The classic novel of the famous Russian author, Aleksander Kuprin’s Yama, the Pit, needs no introduction. It had sold, by 1929, over two and a half million copies in the original and in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Hungarian, Polish — even Japanese and Yiddish — to mention just a few of the languages it has been translated into. When the Telugu translation of this novel by Rentala Gopala Krishna, a well-known poet and translator in Telugu, appeared in 1960s, the novel was well-received. Rentala’s simple and beautiful translation made the Russian novel read like an original Telugu work. After more than five decades of being out of print, Saaranga Books is proud to re-print this book under its new classics series “Saaranga Encores.” The new edition has introductions by Madhurantakam Narendra, an acclaimed short-story writer in Telugu, and ‘Choopu” Katyayani, a reputed literary critic. Yamakoopam was published by Saaranga Books as a print book in December 2011 and as an Apple iBook in September 2012.
With an Appendix of a comprehensive list of 180 works produced by Rentala Gopalakrishna, including translations of Alan Paton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Lin Yutang, Tolstoy, Tagore, Knut Hamsun, Louis-Charles Royer, Victor Hugo and many more forgotten gems.
