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Bridging cultures
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Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan's translated work "Retelling the Ramayana — Voices from Kerala" was launched
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RAMAYANA REVISITED Dramatised reading of "Kanchana Sita"
Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan has translated into English two Malayalam works that dwell on the Ramayana. The book "Retelling the Ramayana - Voices from Kerala" which contains translations of Kanchana Sita (a play) by C. N. Sreekantan and Ramayana Stories by Sarah Joseph, was launched recently at the British Council.
Suresh of Oxford University Press said the book was in line with the OUP philosophy, which is to take Indian scholarship abroad. Mini Krishnan, Head of Translations, OUP, spoke about issues relating to translation - she said the typist who prepared the scripts earned more than the translator and that in other parts of the world, people translated works in English into their languages, but in India it was the other way round.
She used the analogy of transplanting a plant to convey the demands of translation - a jasmine plant that is plucked out of Coimbatore and transplanted in Scotland may look the same, but for the plant to smell the same, some of the soil from Coimbatore has to be transported to Scotland. The translator has to be a bridge between two cultures, not just two languages.
Vasanthi said the book was an attempt to elevate Sita to a position she deserved and also give the mathrubasha a place of honour.
The highlight of the evening was a rehearsed reading of portions of Kanchana Sita by The Madras Players. Although for the most part, the actors spoke their lines sitting, they were attired in white, Kerala-style.
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