Kannada translation of novel on Mizoram to be released today

Bengaluru: A Kannada translation of 'Zorami', a novel in English by Malsawmi Jacob, is slated for release on Tuesday. 

The novel, published by Nava Karnataka Publications, Bengaluru, spans almost eight decades in Mizoram, with a focus on the traumatic '60s — an era marked by famine and violence. 

"In the novel, the process of healing for both Zorami and the Mizos is through songs," says translator Bhumika R. 

The book will be released at 11.30 am by well-known writer Dr G Ramakrishna at the Press Club of Bangalore. 

Malsawmi taught English to undergraduates and freelanced for magazines and newspapers. She has 11 books to her credit. 

Bhumika teaches communication skills in Jammu and Kashmir. She writes poetry and short fiction in English and translates between Kannada and English. She also serves on the editorial team of Plato’s Caves Online, a literary e-zine. 

The novel re-tells stories of everyday lives of common people and their negotiations with history. The temporal frame of the novel is between the 1940s to contemporary times. The title of the novel, also the name of the protagonist (Zorami), can be read as a metonym for the story/history of the Mizos. The process of healing for both Zorami and the Mizos in the novel is through songs.