Ini Njan Urangatte
And Now Let Me Sleep (1973)
Overview
Ini Njan Urangatte by P K Balakrishnan is an epic novel which is counted as one of the best novels of Malayalam literature. It was first published in 1973.
The book subsists on the great epic ‘The Mahabharath’ that has flourished over two thousand years. The main element of the novel is the story of Karna woven into a delicately and imaginatively developed parallel story of Draupadi. Maintaining the original epic atmosphere, the story, events and characters are structured in the strains of thought of Draupadi, imaginatively constructed. The details of the story of Karna closely follows the original epic.
The parallel strands of the story of Karna and the recreated story of Draupadi flows through the novel, sometimes intertwining. One can behold in this flow, the main characters and events of the Mahabharath. The book thus has three different foci. It is hoped that an ‘out of focus’ image thus formed, will have a contour of its own.
A timeless classic, the novel has earned for Balakrishnan, the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award (1974), Sahitya Pravarthaka Benefit Fund award, and the Vayalar award (1978). A constant best seller of the language ever since it was published, it has also been translated to different Indian languages under the scheme for classics by Kendra Sahitya Akademi
Translations
English: Battle Beyond Kurukshetra, 2017
Translator: Jayalekshmy P K
Publisher: Oxford Unviersity Press
Previous Translation: And Now Let Me Sleep, 1999
Translator: Dr. K.C. Sarsamma
Publisher: Kendra Sahitya Akademi
Tamil: Ini Njan Urangattum, 2001
Translator: A. Madhavan
Publisher: Kendra Sahitya Akademi
Kannada: Naninnu Nidrisuve, 2000
Translator: Sara Aboobacker
Publisher: Kendra Sahitya Akademi
Hindi: Ab Mujhe Sone Do, 2016
Translator: G. Gopinathan
Publisher: Kendra Sahitya Akademi
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