Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau — An English Translation

Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau — An English Translation

Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau — An English Translation

From the original Hindi novel “कहाँ-कहाँ पैबन्द लगाऊँ” by Saroj Dahiya

Book Information

• Title: Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau
  
  

• Original Author: Saroj Dahiya
  
  

• English Translation: Anand Kumar Ashodhiya
  
  

• ISBN: 978-93-5592-178-9
  
  

• Edition: First Edition
  
  

• Published: December 2025
  
  

• Publisher: Self-published by Anand Kumar Ashodhiya
  
  

• Imprint: Avikavani Publishers
  
  

• Place of Publication: Shahpur Turk, Sonipat, Haryana
  
  

Book Description

Literature often carries within it the quiet fibres of lived experience—those subtle threads that bind memory, culture, and the inner life of human beings. Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau, the English translation of Saroj Dahiya’s acclaimed Hindi novel Kahā̃ Kahā̃ Paiband Lagāū̃, stands firmly within this tradition.

Deeply rooted in the socio-cultural landscape of rural Haryana, the novel transcends regional boundaries through its emotional honesty, psychological realism, and compassionate gaze toward women’s lived realities. Saroj Dahiya’s prose neither dramatizes suffering nor romanticizes endurance; instead, it listens attentively to the silences of domestic life and records them with rare restraint and moral clarity.

The title—Where All Must I Patch It?—serves as a haunting metaphor throughout the narrative. Like a torn cloth repeatedly mended yet never restored to wholeness, the life of the protagonist Sujata unfolds through cycles of adjustment, compromise, humiliation, and quiet resistance. As a daughter-in-law navigating domestic hierarchies, emotional neglect, and patriarchal expectations, Sujata embodies a woman trained to mend rather than confront—until moral awareness gradually reshapes her inner world.

The novel portrays with unflinching realism the corrosive effects of everyday cruelty: the jealousy of Sarala, the emotional indifference of Narendra, and the complicity of silence within the family structure. Yet beneath this realism flows a current of moral courage. Sujata’s journey is not one of loud rebellion, but of dignity reclaimed through inner steadiness—a form of ethical resilience born from suffering.

This English translation by Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is not merely a linguistic rendering but a culturally responsible act. With sensitivity to tone, rhythm, and emotional texture, the translation preserves the simplicity and depth of the original Hindi prose while making it accessible to a wider, non-Hindi readership. The cadences of rural life, the psychological nuances of female endurance, and the understated power of the narrative remain intact.

Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau thus stands as both a social document and a timeless meditation on womanhood, endurance, and moral selfhood. It belongs to that rare tradition of Indian women’s writing which restores dignity to lived experience by naming it honestly—without spectacle, without sentimentality.

At its heart, the novel asks a question that resonates far beyond its setting:
How much of life can one keep mending before the fabric itself gives way?

About the Translator

Anand Kumar Ashodhiya is a poet, literary translator, and cultural preservationist, and a retired Warrant Officer of the Indian Air Force with over three decades of service. Writing under his own name and also known as Kavi Anand Shahpur, he has authored and compiled more than 250 compositions across Hindi, Haryanvi, and English.

As the founder of Avikavani Publishers, Ashodhiya is committed to preserving India’s folk and classical literary traditions while extending their reach to contemporary and global audiences. His translation work reflects a disciplined, empathetic approach that honours the original text’s cultural and emotional integrity.

Through this English edition of Kahaan Kahaan Paiband Lagau, he brings Saroj Dahiya’s powerful narrative to new readers—particularly younger generations and diaspora audiences—ensuring that its quiet truths continue to speak beyond linguistic boundaries.

First Edition · December 2025
Avikavani Publishers
Shahpur Turk, Sonipat, Haryana