The Magic of Translation (Part I): The International Booker Prize for a Hindi Novel

The International Booker Prize is a prestigious award given to the author of a novel originally written in a language other than English and translated into English. It is a companion to the Booker prize for English-language novels. In 2022, the prize was awarded, for the first time, to a novel originally in an Indian language. The language was Hindi, and the novel was Tomb of Sand, written by Gitanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell. This episode examines the status of literature in India's national languages  over the past century, since Bharati's time,and considers the role that translation may play today in re-kindling international interest in Indian literature. This episode will be followed by a second episode on translation that will look specifically at translation from Tamil to English, consider Bharati's thoughts and words on this issue, and sample his own, exquisite translations of works from classic Tamil literature.

Music Credits:

Drums of India, Bickram Ghosh on Tabla and V. Suresh On Ghatam. Subscribe to Bickram Ghosh's youtube channel.

*Please note: an earlier version of this file contained some technical errors which have now been fixed. Thank you for your patience!