At a time when one is often caught in linguistic debates, several South Indian writers — including those who write in languages different from their mother tongue — came together at Book Brahma Literature Festival Friday, stressing that language transcends borders.
Tamil novelist Carlos Tamilavan illustrated this idea through his own journey: “I am from Nanjilnadu in southern Tamil Nadu. Though I write in Tamil, my language is neither proper Tamil nor Malayalam. I did my MA in Tamil from Trivandrum, and now I teach Tamil in Bengaluru to students whose medium is Kannada.”
Kannada writer Jayant Kaikini, whose mother tongue is Konkani, echoed the sentiment, calling language a unifying force. “Language is a means to bring people together, not to keep for oneself. If I’m alone, there’s no need for a language. In literature, the reader is an anonymous person to whom we are talking. Language means a society; it means the human world,” he said.
Tamil writer B Jeyamohan, from Kerala, said ambiguity is at the heart of literature. “I’m using my multi-linguality for ambiguity, not for clarity,” he remarked, suggesting that the richness of literature lies in its capacity to hold multiple meanings and invite varied interpretations.
Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar winner Latshmihar pointed to the accessibility of short forms in bridging linguistic divides. “I write short forms because now we are in the era of reels and short videos. Moreover, because my works are short, they were easily translated into Kannada, Hindi and Telugu,” he said.
In an earlier session, literary agent Kanishka Gupta said Indian language books are not translated into English as frequently as works from other foreign languages, largely due to commercial considerations.
“At the end of the day, it’s business,” Gupta said during a panel discussion titled, Beyond Booker: Tales that Travel and the Future of Indian Stories. He noted foreign publishers often prioritise market potential over cultural value when selecting Indian works for translation.
The panel featured Kannada novelist Banu Mushtaq, who won the Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, an English translation of her Kannada works by Deepa Bhasthi. Mushtaq spoke about the challenges of making Indian stories resonate with Western readers. Recalling the doubts she faced before her win, she said, “I imagined hundreds of times that I am going to get this prize,” but many had tried to convince her otherwise.
Bhasthi said her approach to translation was rooted in storytelling rather than awards. “I can’t write for prizes… if it wins an award, that’s amazing, but that’s not the point at all,” she said.
Credit: timesofindia.indiatimes
