JOIN USHe was speaking at the Sahitya Akademi’s function to present translation prizes 2008, organised in Bangalore. Bhyrappa said translation had been the only way to increase resource material of any subject in a particular language.
Bhyrappa said that in European countries, there has been more encouragement for translation activities. “As soon as a good work is published in any one language, it is translated into other languages of the continent. Both government-owned agencies and private publishers have been encouraging translation. Similar efforts are needed in India too,” he said. The novelist said many great works in regional languages of India had not yet reached readers of neighbouring states.
He recalled that in the 1990s, the Karnataka Sahitya Academy had planned a programme to promote translation of works by sending select scholars to another state so that they could learn the local language there and translate works of that language. However, it did not take off as nobody showed interest to take up the project, he said. As many as 22 writers of 22 different languages were honoured with translation prizes of the year 2008 on the occasion. Hasan Nayeem Surkod of Karnataka is one among them.