JOIN USTN govt, Bengaluru group team up for translation project
The Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation is collaborating with the Karnataka Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi to launch Kannada translations of three Tamil books.
All three titles have been translated into Kannada by K Nallathambi. “The aim is to promote the literature and culture of Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government has been publishing translations of Tamil literature in English for a couple of years and they are now doing it in Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu,” says Sreedhara V S, regional co-ordinator for the corporation.
Sreedhara is responsible for choosing titles to be translated into Kannada. “We have been working on this project for eight months. As this is the first leg of the project, I decided it would be best to look for books that are already translated but are yet to be published,” he explains.
Going forward, the plan is to release the same titles simultaneously in all three south Indian languages. “We will come together and pick common titles. The next set of books should tentatively be out by the end of the year,” he adds.
The objective is also to provide a platform for more translators and small-scale independent publishers. “The publishers will also be provided with a subsidy and the translators will get an honorarium,” he says.
The corporation is preparing a panel of translators proficient in the two languages.
“We have five on board now. But we plan to add more and we welcome translators to contact us in case they are interested in being a part of the project,” he says.
In the future, Kannada books will also be translated into Tamil under the same initiative. Some works are already in the pipeline, he told Metrolife.
He believes the project will play a big role in academic research. “Everything in India unfortunately takes place in English. To break away from it, this is a step in the right direction. This will be of interest to not just to Kannadigas interested in Tamil literature, but also to researchers who want to do a comparative analysis of the two cultures,” he says.
About the books
Among the three books, two are based on the life and thoughts of Gandhi. While ‘Mattondu Ratri…’ is an anthology of 11 stories by writers such as Devi Bharathi, Jeyamohan and Kalai Selvi, ‘Bapu Hejjegalalli’ covers the lives of 15 eminent Gandhians, predominantly from Tamil Nadu.
The books are being published by Mysuru-based Abhiruchi Prakashana and Hosapete-based Pallava Prakashana respectively.
“One of the stories in ‘Mattondu Ratri…’ is by me. When I read the 10 stories, I wanted to write one. Overall, the stories are fictional but they are heavily influenced by Gandhi’s life and principles,” says K Nallathambi, translator of the books. He started translating the three books in 2019.
“By 2021, I had translated all three books. Translating is always an interesting process, as, despite the two languages sounding so similar, there are often many distinctions,” he says. Nallathambi, a Bengalurean, has been translating professionally between Kannada and Tamil for eight years.
‘Gudi-Gante’, the third book on the list, is a collection of short stories by well-known Tamil writer Janakiraman. It is published by Ladai Prakashana in Gadag. “These are 17 short stories and they are magical as they keep drawing you in,” he says. The three books will
be available at bookstores across Bengaluru from next week.
For details, call 94481 27571.
Upcoming titles
Daham (novel) by K Chinnappa Bharathi
Yarum Attravar (novel) by K Muthukrishnan
Anthology of short stories of Pudumaipittan
Ma Rajendra Reader (short stories)
Dravida Iyyakkam (Periyar writings)
Meethamirkkum Sorakkal, anthology of women’s writing
Dalit Panpad (essays by Gauthaman)