Author Arunava Sinha told Trisha Mukherjee why most writers fail to translate Tagore’s works into English
All those who have read original works of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and also translation of his works by many authors would have realised that translation sometimes is not a literal interpretation of the text but the translator’s understanding of it.
“Where should the fidelity lieIJ Should it lie in retaining the rhythm or in retaining the meaningIJ” asked Arunava Sinha, who has been translating Tagore’s works for past few years.
Speaking of his new book, Translating Tagore: A Perspective, at Oxford book store, Sinha said, “Tagore’s poetry is extremely rich in imagery with vibrant colours and sounds and sometimes even smell. It touches the soul and appeals to the senses. So the objective of translating a great piece of literature should be to retain that charm and appeal of the original piece. Translation should not ruin the flow and thought of the author.”
What makes Tagore one of the most difficult writers to translate is the overdose of metaphors in his works. Tagore, even with a plethora of metaphors, wrote with simplicity, while talking about social issues. Many attempts on translating the author-poet have failed, largely because the translators are ignorant of the extent of damage a poor translation can cause.
As Sinha debated on the type of English Tagore’s works should be translated into, he asked, “Should it be the long flowing Victorian English, the contemporary English or the Anglo-Saxon EnglishIJ” and answering his own question, he said, “When Rabindranath wrote, he wrote for his contemporaries. And today when readers read him, he must be read like a contemporary and not like an archaic writer. Anglo-Saxon English is a spoiler.”
While reading Tagore, a contemporary perspective is always better, and therefore, Sinha emphasised on the need for translating Tagore every 10 years because “the sensibilities of the readers change with time.”
Tagore’s works have been translated to many foreign languages. Those translations have inspired many writers. Poet Pablo Neruda was inspired by Spanish translation of Tagore’s Amar Sandhyara Meghmala to write In My Sky At Twilight.