New Books Network Hari Krishna Kaul, "For Now, It Is Night: Stories" (NYRB, 2024)
Oct 18, 2025
Kalpana Raina, a Kashmiri writer and translator, dives into the world of her uncle, Hari Krishna Kaul, a prominent Kashmiri modernist. She discusses her motivation to translate his powerful stories shaped by Kashmir's socio-political turmoil. Kalpana elaborates on how Kaul's exile influenced his writing style. The conversation reveals a standout story about exile and the challenges of collaborative translation. Raina hopes the translation project will elevate interest in Kashmiri literature and revive its cultural narrative.
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Project Born From Cultural Loss
- Kalpana Raina conceived translating Hari Krishna Kaul's Kashmiri stories because she feared they would be unreadable outside Kashmir and wanted to preserve the work.
- She realized her spoken Kashmiri was strong but Nasdalik script illiteracy required a collaborative translation approach.
Kaul’s Rise Through Public Readings
- Hari Krishna Kaul, born 1934, became a celebrated Kashmiri writer and playwright known for radio and television readings.
- He started in Hindi, switched to Kashmiri, and gained fame after public readings of his first Kashmiri story, "Sunshine."
From Miniaturist Realism To Symbolic Exile
- Kaul mapped Old Town Srinagar in intimate, miniaturist detail, making everyday life the subject of his early work.
- After 1989–90 exile, his writing shifted toward memory, symbolism, and ambiguity to convey displacement.
