BHUBANESWAR: The need for translation is paramount in taking Odia language to the world stage, opined eminent translators of the state.
Discussing ‘Translation Handicap for Odia Literature’ chaired by writer Chinmay Hota, they spoke about various factors that have led to a serious dearth of translators in the state. Sahitya Akademi awardee Asit Mohanty said there are many issues related to translations in Odia language and attributed the reason to the awards being handed out for such work.
“After 1989, when Sahitya Akademi began giving the translation award, many other literary organisations also began following its footsteps. Since the other awards on translation were easier to get compared to the Akademi award, many began translating to get the awards. However, in this bid, a lot of shoddy work was done in the name of translations into Odia language,” he said.
Poet and translator Sangram Jena had a different view. He felt good translators have become rare, be it into Odia or from Odia to English. Giving the example of Argentina where a football is handed over to a preschooler or closer home Sundargarh where children pick up a hockey stick even before entering the school, Jena said that is not the case with translation.
“Children in our schools today are provided lessons on writing stories, poetry, essays but not translation. Our generation, though, used to have translation in our school curriculum,” he said.
Besides, the importance of learning English is way too much than being multilingual or bi-lingual, which is another necessity for translations. Stating that the genre is a difficult one, he said translation should be such that the flavour of the original book is retained in every aspect of the work.
Snehaprava Das, who has translated the first full-length Odia novel ‘Padmamali’ into English, said untranslatability is a major challenge translators often face in their work. She felt understandability is the most significant factor in doing a good translation. “A translator interprets and then writes. The first aspect he or she has to look into is understanding the text himself and then making the story or poetry understandable to the readers. “Odia and English are poles apart from each other. Understanding of both the languages becomes crucial for translation” she said.
Das further said that no translation theory works in the practicality of things. “The translator has to invent his or her own style, own narrative,” she suggested.
So, what can be the way forward in improving translations into Odia and Odia to English, asked Hota? Creating a new generation of translators, replied Mohanty.
He said the translation academy announced by the BJP government in Odisha is a good step but there is a need to create young and good translators.
