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Tell the Tale, Urvashi
The long-awaited English translation of the popular Punjabi novel Katha Kaho Urvashi by Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novelist and distinguished academic Dalip Kaur Tiwana, Tell the Tale, Urvashi is the tragic intergenerational saga of a landed Sikh family in late 20th-century Punjab.
Devinder, his three sisters and their widowed, deeply religious mother form a close-knit family. Devinder’s special bond with his eldest sister Kuldeep is challenged by his marriage to Alka, a beautiful, restless woman constrained by traditional roles and expectations. Exploring the dynamics of family life, human relationships, the evolving roles of women and the social structures within which they are rooted, the novel addresses questions of identity and alienation, tradition and modernity against the backdrop of wider cultural disorientation of our times and hauntingly captures the search for the meaning of life, loss and death.
Using multiple narratives and narrative genres, Tiwana projects a many-voiced, fragmented world in which there are no black and white divisions, no saints or villains, only individuals limited by their own impulses and frailties, their memories and pasts—people in whom we can see reflections of ourselves. A universal tale of love and loss told simply but evocatively, this classic of Punjabi literature will appeal to all lovers of Indian fiction.
Devinder, his three sisters and their widowed, deeply religious mother form a close-knit family. Devinder’s special bond with his eldest sister Kuldeep is challenged by his marriage to Alka, a beautiful, restless woman constrained by traditional roles and expectations. Exploring the dynamics of family life, human relationships, the evolving roles of women and the social structures within which they are rooted, the novel addresses questions of identity and alienation, tradition and modernity against the backdrop of wider cultural disorientation of our times and hauntingly captures the search for the meaning of life, loss and death.
Using multiple narratives and narrative genres, Tiwana projects a many-voiced, fragmented world in which there are no black and white divisions, no saints or villains, only individuals limited by their own impulses and frailties, their memories and pasts—people in whom we can see reflections of ourselves. A universal tale of love and loss told simply but evocatively, this classic of Punjabi literature will appeal to all lovers of Indian fiction.
436 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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About the author
Dalip Kaur Tiwana
44 books82 followersDalip Kaur Tiwana was a novelist and short-story writer of contemporary Punjabi literature.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2025
Caveat: I am not familiar with Indian literature, classical or otherwise.
This was a hard read. The first two thirds of this book take the form of family saga, much as one would expect to find in a soap opera. The style is from almost zero point of view, we have maybe half a dozen lines of internal thought in the whole of this section. There is also a *lot* of repetition, both of themes and particular lines. As I say I am not familiar with Indian literature, but it reminded me of the old norse sagas, and I assume it is evoking Indian texts of antiquity.
And then, after a drought of emotion, we have a deluge, for the last third of the book comprises a sort of analysis of what has occurred, from the point of view of two different characters, and here we go over the top with feelings and sentiment, so that the events which had been so dry before, are now trite and overblown.
I can see what this book was trying to do, setting a saga of modern life in the same vein as the tales of gods and heroes of old. And it was certainly an interesting read, giving a view of Indian life which I otherwise would not have got. But it was so dry that reading it really became a struggle.
This was a hard read. The first two thirds of this book take the form of family saga, much as one would expect to find in a soap opera. The style is from almost zero point of view, we have maybe half a dozen lines of internal thought in the whole of this section. There is also a *lot* of repetition, both of themes and particular lines. As I say I am not familiar with Indian literature, but it reminded me of the old norse sagas, and I assume it is evoking Indian texts of antiquity.
And then, after a drought of emotion, we have a deluge, for the last third of the book comprises a sort of analysis of what has occurred, from the point of view of two different characters, and here we go over the top with feelings and sentiment, so that the events which had been so dry before, are now trite and overblown.
I can see what this book was trying to do, setting a saga of modern life in the same vein as the tales of gods and heroes of old. And it was certainly an interesting read, giving a view of Indian life which I otherwise would not have got. But it was so dry that reading it really became a struggle.
July 12, 2022
"The difference between 'is' and 'was' is only a difference of one breath - Pg 258 of Tell the Tale, Urvashi"
This book is a translation of a Punjabi Novel, Katha Kaho Urvashi by Dalip Kaur Tiwana. I created this entry for this book as I could not find it here. I am grateful that Prof. Bhupinder Singh translated this amazing Novel into English.
The book is subtly philosophical. It talks about life and death, and the vanity about everything in between while telling the story of a Family, the family where the Grandfather, Son and second Grandson attempted suicide despite having everything in life - money, lands, family, honour.
Many do not understand why few commit suicide. And by large it is considered a sign of weakness but why would someone throw their life as if it matters nothing? Perhaps, because they no longer see any purpose in life. They make others the centre of their life and when they are pushed away by those very people, they free dive into the pool of despair.
Following is a para that I loved from this book
"Does the sun or the moon, do the mountains or the rivers, the trees, animals and birds, or do the people of this world ask what the purpose of their lives is? They have not created themselves, but are the creatures of God. It is for Him alone to understand the reason behind all this. You have also not made yourself. Your body has been shared by such powerful elements as the air, water, earth, sky and fire. God has blessed you with a would and given you the rare privilege of being born a human being! And yet you wanted to demolish all this in your desperation and tried to kill yourself! But one does not die by destroying the body."
There are parts of this book which will make a reader cry hard. One such part is the letter written by the second son, Arvind to his father who is no more and is read by his Paternal Aunt, Kuldeep. The letter highlights what a child goes through during the Parents' fight and though he took sides in the fight how much it really impacted him.
The book is wonderful, absolutely and entirely!
This book is a translation of a Punjabi Novel, Katha Kaho Urvashi by Dalip Kaur Tiwana. I created this entry for this book as I could not find it here. I am grateful that Prof. Bhupinder Singh translated this amazing Novel into English.
The book is subtly philosophical. It talks about life and death, and the vanity about everything in between while telling the story of a Family, the family where the Grandfather, Son and second Grandson attempted suicide despite having everything in life - money, lands, family, honour.
Many do not understand why few commit suicide. And by large it is considered a sign of weakness but why would someone throw their life as if it matters nothing? Perhaps, because they no longer see any purpose in life. They make others the centre of their life and when they are pushed away by those very people, they free dive into the pool of despair.
Following is a para that I loved from this book
"Does the sun or the moon, do the mountains or the rivers, the trees, animals and birds, or do the people of this world ask what the purpose of their lives is? They have not created themselves, but are the creatures of God. It is for Him alone to understand the reason behind all this. You have also not made yourself. Your body has been shared by such powerful elements as the air, water, earth, sky and fire. God has blessed you with a would and given you the rare privilege of being born a human being! And yet you wanted to demolish all this in your desperation and tried to kill yourself! But one does not die by destroying the body."
There are parts of this book which will make a reader cry hard. One such part is the letter written by the second son, Arvind to his father who is no more and is read by his Paternal Aunt, Kuldeep. The letter highlights what a child goes through during the Parents' fight and though he took sides in the fight how much it really impacted him.
The book is wonderful, absolutely and entirely!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews