ABSTRACT
Linguistic multiplicity has always been an essential factor that has contributed to the composite culture of India with its long tradition of multilingualism and has conditioned its negotiations for political unity and identity throughout its ages-old history. A first historical landmark is represented by the dramatic experience of the Partition of the colonial state into India and Pakistan in 1947 that produced a profound laceration of collective memory and a loss of identity. The novel Zindaginama depicts the kaleidoscopic existence of a village in pre-Partition rural Punjab in the early decades of the 20th century. Zindaginama is a polyphonic novel narrated by many people living together in the village, and the language is variegated and composite, which makes any translation extremely challenging, if ever possible. The great changes India went through in the first decades following Independence are depicted in Sobti’s works in a disenchanted, straightforward and searing fashion in complete contrast to her earlier works.
