Dakshin Lit Fest 2020: The art of translating a timeless Indian classic

Translation is a creative process and the process should be referred to as transcreation, says Krishna Manavalli, who translated Kannada plays by Chandrashekhar Kambar. Even though there are some things that might get lost, it has now become a cliche, adds Delhi University professor Gautam Choubey, who translated Bhojpuri novel Phoolsunghi, which is the first Bhojpuri novel translated into English.

They, along with author and translator Himansu S Mohapatra, were in conversation with Daniel Thimmayya, Chief Reporter, Edex as part of DakLF on The New Indian Express’ webcast e-expressions.

Referring to her act and process of translation and what she finds challenging, Manavalli says, “What is more challenging for me is to retain the rhythm and musicality of the language being translated from. I am not an ethnographer, but a translator.

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I am not documenting. I try to steer clear of the orientalist approach and avoid giving an exhaustive glossary to region-specific terms. Instead, I try to bring them in the text.”

Speaking about his process of translation, Choubey says, “While translating, I had to introduce certain objects and rituals in regional languages and then find equivalent words and ideas that were not so region-specific.”

But do translated works have a market? Manavalli says, “Interestingly, when I was done with two plays and we were planning to launch the book, the first lockdown was announced. And even though we couldn’t launch the book physically, so many readers spoke to us directly. This boosted my courage. Translation has a central place in the literary market and the way people are receiving it is very very heartening.”