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.

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.