Recently, award-winning translator Jenny Croft wrote an open letter insisting that translators be given credit on the cover of the book itself.” Over the years, publishers have begun to give translators their due. She explains: “Malayalam writers like Anand, Sarah Joseph and Subash Chandran won for their translated works. Moustache, feels that a major push for writing in Indian languages was given by the Crossword Book Award and several Malayalam writers, including Mukundan and Benyamin, had won for their translated works.

This, says Benyamin, gave him access to an international readership and invitations to prestigious literary festivals in India and abroad. In 2019, Malayalam authors Benyamin won it for Instituted in 2018, the annual JCB literary award celebrates distinguished works of fiction or translated fiction by an Indian writer. “It will give many writers wide exposure and readership,” he says. But leading publishers’ interest in translations might change that, asserts Mukundan. Although I have been writing since the seventies, readers who don’t read Malayalam would have never heard of me.”īrilliant writers in regional languages are often circumscribed by the language they chose to write in. Explaining why, he says: “We write in isolation we are not part of mainstream Indian literature. (Stay up to date on new book releases, reviews, and more with The Hindu On Books newsletter.Īnti-Clock, as well as Fathima EV’s and Nandakumar K’s translation of M Mukundan’sĭelhi: A Soliloquy are on the shortlist of the JCB Prize for Literature 2021.ĭelhi: A Soliloquy, Mukundan had suggested that Fathima translate his novel into English. In 2019, I picked up more of his books in Kerala and ended up translating “That was his first book I translated in 2018.

Noticing the author’s email address in the book, Ministhy, an IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh, reached out to him to seek permission to translate it into English. Purappadinte Pusthakam and was bowled over by its gentle and insightful narrative. During a trip to her parents’ home in Thiruvananthapuram, Ministhy S read VJ James’ debut novel

Jasmine days malayalam