Having read varied Indian writing.......i have read very few Kannada works.......in english.
Even though i speak Kannada at home.....i knew very little of it's literature. Kannada as a subject at school was just learning by rote.
At college, i enjoyed it pretty much....since we were given good material to read.
Recent times has seen me going through 'Vaishaka' by Chaduranga. Scanning the introduction was never a hobby, but this time i gave it a try. Amongst revealing the troubles borne by the translator....and showing gratitude to it's existance.....it also talked about the language.....it's inability to be translated to the full extent.
'Vaishaka' revolves around 'Lakka' an untouchable.......and his experiences with Brahmins. It is indeed a reccomendable book....but the end seemed abrupt.
The most interesting point regarding the book is the introduction. The translator himself is a kannadiga. The job being done well.....something seems to be lacking. I guess, i would not have felt it...if i had read the same in Kannada.
The clarity...the charm cannot eminate from a translated work.....simply because.....some words cannot be reciprocated. How can a pinda be explained....a ball of rice which is subjected to the gods......during the final rites of a person...to ensure a safe journey to heaven. ( I had never encountered with it....untill....i visited Manthralaya). Or the pronounciation of some words ole....by different strata of the society.
It should be the same with every translated piece...be it from, Marathi....Assamese...Dogra...
Putting forward two points; one, the reading habit has highly reduced.....i hardly see people reading any good material at all. Second.....even if people do read...indian writing is highly neglected. I personally think that indian works are literally good in content and vocabulary.
On the other hand...it is quite improbable to learn twenty or more languages.
My favourites are, translated stuff.....a collection of short stories........bottling indian writing into various eras....and of course Ruskin Bond.
2 comments:
Vaishaka..hmmnnnn..
Luks like the 'untouchable' theme still is the fav among writers..
Translating any book from other language is always a tough job.It is not word-word translation and the whole idea has to be brought without spoiling.
So it becomes extremely tough to literally trnslate works.But there are few gud ones who do it without destroying the original
shiv....illa...'vaishaka' is more than 20 yrs old or so.....it was a sahitya akademi winner....
so untouchability...bagge eega kaDime material ide anisutte....i don't think i have read any recent works on that topic.....eegina indian authors yella.....easy stuff bagge barithare....like chethan bhagat....but unless i read 'vaishaka' like material....i don't think i would have comprehended people....problems and various other nuances....
what do u think??
Post a Comment