled film star Suresh Gopi there will be an eighty-year-old Father to receive her! How long one can retain one’s faith in God when affairs like this take shape?
The train was approaching the station. As she had totally lost faith in the fairness of God, she did not even look at the engine room. There will be some oldie scratching his beard and peering out of the cabin. She did not like that sight. But her eyes disobeyed her internal directive; they ran to the engine room. … And there, with his head leaning out and beaming…….
What! Is this not my engine driver!
She turned her head seriously and boarded the compartment. Her friends were surprised to see her win continuously in the Anthakshari. ‘What happened to you today, dear?’ they wondered.
Once again Spring! Nancy mulled over. Once again deluge of flowers! Gentle breeze spreading fragrance... Did I not tell you earlier? – I can write poems.
This translation of the novel, “Engine Drivare Snehicha Penkutty’ could not be completed while the author was alive. He had seen the draft and perhaps felt that it needed a deft editing. Although some improvements could be made since, translator is not sure if this version has done justice to the original novel which is written in a unique style exemplifying the novelist’s empathy and affection towards working girls and his elevated sense of humour. The novelist has dealt with a very serious social issue of dowry riding on an interesting plot with astute characterization and humour. The humour is as much fascinating as it is subtle, at times reminding the Italian writer Giovannino Gureschi. It was a challenging task even to bring out a shade of that humour in the translation. The gloom of the translator’s failure in this effort was somewhat alleviated by his brother E. Asoka Kumar who helped to improve the quality of translation, especially the nuances by careful editing.]
