Prof Dr Himansu S Mohapatra has joined the illustrious band of academicians and luminaries by donning the mantle of professorship of the Department of English, Utkal University, which he is currently heading. Educated at Baripada, Sambalpur and in England, he had joined as a faculty at the Berhampur University, wherein he worked for 12 years. He joined as a senior faculty at the PG Department of English, Utkal University in 1994. Besides being perceived as an authority in the core areas of British literature, he is an exponent in the fields of criticism and critical theory like formalism, Marxism, structuralism, deconstruction and feminism. He has hundred irons in the fire and all of them are hot indeed! He has provided a significant academic leadership in matters of curriculum designing and textbook preparation.
A pioneer in the emerging fields of translation and comparative literature; he has rendered a yeoman’s job by translating some Odia novels and short stories for promoting the quintessence of Odia literature at a global level. Both in teaching and research, his key concern has been to join the isolated spheres of aesthetics and politics, using a theoretical and explanatory framework that derives in large measure from Raymond Williams, Fredric Jameson and Terry Eagleton. Besides, his monumental contributions lay in his research of the bildungsroman genre of novels and is interested to find out how the ‘not said’ of literature is inscribed in the letter of the text. A passionate believer in the obligation of an English teacher, he is committed to teach the skills of effective and elegant writing through the aid of literature. His book ‘Model of the Middle’ illustrates the same and can better serve as a ‘go with me book’ for students, scribes and teachers of English as well. He scribbles for The Hindu and contributes often to the New York Times, besides his regular professional and academic writings. As a member of the Utkal University Syndicate, he shares his vision and vitality with other academicians on how to propel this Methuselah-like varsity on a still higher growth trajectory. In an interview to The Pioneer, Dr Mohapatra spoke to Sugyan Choudhury at his departmental chamber.
He is a songster, musician and lyricist. Do you think the award of Nobel Prize for literature to Bob Dylan is justifiedIJ
Yes, Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize for literature. He is a songster and a musician. Hence, some eyebrows were raised. literature has to be understood in a broader prospective. literature is not just the printed words. literature has an expanded definition. literature in its wider range of art and aesthetics covers a wide or gamut of experiences and encompasses larger fields. By honouring Bob Dylan with Nobel Prize, the committee has probably taken literature in its broader encompassing vision. Dylan’s lyrics have also immensely contributed towards literature and enhanced our power of expression to still greater heights. It has also contributed to the expansion of our consciousness. Hence, Dylan’s choice for the prize stands justified.
India as well as the world today is gripped in between the clutches of economics and technology and humanities. More and more students opt for the former two while less and less number of students is interested for humanities and English literature. What’s your responseIJ
First of all, let me state the facts. Your observation is that few students are interested in the study of English literature, but that is not our experience in this department. We have forty seats in our Masters degree programme, and we are conducting an entrance test every year. last year, we received 495 applications, and this year, the applicants may be the same or more. In other words, we have been receiving ten times more applications against our position. Study of English language and literature is still a sought-after subject. You are correct that the world today is dominated by economics and technology. But these two subjects along with other hard subjects emphasise the need for soft skills and communication skills. A student of English literature is a potential good communicator; and hence, there is a meeting point between hard subjects and English literature somewhere and very often. Thus, the study of English literature has still its paramount importance; and the students are inquisitive about it. An ideal world can be envisioned by the combination of the Benthamites and the Coleridgeans.
As a top-class translator, you have done many works in translation. Why the number of translators is not on the increase to put our Odia literature and Sanskrit classics at a global levelIJ
That is true. I am interested in translation since it acts as a bridge between the Odia language or any other Indian language and the international scenario. Anyone studying English language today is bound to be interested in translation. The Odia literature in English Translation (OlET) scene is a vibrant one today. For example, the rendering of Gopinath Mohanty’s ‘Paraja’ into English by Bikram Das and published internationally by Faber and Faber in 1988. Bikram Das also bagged the Sahitya Akademi Award for the first time as a translator. Take the example of Fakir Mohan Senapati’s ‘Chha Mana Athaguntha’. After three translations, a fourth one of this book was done and published by the University of California. That probably acted as a trigger and a lot many Odia literary works, both frictions and poetry, have been rendered into English and their number today stands at over 130. More and more people are in translation now. As regards quality translation, we need to organise more workshops, seminars and training programmes. It was not recognised by the UGC as a subject in the curricula. But today, the UGC has recognised it as a skill advancement subject which has been implemented in the courses in 2016-17. We are encouraging quality translators at the national level under the aegis of the UGC.
Maxmueller and other international scholars have taken the world by a surprise by translating the Vedas and other Sanskrit classical texts into English. What plans are there on your agenda and that of the UGC to translate rich Sanskrit textsIJ
We owe our deep debt to our rich Sanskrit literature and Sanskrit classical texts. They are a very great literature. A German scholar like Maxmueller learnt Sanskrit to translate it in English. Other international scholars in Germany and other countries are reading Sanskrit too. But Sanskrit is not in vibrant circulation in our country after our matriculation examinations. An overhauling of our infrastructure is needed to galvanise and rejuvenate Sanskrit translation into English and other foreign languages. First of all, we need to translate Indian languages like Odia, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi into English and then it takes a little while to take up Sanskrit works in translation with the support of the UGC or the HRD Ministry.
What do you think about Tagore’s ‘Geetanjali’ as a work of translationIJ
Indeed, Tagore got the Nobel Prize when he had himself translated his own work ‘Geetanjali’ into English. Moreover, WB Yeats provided a brilliant foreword to it that extended and enticed world visibility. When great scholars CF Andrews and Anny Besant rendered ‘Geetanjali’ into English, it was more seen as books of grammar than that of poetry. Thus, creative rendering must be ensured for ideal translation works for which we need world-class translators.
Why have not the Departments of English in Indian universities opened creative writing streams like their foreign counterpartsIJ
Our vision of the English studies is to raise it to the level of perfection. As regards, creative writing departments, this needs a lot of exposure and resources. In t he US and theUK, creative writings are the offshoots of the English departments. These English departments started there in the middle of the nineteenth century or even prior to it. After completion of more than a century, they have started the departments of creative writings. Our present need is to strengthen the departments of English language and literature and then to enter into a dialogue with non-English language and literature, finally culminating in branching out into the realms of creative writings.