New Delhi, April 09: Ashoka Centre for Translation at Ashoka University, Delhi NCR and Westland Books jointly launch ‘An Ashoka Centre for Translation Series’ that will introduce English-language readers to some of the best Indian works of fiction, both modern and classic, that have sustained a wide readership in their source languages. The series aims to present a curated set of works translated from an Indian language, as it successively moves from one language to another. The first instalment of the series is slated to include four new English translations of landmark Bengali short fiction.
With each book being curated by its respective translator, ‘An Ashoka Centre for Translation Series’ will offer English-reading audiences a chance to share in, understand, and enjoy those authors and texts that have shaped the translator’s sensibility—to see the translator as, first and foremost, a reader. This series is part of the Centre’s ongoing efforts to foster and foreground India’s translation ecosystem: a living, dynamic, and collaborative ethos.
Introducing the inaugural list, Minakshi Thakur, Publisher, Ekadā (Imprint of Westland Books), remarks, ‘We’re delighted to be publishing in translation a series of short story collections by Bengali writers in collaboration with the Ashoka Centre for Translation. The list will comprise a mix of classic and contemporary writers: This year, it will showcase the works of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Anita Agnihotri, and Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay.’
The first book of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s short stories, translated by Anchita Ghatak, is releasing on the 13th of April under Westland Books’ Ekadā imprint. The writer Saratchandra Chattopadhyay (1876–1938) is not only a key figure in Bengali literature but has also made his mark as an influential pioneer of modern Indian writing. His selected stories, which bring together pathos, social consciousness, and vivid realism, have been translated by Anchita Ghatak, translator of stalwarts including Manoranjan Byapari and Taslima Nasrin. Saratchandra’s writings are canonical yet have managed to remain contemporary—capturing the imagination of generations of readers and writers across the country. A new translation of his select work is a fitting inaugural book for this series.
Professor Arunava Sinha and Professor Rita Kothari, Co-Directors, Ashoka Centre for Translation, Ashoka University, Delhi NCR, commenting on the vision for the project, say,
“The inaugural set of books in what we believe to be a long-term translation series with Westland Books squarely orients readers to Indian writers’ varied creative explorations within the same language, even within the same form, from the late 19th century to the 21st. We hope these four books will be followed by many more translations from Bengali and beyond, inviting the interest of readers across the board.”
Underlining the importance of translation initiatives such as this in connecting readers, Rahul Mookerjee, founder and management board trustee of Ashoka University and the support behind the current titles, adds, ‘I am delighted that this first effort at bringing Bengali short stories and other regional languages’ literature to a wider readership has started. I hope the Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, and other Indian language readers can soon enjoy these stories as well.’
The initiative sets the stage for a sustained effort to translate and amplify creative genius from across India’s linguistic landscape for a wider and global readership.
