KOCHI: Noted translator and The New Indian Express columnist Prema Jayakumar has been short-listed in the Indian language fiction translation category of the prestigious Vodafone-Crossword Award of 2008. She has been selected for the translation of Sethu’s novel ‘Niyogam.’ This has been translated into English as ‘The Wind from the Hills.’ “Since the Malayalam title is untranslatable, with layers of meaning and a whole myth behind it, we changed it to ‘The Wind from the Hills’,” says Prema. The other three short-listed books include ‘Dissonance and Other Stories’ translated by K S Subramanian, ‘Manto - Selected Stories’ by Aatish Taseer, and ‘TTA Professor’ by Ira Pande. “It is a great feeling because this is one of the four best translations of the year,” says Prema. This is the second time she has been shortlisted.
In 2005, Prema was selected for V K Madhavankutty’s ‘Asreekaram’ (English title: ‘The Unspoken Curse’).
The award, which will be announced at a ceremony at Mumbai on July 23.