Vasrha Gajendragadkar is a creative writer and translator. She has authored and translated more than 25 books including children's  books, creative prose, fiction and non- fiction works and environment related writing. She is also the recipient of two state literary awards.

Q: Can you tell us anything about yourself and your job that would surprise us:)? 

A: Basically I am a creative writer and a translator. The number of books authored and translated by me is 25+. As a professional, I am in the field of content creation and development for last 25 years. Besides literary writing and translation I have dealt with variety of assignments like script writing for educational documentaries, storyboard writing for E learning courses, copy writing for advertisements, case study report writing, technical and scientific translations and many more.

I am glad to mention that my story book for children has received the state literary award in the children’s literature section in 2013 and my translated fiction has received the state literary award for best translation in 2014.

Q: What is your personal relationship to language and/or translation?

A:  I am blessed with a strong and rich legacy of literature. My father (Dr. R. C. Dhere) was an erudite literatieur and scholar in the field of ancient literature, culture and folklore. I am born and brought up in a house where books are regarded as a major asset. Naturally I have a closer bond with language and literature. It is not just a medium of expression for me; but language is my identity. So in spite of having a post -graduate degree in science stream, I chose to focus on writing.

As regards translation, I have an intense passion for it. At the age of 22 I dared to start translating a classic and the best seller Gone with The Wind. It was my first ever translated work (It took 11 more years to see the light. It was published in 2009.) I have been in both literary and professional translations for last two decades and madly love translating fiction, especially children stories. My science background is an added advantage for me, since I am able to translate STEM content with more ease.

 Q:  When you’ve been given a story to translate, what’s your process, and how long does it generally take?

A: I read the entire story, first as a reader, to enjoy it. Second time when I read the same, I start retelling it to myself. It helps me to avoid the literal, word to word translation. Then I begin with actual translation. Even after completing the entire story, I read and re read it loudly to bring it maximum close to the original work, still giving the flavor of Marathi language and culture.

It is really difficult to tell the time required for a translation. It can happen so that a seemingly simple and short story is too difficult to translate. In such cases it requires more than 3-4 drafts to make it final and satisfactory.

Q: What do stories in translation bring to young readers?

Similar to original works, translated stories are treasures of entertainment for children. But more than that translations abate the young readers to know different regions with different cultures. In short they introduce children to the broader world and connect them with the distant people. These bonds help for their intellectual and emotional development. Moreover, translations increase the vocabulary and linguistic skills of children, since many a times new word are either coined or used creatively by the translator to bring the exact sense of the original content.  

Q: How did you cultivate the skills needed to translate books for children?

Right from my school age, I happened to read variety of translated books. I read translations of Rabindranath Tagore, Sharadchandra Chattopadhyay, Premchand, Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Arthur Conan Doyle and many more. When I began with the translations it was at the back of the mind that the young readers must enjoy the translations like I did. The translated work should be as enriched and interesting as the original work so that children will be able to relate themselves with it. I consciously make it a habit to retell a story to myself, assuming that I am a child. This makes me think and select the appropriate words and phrases that would be close to the children’s world. I am always agile that my translations should help them cross socio-cultural boundaries without feeling they are doing so. I am of the opinion that translation is not entirely related to developing skills. It is related to your ability to unite with soul of the original author and what it requires is sensitivity, more than the skills.

Q: You’ve translated many stories for us. Which has been your favourite to work on?

A: I have translated more than 30 stories for Pratham Books. It is really a wonderful bouquet of variety of stories originated by writers across India. Actually it is difficult to name any one but I have enjoyed translating ‘’What Happened to the Old Shawl?”  and 'Neelumbera on a Full Moon Night”.

Q: What is the hardest thing about translating from English into Marathi? How do you navigate words or phrases that are tricky to translate?

A: There are two major challenges in translating English fiction. Socio-cultural disparities and different literary expressions create hurdles in translation process. Secondly, it is as difficult as a rope walk. On one hand you have to stick to the original work (means you have limited freedom) and on the other hand you should be careful not to create a corrupt copy.

When there are no parallel words or phrases in Marathi, I squeeze out the essence of the content and re formulate the same so as to bring an original flavor. The words I use may not be of the same meaning but they underline the same emotions.

Q: How do you feel when your story reaches the child?

A: It is an ultimate delight when your creation is the hands of those for whom it is targeted. I do feel that translation is a creation just like the original work.  In fact, it is more difficult and complex a creation since you have limited freedom.

Q: How else do you think we can join hands to take more stories to more children in more languages.

A: As far as I know, currently we are translating the stories mostly from English or Hindi. We can also do the other way. Stories from regional languages can also be translated into English and Hindi and then taking them into other regional languages.  As for expanding the reach, we can always join hands with the schools and NGOs working for children.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about the xx translation community?

A: Marathi has a long tradition of translated works. Many known authors have translated very good books from both regional and foreign languages. For last couple of decades many versatile translators have come up in Marathi and they have effectively translated both fiction and non -fiction work from variety of languages. The number of youngsters interested in translations is also on rise. Translation as a profession is also blooming with speed for last few years.

 Q:What type of person do you think makes the best translator for children’s stories? 

A: In my opinion, a sensitive and creative person having literary skills will be able to translate children’s stories.

Q: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in becoming a translator?

 A: I would like to suggest them that keep reading, keep writing and keep rehearsing until you are able to bring the intensity of the original work in the translation. Let translation become your passion, before it becomes your profession.

Q: A book you'd like to recommend to other translators?

A: Stories by Hans Chistian Anderson. He is a Danish author. And his enigmatic fairy tales are translated into English by H. P.Paull and some other writers. Some of his stories have also been translated earlier into Marathi. But there is surely much scope to retranslate those and take up some more. They are really mesmerizing.  

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StoryWeaver is celebrating #LaughterMonth to ring in the new year! Here are some books that will bring a sprinkle of laughter, a dash of chuckles and even a guffaw or two into your life. 

This illustration by ROSH originally appeared in 'The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughing' wriiten by Meera Ganapathi and published by Pratham Books.

1. The Girl Who Could Not Stop Laughing written by Meera Ganapati and illustrated by ROSH, revolves around little T.Sundari who just can’t seem to stop laughing even when it gets her in trouble. She wonders if it's a problem that she should do something about. Her plans to control her laughter fails until she goes to her brother. Does he have a cure? Find out in this riotously lovely book here. 

2. Lesley Beake's It Wasn't Me from BookDash is beautifully illustrated book by Gwendolene van der. This cheerful book tells the tale of what happens when a mother leaves her kids and the pets home alone. What could possibly go wrong? Let’s find out here. 

3. It's All the Cat's Fault written by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan is about a boy who gets scolded for not completing his homework. He, however, has a legitimate excuse! Read about what happened to him, and you'll see how one thing can lead to another, and another, and another... Find out how it all ends here. 

4. What Are These For? written by Bhavini and illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat. The cat enters the kitchen and topples all the utensils, much to the awe of the children.  The kids want to know all about the objects splattered on the floor. Bhavini's fun rhymes makes this a delightful read for children! Read the story here.

5. Achoo written by Sudhir, illustrated by Subinita Deshaprabhu and translated to English by Gouri Srinidhi. Kabir is our troubled protagonist who sneezes all the time. It makes him spill his milk, gets him thrown off the bicycle and the list just goes on! Can he stop his sneezes? Read to find out what fresh troubles his sneezes bring to him, his friends and his family! Read the story here. 

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Communities Rising runs after school programs for children attending government primary schools in underserved rural villages in the Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. When they started their  new reading program, Betsy McCoy, founder and President of Communities Rising asked the students "How many of you ever read books for pleasure?" Not a single student said yes. Fast forward two years, and a totally different picture has emerged.

“All of our students are reading every day; story books, non-fiction books, biographies, all kinds of books. They are discovering the joy of reading! Without StoryWeaver, this remarkable change in our students’ reading habits would not have been possible.” shared Betsy.

Communities Rising was struggling to find beginner reader books in English and Tamil that the children would enjoy reading at affordable prices. Plus, they discovered that once their student’s were bitten by the reading bug, they could not keep up with their voracious appetite for books!

StoryWeaver’s relationship with Communities Rising started earlier this year, when they attended one of a workshop and demonstration in Bangalore.  Through StoryWeaver, Communities Rising has access to a wealth of books in both English and Tamil, which they can download quickly and print to share with children. StoryWeaver also provides them a choice of titles in a variety of genres, including books on STEM subjects. If a particular title is not available in Tamil, they can translate it to Tamil on the platform itself and have it ready for the children to be enjoyed.

“We especially love the bilingual books printed in both Tamil and English that allow our students to read in both languages on the same page. These books are a tremendous help with comprehension - it's like getting two books for the price of one!” said Betsy.

Communities Rising have downloaded all of the StoryWeavers titles in levels 1 and 2 in English, and levels 1-3 in Tamil. They are in the process of printing and distributing one set of all these titles to each of their 6 centres, thus reaching 360-400 students.

“We tried printing the books in two formats. One with single pages hole punched and attached with rings and the second with the pages stapled in the center. Durability is an issue and so we printed samples on heavy, card stock.” shared Betsy.

     

Creating Super Readers

The organisation believes that reading makes children learners for life and encourages reading in a big way in their after school programme. Each child is assigned a 'book box' which contains books that he/she must read each week - in both English and Tamil.  Children are incentivised to read through the SuperReader program which has been developed by Communities Rising.

“Each student has a CR reading necklace. They get a bead for each book that their teacher certifies they have actually read. After reading 10 books, they get ‘Readers Are Leaders’ pencils, and after 20 books, they get pins that proclaim them ‘CR Super Readers’. I'm happy to say that we are giving our many pencils.” said Betsy who believes that the necklaces, reading pencils and Super Reader pins help build a sense of community and sense of belonging to Communities Rising amongst the children.

 

                A CR Super Reader necklace.

At the end of the year, the top readers from each center will travel to Chennai to visit Tara Boks for a program there and the top reading center will have a book party!

“Last year, I told some of our kids, that I was looking forward to hearing complaints from their parents that they were spending too much time reading, instead of playing or helping at home. We aren’t quite there yet, but with the help of StoryWeaver, I have no doubt those complaints aren't far away.” said Betsy.

We look forward to hearing those complaints too!

You can follow Communities Rising on FaceBook. If you’re an organisation working with young children and feel that StoryWeaver could benefit them, please write to us at [email protected]. Do remember to add Freedom to Read in the subject line!

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