Dr. Prasad: “Al-Raheena” inspired me to translate it [Archives:2006/908/Culture]
Indian national Dr. Jyotsana K. Prasad recently translated the late Zaid Muttee' Dammaj's novel, “Al-Raheena,” (also known as “Bandhak”) into Hindi.
Prasad is a creative writer who lives in Ibb with her husband, Dr. Anil K. Prasad. She has written Hindi novels, short stories and poems that have been published and praised in India, Yemen and abroad. Roger Humes, editor at Literati Magazine in the U.S., commented on her poems, “I believe she is one of the great unknown treasures of the form in the West. I find her work to be stunning.” Her book about Yemen, written in Hindi, “Yemen: An Introduction,” awaits publication. She is a honorary member of the International Writers and Artists Association, USA. The following interview with Yemen Times records her experiences while translating “Al-Raheena,” the “cornerstone” of modern Arabic fiction and the “splendid work” of Arabic literature, as she described the Novel.
YT – Could you please tell us about yourself briefly?
Prasad: I'm an Indian citizen. I live in the city of Ibb with my husband, Dr. Anil K. Prasad. I came to Yemen in 1992. Since then, I have been living in Ibb because my husband works at the university here. Of course, we go home every year for two months.
YT – What motivated you to translate “Al-Raheena” (The Hostage) into Hindi?
Prasad: Please allow me to tell you that I'm not a professional translator. Since I'm not a professional translator, I am not motivated by the material aspect of it but by the idea, the idea of “me” doing something meaningful, something creative which would save me from wasting my time and creative energy. My husband is away from home at work, usually from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. So I found this time very useful for creative work. It started something like that, and then it took another turn because of my interest in the style of the novel. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the prose style of a very great Hindi writer named Nirala. He is better known as a poet, but his novels and other prose writings are remarkable for their style, so I did stylistic study of his prose writings. Thirdly, the story of “Al-Raheena” inspired me to translate it. Before I started translating this novel, I was busy writing a book on Yemen. I was aware of many of the historical events and this helped me understand the background against which this novel is written. The story has many layers of meaning and it is told in a very interesting way. Fourthly, I was encouraged by an urge to present this novel to readers of the Hindi language, to give them something great and a novel that has been praised by so many literary scholars of the Arab world. And finally, I was motivated by the desire to satisfy myself, meaning self-satisfaction. Now I feel happy. It is a great feeling.
YT – Have you met the author of the novel, the late Zaid Muttee' Dammaj?
Prasad: Unfortunately not. In those days, he was unwell and we could not meet him. But I have heard a lot about him and read about his writings.
YT – As you know, the novel tells about a particular historical period in Yemen. Have you seen any relationship between Yemen, as seen in the novel, and India that encouraged you in this translation?
Prasad: In Indian literature, I don't think I've come across something like this, but I cannot claim that I've read all. It is like a vast ocean, maybe because the political system in India was different. India was under British colonial domination and in Hindi and literary works written in many other Indian languages, there are descriptions of the oppressive British Raj. The novels of Vaikkam Mohammed Basheer, Tarashakar Badopadhyaya and Fakir Mohan Senapati can be mentioned in this regard. It was a different kind of exploitation and has been depicted, directly or indirectly in Hindi novels, “Balchanma” and “Baba Batesarnath,” by Nagarjun, Krishna Sobti's “Zindiginama” and Mridula Garg's “Anitya.” During the British period, the form of exploitation was different. It was based on a system in which feudal lords and moneylenders were important connivers with the administrative machinery of the British Raj. The British Raj used to intimidate the 'zamindars' (feudal lords) and in turn, the zamindars used to exploit their subjects.
YT – What difficulties did you face during translation?
Prasad: Actually, I encountered many difficulties on different levels. When we read a literary work, we enjoy it but to translate a work into another language is always a difficult task because it is not only a literal translation, it is a literary translation in which the words carry various types of connotations. It requires utmost care on the part of the translator to understand them and then render them into the target language. In order to enable readers to understand cultural shades and differences of meaning, the Hindi translation of “Al-Raheena” has lots of footnotes. I am basically a creative writer, so I have tried to be as faithful as possible to the language and style of the original in translating “Al-Raheena.” This took a long time and lots of effort because literary translation is a difficult job. It is very demanding to translate the cultural implications and nuances. It was a difficult task for me to keep a sense of balance between the narrative voice, the multiplicity of voices, the dialogues and the chorus of the guards while translating the novel into Hindi. One example is the scene toward the end of the novel when Duedar Hali is being buried and after the burial takes place. The entire story is told in the first person narrative by the young hostage who is also the subject of suffering for three reasons: owing to his position as a “slave” (this is what he thinks), on account of the disease and death of his friend and because of his ambivalent obsession for the woman he loves. We the readers know all these through the narrator, the young hostage, who finally escapes into the world of freedom for which he longs. He is the one who suffers and he is the one through whose point of view we read the story. Another example which comes to my mind is the scene when, on his arrival, the young hostage is introduced to the women of the palace. Firstly, the names of relations are different in Hindi, as they are in Arabic, unlike in English and secondly, this introduction scene is meaningful in the total thematic structure of the novel. The difficulty was how to capture in another language, how to express in another language the things which are unsaid, which are between the lines. Similarly, the case with the chorus of the guards sometimes seems that it is used to tease the young hostage, but it is significant to deepen the novel's pathos for the young hostage, the narrator. The problem is how to connect it with different events in the novel. Perhaps it would be too simplistic to understand it as a narrative technique used merely to arouse sympathy for a young boy separated from his family. In my mind, this is one of the serious problems a translator invariably encounters.
YT – Who published the Hindi version of the novel? How many issues have been published? Will the Hindi version be available in Yemeni markets?
Prasad: The book has been published in Patna by Aniljyo Prakashan. This is the first edition. I don't know whether it will be available in Yemeni markets, but it certainly will be available in libraries of Yemen's educational institutions. As I mentioned earlier, we are not interested in the monetary aspect of it but in its literary value.
YT – How did Hindi readers react to the novel or is it still too early to know this?
Prasad: Yes, it is too early to know this. The book has yet to be released in India. It came off the press after I returned to Yemen following summer vacation. Some copies have been sent to important Hindi scholars of national stature for their comments.
YT – What was your husband's role in the translation process?
Prasad: As I said, my husband appreciates my literary activities. I am really grateful to him for his support, encouragement and guidance, without which this translation of “Al-Raheena” would not have been possible. During translation, he offered a number of suggestions and read the manuscript. I am a housewife here and I don't have any literary circle. It was through his help that I found solutions to some problems I came across during translation. He also made me aware of what others have said about “Al-Raheena,” both Yemeni and non-Yemeni Arabic scholars. This is how I came to know I was engaged in translating a great Arabic novel.
YT – Did you have any difficulty finding “Al-Raheena” in Arabic and English in Yemeni bookshops?
Prasad: I didn't get them from bookshops. I got the English translation from my husband and I have a copy of the original presented to me by the Dammaj family. Before that, I got the Arabic novel through my husband from Ibb University library.
YT – Are you thinking of translating any other Yemeni literature?
Prasad: Any work I do, I like to do with seriousness and sincerity. As a creative writer, when translating a work, the first person I want to satisfy is myself in the sense that my translation should not differ on any point from the original. It should not be a mistranslation and therefore a misrepresentation of culture. As a result, I am going to put forth more time and effort than I usually put into my own work. I already have stated why I translated “Al-Raheena.” I did it not for any other consideration except to satisfy the wish of my literary soul. If there is another literary work as powerful and appealing as this, I certainly will think about translating it.
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