Translation literature.
Crocodile`s Lady or Mrs Crocodile?
This is the side effect of
being great; one cannot look down and react to the darts thrown at him.
An English story written by Sri Manoj Das is translated in the
same language by a team of three translators without the knowledge of the
living legend. Placed in E-magzine and its editor said a story
can be translated hundred times!! Knowing the fact beforehand the editor didn`t
put a foot note even if he was requested saying this is not their policy. Can it be without permission? I am not an editor
and do not know the policies of editors. Posting this for my knowledge and your discussion.
We are in a nation where translation
literature is read more often than original. What I want to point out that the
most read literature in India obviously are Ramayana and Mahabharata and mostly
not that of Valmiki or Vyasadeva but by the regional translators. So never we
can ignore such literature. Moreover only excellent works catch the imagination
of translators. In other words translational works are selective masterpieces.
With all these thinking on such
literature, personally I do not read them. I have a false or true belief that
translators may not be catching the original ideas of the real author. Beyond
the two epics (which everybody reads directly or listens from too many sources) I have read only two translated books. One is ‘Lajja’ that Late Smt Nandini
Satapathy translated from Taslima Nasrin’s Bengali book with the same title and
the second book is the famous ‘Chitralekha’.
To translate a great work one need to
be a Tulasi Das or a Sarala Das sages themselves. Their creations are as
eternal as the original creation of Sage Valmiki or Vyasadeva.
I definitely must be losing many things
not reading Saratchandra or Premchand but I am illiterate in Bengali or Hindi. When
a friend once gave me one Odia translation of Saratchandra I told him my
reservations.
When a bilingual writer like Sri Manoj
Das writes in one language and rewrites it in the second language that is
altogether a different matter. People are telling it as trans-creation. In those days he must
be with several inspirational pieces ready at any point of time and if an Odia editor demanded one
he wrote in Odia and if suppose he had to send one to an English magazine then
obviously in English. Later on it was trans-created in the other language.
I
beg excuse to opine about such a great person.My above statement is based on reading
his several interviews.
Now comes the present problem about the
translation of a Manoj Das story that was written in English and was published
in ‘The Illustrated weekly’ in 1972 with the title ‘Crocodile's lady’. The
story is also published by Penguin in first volume of selected best stories
compiled by Late Sri Khuswant Singh. Needless to say the beauty of the story that
is as beautiful as his other creations. He trans-created it to ‘KIMBHIRINI’ which
was placed in his Odia story collection ‘Laxmira abhisara’. Now a team of three translated it to English as per their statement from
Odia story and an editor published it in his E Magazine, ‘’.
The intention of the editor was genuine as
he contacted close aid of Sri Manoj Das, who is Mr Samir Ranjan Das to beg some photos
of the legend to be used in the magazine with the story.
He was made aware of the fact that an
original English story exists to which the editor took time to decide. He
decided to go as per his plan to publish the new translation with a message
that a story can be translated hundred times. He then was requested by the
administrator of the biggest group of followers of Manoj Das (Samirbabu) to write
a footnote that the original author had written the same story himself with
the title ‘Crocodile’s lady’.
Mr Editor took time and replied,”This
is not our policy”.
The issue died then and there and
forgotten till one English language expert Mr Brahmanada Satpathy purchased the
E- Magazine to reread the story which he had read earlier. He got shocked to
see this is with a different title and lacking the original sublime
presentation. He posted his feeling in the Manoj Das followers’ forum.
As regards to the new translation,
three authors have jointly translated the story.
-No permission was asked for.
- Can a piece of short story be
translated by three persons jointly, whatever great it may be? This speaks the
value of the story that the three translators honored without taking the
permission of the original octogenarian author who now also is very active.
- How three persons do a short story translation? When I re-read the stories of Sri Manoj Das every time newer meanings/understanding/feeling/ and pleasure is derived as these are not written at a level of a formula which people like us do during a creation. It is through and through under guidance/companion of inspiration that any reader feels when one travels through his creations.
Did they translate it as a thesis is done for a higher study? A student writes the thesis as per his/her research that is checked by the junior faculty and finally is approved by the professor.
-Can a creation be translated in the
same language? How can this group tell that they translated from the Odia story
not did the caricature of the original English story.
- I myself though an ordinary writer do
write in both Odia and English. Can I copy all his Odia stories and tell I
translated these from English and copy all his English stories and tell I
translated these from Odia? Without obtaining his permission I can start a
business of E-world of Maonj Das translation works. See! The google will help
me as any one clicks Manoj Das gets an entry to my world of caricatures and it
will be a business.
- Translators obviously are very good
readers and they need to be good researchers. In this case how these three
authors could not know that the story was first written in English way back in
1972.
Now by God`s grace he is a living
legend and to sue these persons on his part may not be going to happen. He may
not bother as he knows this happened earlier too. He is far above this
discussion. But story does not end there. How a person like Mr Brahmananda
Satapathy or you or me will be protected from being cheated? His time and money got
lost with a negative feeling. Can he not book these persons under section 420
IPC?
This being an E-magazine Mr editor now also can add a small footnote that is justified in this situation.
This is the side effect of being great;
one cannot look down and react to the darts thrown at him just like a tree loaded with fruits bears the stones thrown at it.
I have read one of his speeches
published as an article that he delivered in an occasion/seminar on translation
literature where he stated in lighter note which I cannot quote in exact words,
which goes like this, “Let the translators translate a creation in such an
intense way that the reader feels, the original is a poor replica of the
translation”.
Once again I want to
clarify that the above statement is based on my understanding and my memory.
Let us hope this is one such piece, but Mr
Satapathy felt otherwise.
