|
Literary Review
TRANSLATION
Tales of determined women
ANJANA RAJAN
|
Krishna Sobti, one of the Hindi language’s enduring authors, is now available in vibrant and faithful translations.
|
To Hell with you Mitro, Krishna Sobti, translated by Gita Rajan and Raji Narasimhan, Katha, Rs. 200.
Memory’s Daughter, Krishna Sobti, translated by Meenakshi Bharadwaj and Smita Bharti, Katha, Rs. 200
With the publication of two of Krishna Sobti’s celebrated works in English translation, Katha has made available to English readers vibrant and faithful translations of one of Hindi’s most affecting authors — perpetually modern, inspiring and delightfully unpredictable in her medium.
To Hell With You Mitro (Mitro Marjani) is the story of Sumitravanti, the unstoppable middle daughter-in-law of the Gurudas household. Her courage is apparent not only in the audacity with which she taunts a closed society, but also in her ability to change her own attitude when she feels it necessary. Or perhaps it is the basic honesty of her nature that allows her to face herself and all she has believed in as unflinchingly as she faces her husband’s violent wrath and mother-in-law’s awed remonstrations. However that may be, the novel is not concerned with psychological debates. It races merrily to its somewhat surprising conclusion, telling the story in familiar, endearing images.
Many facets
Through glimpses of Gurudas’ life with his wife Dhanvanti and of their sons with their wives, we see the different faces of a traditional Indian household. These are pictures we can find today too, without hunting in overly remote locations.
If Mitro is the overtly strong woman character, the others are no less so. There is Dhanvanti, capable of standing by her daughter-in-law in opposition to her son if she feels he has wronged his wife. There is the elder daughter-in-law Suhagvanti, with intelligence enough to understand both Mitro and her mother-in-law and compassion enough not to set them against each other though privy to their thoughts. And there is the youngest daughter in law Phoolavanti, well versed in the art of manoeuvring to her preferred destination within the straits of male dominance using deception.
While translations into English are bound to lose some of the power of the original, this translation retains an intensely visual charm for which Gita Rajan and Raji Narasimhan should be thanked. Mitro and her fellow characters dance before our eyes with vivacity and warmth.
Memory’s Daughter, a translation of Sobti’s first novel, Dar Se Bichuri is a dreamlike landscape of love and horror, adventure and contemplation. Poetic in its sweep, it is simply told by Pasho — she who becomes Malan, only to become Naveli. The language is not grand like the dramatic sweep of the story — a beautiful young woman caught in the crossfire of wars and religious intolerance. The translators Meenakshi Bharadwaj and Smita Bharti have produced as faithfully as would seem possible the power of that linguistic simplicity, one that draws the reader into the narrative like a vortex.
Sheer grit
Another fiery spirit, but not like Mitro, Pasho has the will to live, to outwit her tormentors by sheer grit, rather than deception, and to flower whenever fate smiles on her.
While Memory’s Daughter contains line drawings by Vikram Nayak and its cover carries a painting by Geeta Vadehra, Mitro has on its cover a painting by Jatin Das. Granted, it is hardly possible to replicate in translation the use of dialect, alliteration and other elements that lend colour to an original work. Add to that the paltry reputation English has as compared to a language like Hindi, and a translator’s job becomes a thankless one. Yet, in the right hands English has many shades. Its commas, ellipses and the spaces on a page too add colour to a tale. These artistically produced translations are welcome.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Literary Review
|
