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Local is the way to read
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The translated works of foreign writers are fast finding a readership in India
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Photo: H. Vibhu
Language matters The Malayalam translation of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ is running into the eighth edition
How would it be to read Orhan Pamuk’s “My Name is Red” in Malayalam or Kannada, or Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Marathi and Hindi? A glance at most publishers’ recent releases suggests that Indians are increasingly reading bestse
llers in their mother tongue.
More and more, major foreign novels are finding their way into Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and Bengali. Fast becoming a literary genre in its own right, these translations are now threatening even their originals. The biggest example of this is DC Books. It has translated nearly 200 abridged and retold titles in Malayalam. In 2007, it has released Malayalam translations of more than 25 foreign novels.
The books which have become huge success stories are those of Marquez, Paulo Coelho and Dan Brown. Published in 2006, the Malayalam translation of “The Da Vinci Code” by Brown is running into the eighth edition, more than 20,000 copies have been sold. Similarly, the translation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, published in 1984, is into the 13th edition, selling over 25,000 copies.
Explaining the success of these translations, Georgey Thomas, Editor, DC Books, says, “Keralites have a great fascination for South American Literature. ”
Thomas says, “We translate books which hit the headlines in the literary world, and which are capable of doing well. We also translate new books written by reputed authors.”
Adds Thomas, “A book which does well in English will be read in the regional languages too. For example, the translation of ‘Freedom at Midnight’ by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, which came in 1976, is running into its 28th edition, selling more than 50,000 copies and the translation of APJ Abdul Kalam’s ‘Wings of Fire’ crossed the one lakh copies.”
Publishing House Wisdom Tree has published Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist” in Hindi. Translated flawlessly by the famous Hindi author Kamleshwar, “The Alchemist” has sold more than 10,000 copies in Hindi. This year, they are launching “The Zahir” and “Eleven Minutes” in Hindi. “Harry Potter Aur Paras Pathar” has been translated by Manjul Publishing House to a good opening.
Moving on from fiction to poetry, Katha, known for translations, has published Australian Poet Les Murray’s poetry collection in Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali.
Commenting on the trend of translations from foreign novels, Katha Editor Ranjani I. Mohanty says:
“Where there is a translation of any good work of literature, there is a market. And in this era of a global village, we realise even more that we all share the same concerns and problems.”
The year 2008 will have publishers such as Yatra Books and Penguin India launching translations in Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam of Spanish and Italian literature.
According to Neeta Gupta of Yatra Books: “We would be translating classical literature from Spain and Italy, academic books from France right from politics to research, to very universal fiction from South East Asia, especially rural China.”
They plan to publish Spanish author Mercè Rodoreda’s best short stories in Hindi in association with Institut Ramon Llull.
They will also be publishing the translation of the Italian book “Volevo i Pantaloni”, (I wanted to wear pants) in Hindi. Translation rights are awaited for Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”. It would be published in Marathi. “There is a big demand for self help books. We would be taking out Thomas Friedman’s ‘The World is Flat’ in Marathi and Hindi,” says Gupta.
AMRITA TALWAR
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