Review of Marathi novellas ‘My Last Autobiography’ and ‘The Woman Who Wore a Hat’
With love and humour, these works examine the question of the purpose of life. | Photo Credit: Getty Images There is the pain of being widowed after having remained married for 75 years in Marathi novelist Rajendra Banahatti’s My Last Autobiography. There is the irritability of the children who are unable to understand the whims of the old man. There are friends who are so old as well that they cannot drop by to meet each other. There is the slowing down of the body that once used to go on treks, now unable to climb stairs. There is the dependence on caretakers. And yet, this novella is far from a sad story. Filled with humour and descriptive fineness, Banahatti delivers a literary coup. My Last Autobiography comes alive through translator Jerry Pinto’s admirable capture of the irreverent tenor and repetitive rhythm of a nonagenarian. At 94, the protagonist is writing his third autobiography, musing on whether death has somehow forgotten him. The narrator is an engineer, whose name he thinks is perhaps still etched on the …
