Siliguri — A 3-day Literary Translation Workshop concluded at Salesian College, Siliguri 29 June 2017. The abnormal situation caused by indefinite strike in Darjeeling due to Gurkhaland agitation compelled organizers to shift the venue of the workshop from Salesian College Sonada to its Siliguri campus.
Incidentally, the workshop also marks 25 years of Nepali language being included in the official Indian language list back in 1992.
The agitation which started on 8th June paralyzed Darjeeling hills compelling the venue to be transferred to the plains of Siliguri has taken a beating with absence of significant resource persons and participants from Sikkim and Darjeeling.
The Workshop organized by the Centre for Translation of Indian Literatures (CENTIL), Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, as part of Project Anuvad (UGC-UPE 2: Cultural Resources and Social Sciences), in collaboration with Salesian College Sonada had some 30 participants including language experts.
“Students, young academics, and translators are participating,” says CENTIL director and associate professor, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University Sayantan Dasgupta.
The Workshop worked with texts selected keeping in mind the theme “Darjeeling in Bangla Literature” & “Kolkata in Indian Nepali Literature.”
Salesian College Principal Prof George Thadathil says, “The workshop sessions aims to encourage consensus translation of literary texts in groups. It is not only a literary exercise but also an exercise in building bridges in the current conflict scenario in the very troubled times in the hills.”
Besides participants from North Bengal University there were participants from Viswa Bharati and Raiganj Universities.
Over a period of 10 sessions each of nine teams of translators worked together and produced four texts including 8 essays from Nepali to English, 4 essays from Bangla to Nepali and 3 essays from Bangla to English, mostly travel writings. One remarkable text translated was that of Nobel laureate Ranbindranath Tagore’s 40 page annotated anthology Christ (Khristo) translated in Nepali from its original version in Bengali.
The translations produced during the course of the workshop is scheduled to be published.”