“For a very long time, I resisted having my books translated because I was afraid the beauty of a language cannot be replicated in another language,” says Chandrakanta, a Hindi novelist whose work, A Street in Srinagar, is on the DSC longlist this year. “Gradually, I realised it was the only way I can share my stories about Kashmir, to which I belong, with more people. I want people to know that Kashmir is not only about militancy, there is a rich culture, history.” N.S. Madhavan, a Malayalam writer, echoes the sentiment: “If anything is lost in translation, I’ve got it back through a larger readership.”
What the long article missed to inform is that ‘A Street in Srinagar’ was translated from Hindi to English by Manisha Chaudhry, Head of Content at Pratham Books. She has translated many many books for Pratham Books from English to Hindi and the other way around too.
Personally speaking, we’re hoping ‘A Street in Srinagar’ wins a prize– we can hope for a big treat from Manisha–pizza topped with Kashmiri mirch maybe?
You may read the entire article here.