Introducing translation

Most Indians are at least bilingual and learn three languages at school, so we are natural translators. Ezra Pound linked every great literary age with a great age of translation. Tagore's 'Kabuliwala' is shown in Bangla, Hindi and English.

Indian languages have a rich legacy of translation from classical languages (Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit) and modern foreign ones (Russian, German, French), and among themselves. Kalidasa's 'Abhigyanashakuntalam' — itself written in Sanskrit with Prakrits beside it — is read worldwide through translation (Arthur W. Ryder's English).

Examples show non-literal but faithful choices: Premchand's 'Shatranj ke Khiladi' becomes 'messing and chessing'; Tolstoy's 'Three Questions', haiku by Basho and Issa, and Alice's tea party all travel into Hindi. Translation also reaches us through subtitling and dubbing.

Translation needs knowledge of both languages and both cultures. A literal, word-for-word version may be faithful but not beautiful, and can even distort meaning: an owl is wise in English but foolish (ullu) in Hindi. Metaphors, idioms, kinship terms and even colours (white for an English bride, for mourning elsewhere) are cultural markers.

Translation builds bridges between cultures — in Arabic, tarjuman means mediation. Nehru wrote that a language is far greater than its grammar; Dara Shikoh's Persian translation of the Upanishads, 'Sirr-e-Akbar' (1657), made with pundits of Varanasi, shows two cultures understanding each other.