SIDDARTH CHOUDHAURY (B. 1974), born and bought up in Patna, now lives in New Delhi and works for a publishing house. He is a promising fiction writer and translator. As a writer, his important works include Patna Roughtcut a novel which is a heatfelt homage to his hometown, and Diksha at St. Martin's, which is a maverick collection of short stories based on the lives and loves of young people in Patna and New Delhi. As a translator, his major work is the Hindi translation of Elliot Weinberger's prose-poem The Stars for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York in 2005. 'The Leader of Men', taken from Diksha at St. Martin's, is a tragic story of a poor man's hardship in a city rife with social prejudices.
Word Meaning:
Bought up: पले बढ़े, Publishing house: , Promising: होनहार, fiction: काल्पनिक कहानी, Translator: अनुवादक, Important: महत्त्वपूर्ण, Include: शामिल, Heartfelt: हार्दिक, Homage: श्रद्धा, निष्ठा, Hometown: गृह नगर, Maverik: स्वतंत्र, Collection: संग्रह, Major: मुख्य, Translation: अनुवाद, Tragic: दुखद, Hardship: कठिनाई, Rife: भरपूर, Social: सामाजिक, prejudices: पक्षपात, पूर्वाग्रह, Amenities: सुविधाएं, Advantages: सुविधाएं, Aware of: जागरूक, Apartment: भवन खंड,
Para-01:
He was one of the replacement guards that came to work in our apartment building at the end of November. There are four guards in residence at all times. Two of them work in the daytime and the other two at night. They stay in poky little servant quarters near the parking lot and are not allowed to keep their families in there. Most of these security guards are lazy miserable fellows who are, it seems, just content to survive somehow. Most of them are illiterate and of the lower castes and amidst the gleaming chrome of the shining cars their poverty stands out in glaring contrast.
Word Meaning:
Replacement: बदलना, Guard: दरवान, चौकीदार, residence: आवास, निवास, Poky: तकलीफ देह, Quarter: कमरा, चौथाई, Parking: गाड़ी खड़ा करने का स्थान, Security: सुरक्षा, Miserable: दयनीय, Fellow: साथी, Content: सन्तुष्ट, सामग्री, Survive: जिन्दा रखना, Somehow: किसी भी तरह, Illiterate: अनपढ़, Lower castes: निम्न जातियों से, amidst: के बीच, Gleaming: चमकना, chrome: धातु को चमकाने वाला, Shining: चमकना, Stands out: उभरना, दिखना, Glaring Contrast: स्पष्ट विभेद,
WORD MEANING: Surprise: आश्चर्य चकित, Winter: जाड़ा, Vacation: छुट्टी, Around: लगभग, Well built: हट्टा कट्टा, Patrician: उच्चवर्ग से, Glorious: शानदार, Moustache: मूछें, Covered: ढका हुआ, Upper lips: ऊपरी ओठ, Curled: टेढ़ी, वक्र, Defiant: गुस्ताखिपूर्ण, घमंडता पूर्वक, Flourish: फलना फूलना, Credit: श्रेय, Uniform: पोशाक, Ironed and creased: इस्तरी कि हुई, gleaming: चमकना, Brethren: भाईचारा, साथी से, Mismatched: अलग, Dusty: धूल भरी, गंदे, Keds: कपड़े के जूते, Actually: वास्तव में, Revelation: चमत्कार, प्रकटीकरण, True sense: सच्चे अर्थों में,
So, the first time I saw him he was at the reception counter in the lobby and was getting a dressing- down from Mr. Kedia. Mr. Kedia lives right across our flat in F-9 ( and is in his late thirties). He has sundry business interests and is reputed to be fairly rich. He has the stupid arrogance that comes with it and he wears it on his face with the same sense of pride as the hideous chunky gold watch on his left wrist and the Motorola cell-phone on his right hip. He is short and stocky and going bald. His face has started to bloat from excess of Stroh's Bear. he is the king of on the make, upwardly mobile enterprising men, whom we see hovering around the periphery of our lives with alarming alacrity but then I guess it is a positive thing.
Reception counter: स्वागत काउंटर, Lobby: बरामदा, Dressing down: डांटना, Sundry business: कई तरह के व्यवसाय, Reputed: प्रतिष्ठित, fairly rich: काफी धनी, Arrogance: घमंडी, Hideous: घृणित, chunky: चकोर, wrist: कलाई, short and stocky: नाटा और गठीला बदन, Bald: गंजा, bloat: फूलना, excess: आवश्यकता से अधिक, Enterprising: उद्यमी, Hovering: हवा में एक जगह चक्कर लगाना, Peripheral: परिधि, बाहरी आवरण, Alarcity: शीघ्रता और प्रसन्नता पूर्वक, Positive thing: सकारात्मक चीज,
Para-04
Kedia is the consummate consumer. A true child of his times. He has to buy things randomly to live, to survive, to find a purpose for his life. When he consumes he lives. Buying is his brand of nirvana. If a new car is not launched in the next six months he may simply fold up and die.
Consummate: उत्कृष्ट , Consumer: उपभोक्ता, Randomly: यादृछा, Survive: जीवित रहना Purpose: उद्देश्य, Brand: मार्का , Launched: बाजार में पहली बार आना, Fold up: समेटना,
Para-05
Back to the story now . There was Roop Singh standing behind the counter and Kedia in front of him shouting and another man who looked just like Kedia , gold watch and all , gesticulation frantically and shouting in the same breadth. They were both very angry with Roop for some reason or the other. Normally, I wouldn't have stopped because every few days or so Kedia shout at one worker or other. he is the president of the owner's association and he takes it very seriously, But , it was Roop - his open confident face and erect bearing , an innate pride in himself, the sense of defiance and wounded honour in his eyes that made me pause and look over the scene in a new night. A totally astonishing thing happened then. Roop said to Kedia, 'But, it is not my fault sir, I was just doing my duty,'in impeccable English, albeit with a little lilt of a rustic accent. Now this is wonderful I thought, I could suddenly sense drama in the lazy December, air. Kedia is stupefied and he can't believe he has heard right, and nor can his friend( for it has to be his friend). I can deduce it from the shock on their faces. The rights of snobbery have suddenly been reversed. I am sure Roop too can see it, in their eyes. I am interested now, but I realise how trivial the problem really is. Kedia is now all red in the face and bluster breaks out of it like hot air from a punctured balloon.
Gesticulating: हाव भाव के साथ, Reason: कारण, Normally: सामान्यतः, Every few days: , Association: President: , Seriously: ,Confident:, Erect: , Bearing:, Innate pride, defiance, Wounded, Honour, Scene, Totally:, Astonishing: Happened: , Impeccable:, Albeit: ,lilt: , Rustic accent: , stupefied: , Deduce: , Shock , Snobbery: , Reversed: , Trivial, Bluster out: , Punctured:,
Para-06 -12
6. 'You talk English to me! How dare you talk?
7. ' I just said that I was doing my duty, and I am not a rascal. I do understand English.' Roop said to Kedia in Hindi.
8. ' I will kick you out'.
9. Roop kept quiet at this and contained in his anger but just barely.
10. I intervened around this time with neutral 'What's the matter Mr Kedia?'
11. He turned and looked at me. Normally, he doesn't ever acknowledge my presence but that day I could see he was glad that I was there. He thought of me as an ally against the class enemy but soon I would prove to be the contrary.
12. 'Ah Ritwik, good you are here,' he started to speak in English but I guess better sense prevailed and he switched over to Hindi, Which was worse than his English but anyway ' My friend Mr. Sharma ( here the man smiled and I smiled back) , came to see me fifteen minutes back and this idiot of a guard wouldn't let him come up to my place.'
Dare: साहस करना, Rascal: बदमाश , Understand: समझना , Kick out: लात मारकर बाहर निकाल ना , Contained in anger: गुस्से पर कंट्रोल रखा , Just barely: बड़ी मुश्किल से, Intervened: हस्तक्षेप किया, Neutral: निष्पक्ष, Acknowledge: संज्ञान में, Presence उपस्थिति, Ally: मित्र, Prove to be contrary: विपरित सिद्ध हुआ, Prevailed: प्रबल, Switched over: बदल गया, Worse: से बुरा, but anyway: लेकिन जो भी हो, Smiled: मुस्कुराया, Idiot: मूर्ख,
Para-13-17
13. 'I come here every week and this has never happened to me before. He wanted me to talk to Mr. Kedia over the intercom and when I refused ; he physically stopped me from going upstairs.'
14. I felt embarrassed in being involved with something as stupid as this but still I said,' he was only doing his duty and moreover he is new and doesn't know you'
15. ' He insulted my guest,' Kedia shouted but there wasn't much conviction in his voice anymore.
16. 'These rules have been made by us Mr. Kedia, and Mr. Singh was only doing what he has been told to do and it is for your own safety.'
17. Sharma and Kedia glared at me and then Kedia said,'Ritwik I am going to complain to your father. You don't even know how to talk to your elders'. I smiled at him and kept quiet. He went away hurriedly into the elevator with his friend in tow. I took the stairs.
Happened: हुआ, Refused: मना किया, Physically: बलपूर्वक, Upstairs: ऊपर सीढ़ियों पर, Felt: महसूस किया, embarrassed: शर्मिंदगी, Involved: शामिल होना, Stupid: बेहूदा, but still: लेकिन फिर भी, Moreover: इसके अलावा, Insulted: अपमान किया, Guest: अतिथि, मेहमान, Shouted: चिल्लाया, Conviction: विश्वास, Voice: आवाज, anymore: और ज्यादा, Safety: सुरक्षा, glare at: घूरना, Complain: शिकायत करना, Hurridedly: शीघ्रता से, Elevator: lift लिफ्ट, In tow: अनुसरण किया,
Para-18
Later on I learnt form Munna, my servant, that his name was Roop and that he was a Rajput, Munna also told me that the other guards didn't like him much and thought him to be haughty and stuck up. He thought this was because Roop was a 'forward' caste, all others being 'backwards' . He generally kept to himself, and after his duties were over, read books in the guard room. All this seemed, to Munna, as subversive behaviour but even he grudgingly agreed that he was the best ever security gurard that had worked at our building. He was smart, efficient and did his job quietly and competently and for this he got the princely sum of six hundred rupees a month, and subsisted on boiled rice and potatoes like other guards. All this for mere six hundred rupees a month, my shirts cost much more than that, it was ridiculous - sum - but it was true.
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