Few Takers For Indian Literature
This one’s definitely worth reading. The blog quotes Ira Pande (daughter of Hindi writer Shivani), from an interview in the Hindu while she laments the lack of interest in Indian literature.
“Around the time of Independence, our regional `bhasha’ literature had a richer bank. English writing didn’t even have a status. Mulk Raj Anand had to go abroad for publishing. It’s a reversal now, most people don’t even know the big names who are writing in Marathi. Our strength is in our plurality, why should we destroy what we already have? Some of the most modern, most real work, in terms of the country is being done by the `bhasha’ writers. We owe it to them to translate their work, to make it reach the larger reader audiences. Translations are what I want to do.” Currently working on translating late Manohar Shyam Joshi’s novel and Shivani’s Apradhini, which talks of women in prison in the late 1960s, Ira felt, “some books age well. My own book is in my head. I’ll do it when I find the courage. My sense of dignity is rather fragile, I’m choosing to hide behind translations.”