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IDENTIFICATION OF THE OBLIGATORY MEANING
In literary texts the obligatory meaning control centres (0MCCs)are
relatively fewer than in non-literary or hybrid texts. Besides, they
do not overlap nor do they succeed one another in a logical,
uninterrupted sequence which is characteristically emblematic of non-
literary texts. The obligatory meaning is enveloped by both extended
and accessory meanings. The identification of the OMCCs helps the
translator stick to textual meaning without any fear of deviation or
digression.
The theme of the narrative seems to be distilled in a couple of
utterances made by the narrator towards the end of the third paragraph
(lines 25-27 of the ST). They are: "I wish, my son, I wish - the
ashphalted roads of the towns - the modern means of transport - the
fine comfortable buses. We have none of this - we are people who live
on what God sees fit to give us." (lines 33-36 of the TT) Such is the
life of the village population; simplistic, immobile, and un-ambitious.
Though the narrator's utterances imply a yearning for change, for a
better and a more civilized life such as people live in towns and
cities, his conviction is that such a drastic change would not be
tolerated by the village population. From time immemorial, the village
population have been accustomed to such a coarse, stagnant, dull,
primitive, monotonous life in the village. Their days are plagued by
swarms of horse-flies in summer and sand-flies in winter; their nights
are haunted by recurrent dreams of Wad Hamid and his doum tree. Sand-
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