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Spotlight on challenges in literary translation

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Jennifer Clare Fulbright-Hays, Research Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, addressing participants at the seminar on literary translation in Puducherry on Friday. Director of French Institute of Pondicherry Jean pierre Muller (left) is in the picture.

PUDUCHERRY: An international seminar on ‘Literary Translation’ held at the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP) on Friday seemed to be an attempt to focus on a hitherto neglected area.

The meet was held jointly by the Indology Department of IFP and the United States Education Foundation in India (USEFI).

Divided into four panels, scholars and translators from India and other parts of the world shared perspectives on the specific challenges faced when translating texts in Sanskrit and Tamil into English and French, as well as to draw attention to the current state of affairs in literary translation in South India.

Director of IFP Jean-Pierre Muller welcomed the participants. Jennifer Clare, Fulbright-Hays Research Fellow of University of California, Berkeley, highlighted the aims and objects of the meet.

Chaired by Arshia Sattar of Bangalore, the first panel highlighted issues relating to “Translating Performance Texts”. Mangai of the Department of English, Stella Maris College, gave a presentation on “Translating drama for Stage”. Archana Venkatesan of the Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis, chose “Translating text and performance, from Tamil Vaishnava literature” as her topic.

Four Chennai-based experts — Mini Krishnan, Gita Krishnankutty, Subashree and Dilip Kumar — shared their views on “Creativity and Collaboration in Translating Literature: Writer, Translator and Editor”. This second panel was chaired by Kamini Mahadevan, Editor, Penguin India.

“Translating Classical Literature” was the topic allotted for the third panel, chaired by Dr. Mangai. Subbarayalu of IFP spoke on “Translating Inscriptions”. Layne Little, translator, University of California gave a presentation on “Translating Tirumurugatrupadai”. Well-known scholar Prema Nanda Kumar was also part of the panel.

Discussions in the fourth panel revolved around “Translating from West to East”. Balachandran, a Coimbatore-based publisher, spoke on “Translation as a Profession in Tamil milieu”, Sriram presented his views on “Translating fiction and poetry from French to Tamil” and S.A.Vengada Soupraya Nayagar of the Postgraduate Centre in Puducherry threw light on issues relating to “Practical constraints of translating French-Tamil literary texts.”

V.Geetha from Chennai was also part of the panel chaired by Arasu, Head of Tamil Department, Madras University.

“Although many people rely on translations for access to world literature, the art and practice of literary translation remains a neglected subject, other than the easy criticisms that this translation ‘strays from the original’, that one ‘takes too many liberties’ and yet another is ‘too technical’ ”, the IFP sources pointed out.

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