Al-Raheena, the first Yemeni novel in Hindi [Archives:2006/908/Last Page]

Al-Raheena “The Hostage” is one of the most famous novels in Yemen. Last month, it was published in India after being translated into Hindi (as Bandhak). Commenting on the Hindi translation, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh, Yemen's foremost poet and scholar, said to Yemen Times: “Unfortunately, there are no Yemeni literary figures who know Hindi so that we could rely on his perusal in our appreciation of the rendition. It is, however, enough to know that a Yemeni creator is now readable by a language of a one billion people.”

The Hostage depicts the experiences of a young boy who, having been taken hostage, in line with the Imam's general practice, as a pledge for his father's political obedience, is sent to serve as a young male attendant in the palace of the city governor. The growth of the boy's awareness, political, social and personal, is movingly portrayed against a background of bygone times whose decadence and injustice are presented with vivid satiric force.

Zaid Al-Faqeeh, a short-story writer and Director of Dar Al-Kutub in Sana'a said: “the translation of Al-Raheena into Hindi is an addition to human being's knowledge of the atrocity and cruelty of that ruler (The Imam) who dealt with humans as animals, flouting all tenets he pretended to hold sacred.”

Dr. Jyotsana K Prasad, the translator of the novel into Hindi has told Yemen Times that “Al-Raheena” is a literary work that goes beyond boundaries of time and place. “It is an aesthetic rendering of love, pain, suffering, loss and hope,” she added.



The Hostage in Bollywood!!

“The hostage” has been the target of many Arabic and English moviemakers and directors. However, Zaid Muttee' Dammaj, the author of the novel was always reluctant to give permission for his novel to become a movie. This perhaps was due to “his fear that the movie will limit the imagination of the reader about its characters and the symbolic meaning of the novel”, as Aisha Dammaj, an archeologist and the author's daughter, explained to Yemen Times. She also pointed out that there was kind of an agreement with late Syrian director Mustafa Al-Aqad to make the movie, but the problem was about finding the resources to fund the project. In this regards, Dr. Al-Maqaleh stated: “This novel has surprised many Arab and non-Arab readers. There has been talk about producing the novel as a movie in the United States. This project has been delayed perhaps due to lack of communication channels with the great novelist's family to agree on the intellectual property issue. Once that agreement is made, we will see a Al-Raheena film, multiplying the international interest in this gorgeous novelistic work.”

Now the novel is in Hindi, one may wonder if Bollywood will be also interested? “Let's wait and see.” Aisha commented.



Not obtainable in the market…!

Ironically, despite its fame and the fact that it has re-published many times by publishers outside Yemen, the novel is hardly seen today in the Yemeni bookshops.

Dr. Al-Maqaleh stated that it is the duty of the Ministry of Culture “to quickly publish the novel and bring it within the reach of the Yemeni readers instead of procuring it from Cairo or Beirut.” A few years ago, Al-Thaqafia cultural newspaper has published the novel (in Arabic) in series so that the Yemeni readers, who have heard a lot about the novel, can read it. Al-Thaqafia went into trouble after publishing the novel. It is worth noting that the novel has caused a great controversy when it was published for the first time in 1984. This could be one of the reasons why Al-Thawra daily did not publish the novel when it was selected for the UNESCO project \”A book in a newspaper\”” several years ago