When translator Sirus Libeiro first read Gautamiputra Kamble’s Parivrajak, it was a work unlike anything he had read before, in either Marathi or English. He recalls telling this to Rakesh Khanna, director and editor-in-chief of Blaft Publications, an independent publishing house based in Chennai. The collection’s five stories draw on Phule-Ambedkarite thought to explore ideological conflict, artistic ambition, and the desire for freedom. Their unfamiliar narrative forms and philosophical questions eventually persuaded Sirus that the book deserved an English translation. Later it became The Seekers.
The book’s journey into English began with one story included in the ‘Anti-Caste Speculative Fiction’ anthology, published in 2024. Sirus began translating during the pandemic and was looking to pursue the work professionally when Rakesh introduced him to the project. After meeting the author in Mumbai, Sirus gained a deeper understanding of the story’s references and philosophical undercurrents. He later translated the remaining four stories, and the full collection was published in December 2025.
The stories draw on centuries of cultural history, Indian and international literature, geography and philosophy, requiring Sirus to revisit his first drafts with the author. “I always knew that I am not able to understand or appreciate everything because there are so many layers to it,” he says. During a week in Sangli, both of them read the Marathi and English versions together, discussing references and passages whose narrative logic needed clarification.
For Sirus, the collection’s significance lies partly in how it experiments with language and asks readers to reconsider familiar assumptions. “It is the diversity of perspectives and also a different way of looking at the world,” he says. Such writing can expand intellectual horizons while making readers question ideas they might otherwise accept without examination.
Rakesh says English-language publishing, particularly speculative and imaginative fiction, does not adequately represent the range of thought emerging from India’s marginalised communities. “What we read in English from India is very skewed in terms of representation,” he says. He argues that this imbalance limits what readers encounter about the country’s philosophies, futures, and literary traditions.
Rakesh also cautions against treating himself as an expert on anti-caste literature, which he began exploring more closely while working on the anthology in 2020. He hopes the project will lead to further publications featuring its contributors, although funding and time remain constraints.
For Sirus, The Seekers also raises a fundamental question about creative work. “What is the purpose of art? What do you do with that?” he asks, describing the questions that stayed with him while translating the book. He hopes readers will encounter their own uncertainties and examine their assumptions rather than expect the stories to supply easy answers.
A virtual discussion hosted by Rutgers University will bring together scholars from different disciplines to examine the collection. Their varied academic backgrounds, Sirus says, should offer different ways of reading the stories and approaching their questions. For Chennai readers and audiences elsewhere, the discussion offers an opportunity to encounter Phule-Ambedkarite thought through translated Marathi fiction and explore how its ideas speak across languages and borders.
Join in
The Seekers (Parivrajak in Marathi) will be discussed on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 7.30 pm IST. The virtual panel features Prerna Khobragade of Northwestern University, Dr Thomas Crowley of the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and Vivek D’Souza of Rutgers University. Nikaytaa of Rutgers University will moderate the discussion.
The event is hosted by the Global Anti-Caste Thought Graduate Working Group, supported by Global Asias at Rutgers University, and co-hosted by the Rutgers Anti-Caste Collective.
Registration is open to all. Register at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzy9wu1AvhDzGhAge8CtGVzs_CrffKvVo-duvqPWP0TTfX8g/viewform