Under Kilimanjaro

In his last book, ‘Papa' Hemingway meets an Indian
Under Kilimanjaro, the last novel by Nobel laureate Ernest
Hemingway that hit the bookstores this month, has an
Indian character.

The 850-page manuscript was kept in a Cuban bank. It saw
the light of day on September 27 2005 - more than
44 years after Hemingway's death in 1961.

Under Kilimanjaro - based on Hemingway's experiences of
an actual African safari months before he received the
Nobel Prize in 1954 - was released at a simple ceremony at
Grand Forks in North Dakota, where its editor,
Robert W Lewis, is based.

Talking to this website's newspaper, Lewis revealed that this
was the first time that a Hemingway book had an Indian
character and a liberal sprinkling of Hindi words.

“I had a tough time in learning the meanings of these
words and getting their correct spellings,” Lewis said.

The character, Singh, owned a general store in Loitokitok
- the town closest to the safari camp, said Lewis. This was
the shop from where Hemmingway got his supplies.
Singh's wife, Turkana, was an African.

It was during his interaction with Singh that Hemingway
made liberal use of Hindi.

Sharing his experiences of editing the manuscript, Lewis
said: “It was a terrific responsibility. We decided that we
would be very conservative while making any changes.
But I have enjoyed every part of it. This has been a great
experience.”
-As reported by newindpress.com