When a field became a forest: The pitfalls of translations

Capturing the essence of a book in a different language is tricky business, as the meaning of the original text can often be misinterpreted by those not familiar with its cultural context, celebrated Tamil writer Perumal Murugan said today.
Speaking at a session at the Jaipur Literature Festival here, Murugan, along with another renowned Tamil writer Imayam, talked about the importance of communication between writers and translators, and the difficulty in making sure that the "life" of a book is carried over into the translation.
Highlighting his point, Murugan narrated an incident when a word in one of his works was translated into something completely different.

"In a translation of one of my works, I used the word 'Kaadu', which in the context of the story meant an agricultural field. But in the translation, it got changed to 'forest', as that is its meaning generally. This happened despite there being references made to farming work in the story, showing that it was a straight translation made without proper understanding," he said.
"If translators interact with writers more, they would probably make less mistakes. If they don't interact, then the possibility of making errors becomes higher," he said.
Imayam, meanwhile, appeared sceptical about the efficacy of a translated work in conveying the original to the readers.

"Translating is something that is very tough. Besides this, the fact is that there are very few good translators around. I feel it is impossible to capture the 'life' of a book in a language different from the original," he said.

Both writers were also asked about the state of freedom of expression in India, and both had markedly different responses.
"I feel India is much better than other countries. I feel that I can criticise people like Modi and Jayalalithaa, and reach home safely, which would not be the case in other places where there are severe restrictions," said Imayam.

Murugan said he simply had no wish to comment on the subject, a response that spoke volumes.
However, the writer did thank the festival organisers for "standing by him" during the controversy around his book "One Part Woman" by conducting a few sessions in his support.
"In January 2015, when the controversy was in full bloom, there was an event in JLF in my support. I was able to come and attend this year, just because of the support then," he said.
Murugan also said that with the proliferation of technology, students have got a lot more access to books than in the past. Earlier, we would have had to wait a long time for a reaction to our books. Now, the speed of responses have become faster, which shows that there is a lot more interest in literature.