Tagore

Review, Translation

Review: Timeless Tales in Translation

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By Lopamudra Banerjee “Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.” – Anthony Burgess While embarking on a journey of both reading and internalizing classic texts in translation, which attempts to bridge the gap between languages, cultures, continents, I have been always intrigued to know the literary or metaphorical truths that an author intends to depict in his literary work. Can a translator really transcribe those truths while translating the aforesaid work from the source language has been a quest for me as a reader always. Also, while translating Indian literature into English, is it possible to recreate the particulars of the eastern/oriental culture and environment and portray those nuances in English?  As I started flipping through the pages of ‘Timeless Tales of Translation: A Representative Anthology of Bengali and Hindi Short Stories’ penned by prolific poet, author, translator Chaitali Sengupta from Netherlands, these questions kept brimming in my inquisitive mind. All the stories translated in the collection have been penned during the very critical chronological time-frame of the colonial regime (from the mid-nineteenth century till the mid 1950’s) of India. In the foreword to this meticulously presented collection of translated classic tales, quite aptly named ‘Timeless Tales in Translation’, Dr. Sanjukta Dasgupta, author, poet and renowned scholar points out very significantly: “All the stories selected foreground certain timeless, universal emotions, feelings, sentiments, love…empathy and transcendence…Despite the problems that are embedded within translation practices, it is translation as cultural transfer that sensitizes the world about cultural diversity.”   Read the full review at this link: https://www.setumag.com/2023/04/timeless-tales-in-translation-by.html

Blog, Poems, Translation

Translation: 3 poems from Tagore’s LIPIKA

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By Chaitali Sengupta The original prose poems by Rabindranath Tagore, Purono bari (The old house), Banshi (Theflute) and Prothom Shok (First sorrow) were collected in Lipika first published in 1922 (BE1329). It is a small book where Tagore introduced short poetic prose pieces. THE FLUTE The voice of the flute is an eternal one, a voice belonging to forever; just as the descent of theGanges, flowing out of the matted locks of Shiva, spilling upon the breast of earth. Like achild of heaven, she plunges down, wishing to frolic with the dust on earth, in her quest of theheavenly game. Standing on the wayside, I hear the flute’s strain; it fills my mind with feelings unknown. Itry hard to relate the ache that comes from the tune, with my mundane joys and sorrows, butin vain. I realize that it is more scintillating than any joys I’ve experienced; more intense thanany tears that I’ve shed. It makes me feel that the truth resides not in knowing, but it dwells in the unknown. How ismind able to think in this capricious manner? I’ve no answer to that. At dawn today, I woke up hearing the tune of the flute. There was a wedding in the nearbyhome. The melodious strain that emanates from the flute on the first day of marriage matchesin no way with the tunes of the days that follow. Can the flute, like a divine oracle, warn usabout the private frustration, the deep dejection, the neglect, the insult, and the sheer fatigue,about our restrained desires, our monstrous bickering, the unforgiving petty conflicts, thedusty miserliness of our daily life struggles? The veil of the familiar, regular words upon the mundane life is yanked away in one go withthe melodious strain of the flute. The bride and the groom exchange their first glance of lovein the blessed moment, and unite forever under the delicate canopy, as the groom lifts the redveil of his demure bride. And the flute, through its tuneful melody, sings of this exaltedmoment. When the flute plays along the songs of exchanging the garland of love, I look towards thebride, being wed in our neighboring home. Wearing a golden necklace around her neck, apair of anklets on her feet, she stands on a lotus of joy that grew in the lake of tears. As I look through the melody of the flute, she appears ethereal to me. The girl, who was oncea familiar face from the known household, now manifests as the bride of an unknown family.The flute says, “This is the truth.” Read other two translations here: https://museindia.com/Home/ViewContentData?arttype=poems&issid=105&menuid=10317 

Blog, Review

Review: Varied Themes span a century in Twelve Translated Tales

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By Prof. Seema Jain Translators are like architects, building bridges of communication, understanding and inclusivity across linguistic, geographical, cultural, and ethnic borders, unifying diverse people, cultures, and languages through their magic touch. Timeless Tales in Translation by Chaitali Sengupta is a unique work in the domain of translated literature, as it takes up prominent tales from the masters of the craft in Hindi, Urdu, and Bangla, spanning over a period of almost a hundred years (1855-1955). This expansive framework gives her the advantage of traversing the diversity of a country like India in the pre-and post independence era across the socio-cultural, geographical and linguistic spectrum. The translator has discreetly chosen the tales for translation, as these tales represent the eminent writers’ varied and wide ranging thematic concerns. Read the full article here: https://www.differenttruths.com/literature/short-story/varied-themes-span-a-century-in-twelve-translated-tales/

Poems

Prose: Life, cognition & creativity

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When silence speaks through Nature…… Rustle of Nature. Through the pausing seasons, forming a lullaby. And to be a part of it, the feeling of oneness with it, can be an amazing experience. On an early morning walk through the woods nearby, when the world around is deep in sleep while you hold a deep conversation with the gentle breeze… the breeze that caress you and leaves you with that lingering smell of unknown flowers, like a parting gift… in that brief moment does it not impress upon your heart that the Nature is continuously in motion and yet there’s no noise?These fleeting moments when you clearly hear the trembling in the leaves of trees, the endless cooing of the pre-dawn birds, the languid movement of the flies, the droning buzz of the insects, the fleeting flight of the scary squirrels, the comforting rush of water in the babbling brooks and the creeks… these rhythmic rustling in Nature contribute to the early hour’s concert. These rustlings put one in deep calmness, penetrating deep to our core, through the veneer of noise.And the rustle of the dead leaves, as you tread upon them, in the season of Fall! Ever since my stay in Europe, I’ve always found it mesmerizing to watch the trees shedding leaves. It is amazing how the leaves turn in autumn, how the trees change in the Fall, how they do not struggle to hold on to foliage but releases them in order to be complete in their cycle of growth, preparing for what comes next in their evolution as “tree.” The grace and the ease with which they do that… There’s a huge lesson there. This whole process reminds me of those deeply philosophical lines by Tagore “Naahi kshay, naahi shesh, naahi naahi dainyolesh…“(No decay exists, no end either, not even weariness)And beneath this seasonal rustle in Nature, there is a deep silence. Awesome is that silence, pitted against the noise of nonsense created by us- humans. This profound silence is comforting. It soothes. It tunes your heart to the quietness. It perhaps diminishes the belief we falsely have of our own permanence in this world. It fills you with awe at simply being alive and part of a marvelous, vast, mysterious Universe. In the brief life of man, how can these moments be insignificant? By Chaitali Sengupta Published at: https://www.setumag.com/2020/12/chaitali-sengupta-life-cognition-and.html

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