‘Booker win will inspire more translations from Kannada’

Translations into English have picked up in recent years, but the numbers need to catch up with Bengali and Tamil

According to industry experts, Banu Mushtaq’s Booker Prize success is expected to boost interest in Kannada literature, particularly its English translations, which currently lag behind those of a few other Indian languages.

Ashoka University’s free database ‘Bhashavaad’ lists only 516 Kannada titles, compared to 3,298 in Bengali, 1,801 in Hindi, and 630 in Tamil.

In recent years, books like ‘Sakina’s Kiss’ and ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ by Vivek Shanbhag (translated by Srinath Perur), and ‘No Presents Please’ by Jayant Kaikini (translated by Tejaswini Niranjana), have created interest in Kannada literature. “In general, not many Kannada writers have been translated. We have seen two of Shanbhag’s novels and three books by Vasudhendra in translation. S L Bhyrappa has been translated quite a bit, and U R Ananthamurthy has been celebrated and translated over the years. Devanoor Mahadeva was earlier published by Oxford University Press, and we will be publishing him soon. Still, there’s much more to do,” says Minakshi Thakur, publisher — Indian literature, Westland Books.

Popular novelists

At Blossom Bookhouse, Church Street, about 5% of sales are from translated books. Titles by Shanbhag, Kaikini, Bhyrappa, and Vasudhendra are popular. Recently released translations of Kuvempu’s ‘Bride in The Hills’ and P Lankesh’s ‘The Sour Mango Tree’ are also in demand, says owner Mayi Gowda.

When Atta Galatta opened 13 years ago, few publishers focused on translations. “But we have seen it grow in the last eight years,” says Subodh Shankar, founder. The bookstore in Indiranagar specialises in Indian language and translation titles.

Bold themes

Vasudhendra’s ‘Mohanaswamy’, which explores LGBTQIA+ themes, garnered attention after a panel discussion at a literature festival caught the eye of a publisher. “After its success, I now receive proposals from five to six publishers interested in translating my books,” he says. Despite its critical acclaim, ‘Mohanaswamy’ did not resonate widely with Kannada readers. “I think it made them uncomfortable,” he reflects. However, the English translation reached a broader audience. “This is why translation is so important for writers like me,” he notes, adding that the readership for Kannada literature is limited. “Without translation, how can Kannada writers reach a wider audience?”

Vasudhendra emphasises the need for a dedicated agency to translate Kannada literature into English and promote it to publishers. “We don’t know how many more writers like Banu Mushtaq are out there, simply because their work hasn’t been translated. Finding a good translator is a challenge. For instance, Rayara Matha is a significant element in my books. It’s deeply rooted in Kannada Brahmin culture. To translate its imagery, one must truly understand that cultural context,” he explains. He advocates for Kannada books to be translated not just into English, but also into all South Indian languages and Hindi.

For Perur, the main challenge is accounting for the world the book is set in. For example, in ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ there is a scene where the family is sitting down to eat. “For an Indian reader, it makes perfect sense that the family was seated on the floor. But when the editor in the US read that part, she couldn’t understand it. She imagined they were seated at a table and it didn’t make sense to her,” he recalls.

N S Gundur, who has been a translator for 10 years, is currently working on D R Nagaraja’s ‘Allama Prabhu Mattu Shaiva Pratibhe’, titled ‘Allama Prabhu and Shaiva Imagination’ in English. Earlier he was not sure how well his translated works would be received, but he has “grown more confident now”.