Literature should be available in all languages: Geetanjali Shree

Tribune News Service

Bhanu P Lohumi

Shimla, June 18

“Books have different meanings for different readers but the translation should have life and soul of the original creation and literature should be available in all languages,” said Geetanjali Shree, who became the first Hindi author to win the International Booker Prize for her book “Tomb of Sand”, a translation of her Hindi novel “Ret Samadhi”.

Publishers should take note

We have vibrant literature in all languages in India but unfortunately, we are not much familiar with each other’s literature and the absence of translators is a hindrance. Publishers should take an initiative in this direction — Geetanjali Shree, AUTHOR

She was here to participate in the three-day International Literature Festival, which concluded today. “The world should not be divided into English and other languages. We have vibrant literature in all languages in India but unfortunately we are not much familiar with each other’s literature and the absence of translators is a hindrance. The publishers and other organisations should take an initiative in this direction,” she said. “Awards give identity to a person, who comes in the limelight for a moment, but the focus should be where the light falls and not on the torch itself (focus should be on the issues highlighted by the author and not the writer). There are a lot of virtues in the land which produced us and that should also be acknowledged,” she said.

Later, keeping her view point on “women’s writing in Indian languages” during a discussion, she advocated for gender equality. She said a writer was a writer and categorising “women writing” was injustice with women who made an attempt to give expression to sensibility and sensitivity through their work.

The session was chaired by noted author Mridula Garg, who is recipient of Vyas Samman, Miljul Mann and Sahitya Akademi Award. She has written in every genre in Hindi. She raised her voice for doing away with this topic and said, “I am born as a woman but I am a writer by profession.”

“Do not discuss women writers and treat writers as individuals as everything has been said and written and is being re-written but it is the perspective that gives a new angle and dimension to the story,” she said. She stressed reading literature in regional language so as to promote translation in other languages.

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