The Upheaval: Acchev

The Upheaval: Acchev published in 1977 and the first Konkani novel to be translated into English, Acchev is a landmark in the history of the language for its amplitude and depth. It illumines peasant life in the Ponda district against the changing landscape of modernity and industrialization, which has fragmented village communities. The novel is about a traditional agrarian society that lives by myths and unspoken rules, and how it comes into contact with modern mechanized ways of life. It provides insights into the sociological framework of rural Goa at the time of its liberation from Portuguese rule. Critics have hailed this as ‘a near-perfect work’, and the elegant English translation retains the nuance, lilt, humour, and poetic rhythm of the original. This novel is an integral part of India’s regional literatures. This rendering, part of a growing list of translations undertaken by Oxford University Press, will ensure a wider readership.