KANNIYAKUMARI: Kanniyakumari native P Vimala has been selected for the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation 2024, instituted by the Sahitya Akademi, for her work 'Enatu Ankal' in Tamil, which is a translation of author Nalini Jameela's autobiography 'Ente Anungal' in Malayalam.
Vimala, who works as an assistant professor of Tamil in the self finance wing of St Xavier's College in Palayamkottai, had translated the autobiography in 2022.
Hailing from an ordinary background in Kulasekaram, Vimala expressed delight over the recognition, and told TNIE, "Like many others of the district, I speak both Malayalam and Tamil at home. However, I developed a strong liking towards reading and writing Malayalam after going to Delhi for my higher studies."
Owing to financial troubles in the family following the death of her father, Vimala had opted for correspondence education for her BA and MA programmes. However, later, she completed her MPhil and PhD studies as a day scholar from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
Her other translated works include 'Vivekanantham' (Malayalam to Tamil), 'Kurunthoga'i and 'Kambaramayanam-Utha Kandam' (Tamil to Malayalam).