Written by Kirsty Milward, Founder, Suchana Foundation

Settle down for this long read that comes to our blog from Birbhum, West Bengal.

                                       

Suchana set out in 2005 to try to solve the problem of low learning levels among many adivasi primary school–going children in Birbhum, West Bengal. For part of the solution, we quickly settled on the fact that when Santal and Kora children start school they do not understand much of what they are expected to learn to read, because all teaching, and all learning materials are in Bengali.

But trying to introduce first language / mother tongue methods – or even multilingual methods – in our teaching programme was made hugely challenging by the fact that there were no written materials for children in the languages the children spoke. For Kora, there were no written materials full stop.

The 10 Santali and Kora translators

So we began to make materials. For Santali, this meant getting some guidance from organisations who had already been using Bengali script to write Santali, and then inspiring Santali teachers working in Suchana to tap into their creativity and write. For Kora, this meant generating a discussion among community leaders on how words should be written using the Bengali script; it meant young Kora teachers doing research among elders to re-learn disappearing Kora vocabularies; and it meant getting groups of young people together to write songs, rhymes, stories and a simple tri-lingual word book.

But this creative process took time, and coupled with lengthy printing processes with hideous proofing challenges and equally challenging costs, this meant we could collectively only produce three or four small books a year. By 2014, we had produced 15 books. And meanwhile, the children in the education programmes were growing up. Their young years, in which access to first language materials could be such a critical intervention, were running out.

Then in 2015, in a moment of serendipity, Suchana discovered Storyweaver. With a creative commons platform, a torrent of lovely stories graded into reading levels, and beautiful layouts to use, creating a varied, usable, children’s literature in Santali and Kora, suddenly changed from a daunting task to one within our grasp.

The same young team of fifteen Santali and Kora teachers who had been involved in making books from scratch set to work. Most had acquired some technology skills through Suchana’s other programmes in the intervening years. They shared these skills with those who had not; and themselves learned to use the Suchana platform through a mixture of online tutorials, personalized help from the Storyweaver team, and a fair bit of trial and error.

In their first translation marathon, they translated around 50 stories. Teachers chose freely which stories to translate from a pool of Bengali stories available on the platform, which they could translate from easily. With few options for getting their work formally reviewed and checked, they inserted quality control by creating a peer-review system in which they carefully checked each other’s work before stories were published online.   

We had gone from 15 to 65 in about 3 months.

Concerned about how we would ensure that digital stories would reach the hands of children who had very little access to technology, Suchana arranged to print 20 of these stories. Both print and digital stories were then woven into Suchana’s mobile library programme which reaches about 1500 children. Librarians took laptops to remote mobile library villages and showed Santali and Kora digital stories to library members in read-aloud sessions. Children were then free to take home printed stories available in the library stock, where they could read them again, and read with their families.

Children looking at stories on the computer

For many children with emerging literacy, being offered a chance to read stories in their own languages was like a light switching on. Suddenly, text which usually seemed dense and difficult made sense and fitted together. Now, when they were not sure how a particular letter in a word worked, they could make deductions based on their understanding of the likely word being represented to figure out what the letter was doing. Suddenly, it was possible to have meaning fall into the place of decoded text, and the story rise out.

But even 50 stories – about 25 in each language – can get read quite quickly among a multi-age group with library sessions every week. So in 2018, Suchana joined Storyweaver’s Freedom to Read Campaign and the push to 100 stories in each language. Beyond reaching Santali and Kora stories to children through the mobile library membership, Suchana had just begun to work more consistently with local primary schools and ICDS anganwadis on using mother-tongue methods in early years’ classrooms. Most teachers and anganwadi staff teaching adivasi children do not have the luxury of knowing the languages of the children they are charged to teach, and many are acutely aware of the difficulties this presents. So Suchana’s second translation marathon focused partly on producing bilingual books in Santali-Bengali and Kora-Bengali – with a view to enabling willing teachers to help their Santali and Kora students access stories in their own languages too. Watch this space for more information in a few months on how this initiative goes.

This week we crossed 212 stories: just over 100 in Santali; just over 90 in Kora; and 15 stories Suchana had produced from scratch. This feels like a very different place we have arrived at. Several hundred children are now reading a real variety of books in their own languages – from very simple, to more complex ‘Level 4’ books as they progress in their literacy; and books which can help themselves and their teachers transition from their own languages into Bengali, the language of their schools. They read about animals, people, families, friends, trees, maths concepts, science ideas, joy, sadness, and everything in between, in their own languages. The amazing worlds that children’s literature can open up have finally become theirs.

Congratulations for this huge achievement to the Suchana translation team: Bhabini Baski, Churki Hansda, Komola Murmu, Sova Tudu, Lakshman Hembram, Subhadra Murmu, Narayan Hembram, Shanto Kora, Kumkum Kora, Debika Kora, Kalicharan Kora, Rajesh Kora, Pathik Kora, Nobin Kora, Anjana Kora and Krishna Kora.

We have not finished, but Storyweaver has started something, and we are on the way.

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Anurima Chanda is a PhD research scholar working on Indian English Children's Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Recently, one of her papers on Nonsense Superheroes was  chosen as course curriculum at the Berklee College of Music. She loves translating to and from Bengali, her native language. She loves writing and illustrating for children.   

I am doing my PhD from the Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. I am at the last stage as I submit in July this year. My topic (and this you would be glad to know) is on Twenty First Century Indian English Children's Literature and how it has been challenging previously held taboos within this area. So I look at texts that are not afraid to talk about caste, class, crime, violence, death, disease, disability, broken families, alternate sexualities, so on and so forth. The Pratham Books title ‘Chuskit Goes to School’ is one of the many stories that I am looking at - and I should inform you that I absolutely loved the story. I remember that I was looking for the English version of the story at the Delhi Book Fair this year, but they had already been sold out. That is when I started searching for it online and was glad to see that it was made freely available online on StoryWeaver.

I discovered StoryWeaver when the Pratham Books page on Facebook advertised about the Retell, Remix and Rejoice Contest 2017. When I went through the site, I realised how easy it was to upload one’s stories through the platform. That is what got me so excited! But I saved all my excitement for later, as at that moment my prime target was to send a story for the contest. I got to know really late as it was already 27th or 28th of April and the last date for submission was 30th. I knew I had a story but I did not have enough time to weave it properly. When I saw the subheadings under which I could write, I knew I wanted to write about "Body Parts" but with a slight twist. I wanted to tie it up with disability, so that we bring a break in the way body parts are taught at schools. Children are made aware that there are people for whom eyes and ears function differently. The motive behind it was not just spreading awareness but also to find a way against bullying that disabled children face at school.

StoryWeaver has given me that confidence to tell my story, even if it is not polished. Plus, it is an added advantage, that you guys are so open to new ideas. Unlike most other publishing houses, who still have concerns about the suitability of sharing stories around certain topics with young children, Pratham Books has always been a forerunner in breaking that pattern and showing the way ahead. So thank you, thank you for changing the scene of children's writing in India and for giving us - people who are so passionate about this field, an opportunity to experiment.   

By that time the story bug had hit me hard. I started with simple translations. Then I thought of writing my own story, and the easiest was telling my own story - yes, Mohar is my nickname and that story had really happened. I wrote in Bengali, because although I am an English student, I still 'think' my stories in Bengali - even today. About the illustrations, one of the biggest grouse against Indian children's literature has been that it uses western pattern of illustrations. Even though there have been experiments with indigenous art-forms, it has shot up the prices of the books, making it out of reach for majority of the children in India. So, I knew that whenever I tell my own story, I will experiment with indigenous art-form. That was the reason that I used the Warli art-form for the book. And, in the future too, I intend on using similar art-forms - be it Poto-chitro, Madhubani, Gond or the others.

 

You can read Mohar in English, here.

There were so many people who complimented me on Mohar, that now I know that I am doing something right. I always knew that in the future I wanted to write for children. But this one, just made me more confident. Now I know for certain that I can do it. And thanks to you guys for making it so simple! So, my major aim is to get through complex ideas to children in the most easy way possible. To tell stories about children who do not fit into the mainstream idea of childhood in India. Then, to have my friends translate these stories into as many languages as possible to spread them far and wide. And yes, to experiment with folk art. I also want to help open libraries for children in the country - starting with my hometown Siliguri. At present I do not have the money, but once I submit my PhD and have a job, I would love to initiate that project. It is all a dream!

 

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September 30th is celebrated around the world as International Translation Day. We're very fortunate that some of our wonderful translators and language reviewers shared their thoughts on translation and children's books with us on this occasion.

 

 A travel freak who enjoys playing with words, Hema D Khursapur interests are movies, spirituality, Kannada, Hindi, Persian languages but not limited to them. She is a contemporary writer whose words were always a magic for language lovers.

In this blog post, she writes about  what it means to imagine a story and then deliver it.

ಅನುವಾದ ಭಾವಾನುವಾದರೆ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ

ನರಭಕ್ಷಕ ಚಿರತೆ, ಹುಲಿ ಬೇಟೆ, ಶಿಕಾರಿ ಕುರಿತಾಗಿ ಕೆನೆತ್ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ ಅವರು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆ.ಪಿ.ಪೂರ್ಣಚಂದ್ರ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಅವರು ‘ಕಾಡಿನ ಕತೆಗಳು’ ಎಂದು ಭಾವಾನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದು ಅನುವಾದವಾಗದೆ ಭಾವಾನುವಾದ ಆದದ್ದು ಹೇಗೆ ಎಂದು ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಮುನ್ನುಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೀಗೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ.‘‘ ನಾನು ಹುಟ್ಟುವ ವೇಳೆಗಾಗಲೇ ಈ ಶಿಕಾರಿ ಯುಗದ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಕೊನೆಯ ತುದಿ ಬಂದಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೂ ಈ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸಿ ಆಸ್ವಾದಿಸುವ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗಾದರೂ ನನಗೆ ಕಾಡಿನ ಅನುಭವಗಳ ಪರಿಚಯವಾಯ್ತು. ಕೆನೆತ್ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನರ ಕತೆಗಳ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆ ಪರಿಸರ, ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲ ನನಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಅನುಭವವೇ ಎನ್ನುವಷ್ಟು ಚಿರಪರಿಚಯ. ಚೋರ್ಡಿ. ಬೆಳ್ಳಂದೂರ, ಪಿಕಾರಿಪುರ, ಶೆಟ್ಟಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ನಾವು ಓಡಾಡಿದ, ಆ ಕಾಡುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಲಾಟರಿ ಹೊಡೆದ ಜಾಗಗಳು. ನಾವು ಕಾಡು ತಿರುಗಲಾರಂಭಿಸಿದಾಗ ನರಭಕ್ಷಕಗಳ ಯುಗ ಮುಗಿದಿತ್ತೆನ್ನುವುದೊಂದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಮಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದೆಲ್ಲ ನಾನೇ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನರ ಜೊತೆ ಇದ್ದೆನೇನೋ ಎನ್ನುವಷ್ಟು ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತು.

ತರ್ಜುಮೆ ಮಾಡ ಹೋದಾಗ ಇದರಿಂದ ನನಗಾದ ತೊಂದರೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನರ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಅನುಭವಗಳು, ವಿವರಗಳು ಸೇರತೊಡಗಿದವು. ಹೀಗಾದ್ದರಿಂದಲೇ ಈ ತರ್ಜುಮೆಗಳನ್ನು ಭಾವಾನುವಾದ ಎಂದ ಕರೆಯಬೇಕಾದ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆ ಉಂಟಾಯ್ತು. ಈ ಕಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನರ ಮೂಲಕಥೆಗಳ ಅಂತಃಸ್ಸತ್ವಕ್ಕೆ ತಿಲಮಾತ್ರವೂ ಚ್ಯುತಿ ಬರದಹಾಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆನ್ನುವುದೊಂದೇ ನನಗೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನದ ವಿಷಯ. ಮಕ್ಕೀಕಾಮಕ್ಕಿ ತರ್ಜುಮೆಗಿಂತ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನ ರನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸುವುದೇ ಆಂಡರ್‌ಸನ್ನರಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ನ್ಯಾಯ ದೊರಕಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಎಂದು ನಾನು ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದೇನೆ,’’ ಎಂದು.

ಮೇಲಿನ ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಓದುವಾಗ ಅನುವಾದ ಮೂಲ ಕೃತಿ ರಚನೆಗಿಂತ ಸೃಜನಶೀಲವಾದದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಅರ್ಥವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ನನಗೆ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ದಿನಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯೊಂದರ ಸಾಪ್ತಾಹಿಕಕ್ಕೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಪುಟವೊಂದನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿದಾಗ. ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕುರಿತಾದ ಅನುವಾದ ಭಾವಾನುವಾದದ್ದು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ನನ್ನ ಅನುಭವವೂ ಸೇರಿದ್ದರಿಂದ. 'Why crocodiles are best parents in the world'

ಭಾಗವನ್ನು ಅನುವಾದಿಸುವಾಗ ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನದಿ ತೀರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಸಹ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಬಾಯಿ ತೆರೆದು ಬಿದ್ದಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳನ್ನು ದಿನವೂ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನಗೆ ಅವುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇನೂ ಅಪ್ತತೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಅವು ತಮ್ಮ ಮರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಆವತ್ತಿಗೆ ನನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಡಿದ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅಕ್ಷರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದಿಡುವುದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆ ಘಟನೆಯ ನಂತರ ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ನಂತರ ನಾನು, ‘‘ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಅಪ್ಪ-ಅಮ್ಮ’’ ಬರಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನ್ನು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದು ಹೀಗೆ. "ಮಕ್ಕಳು ದೊಡ್ಡ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿ ಹ್ಯಾಪು ಮೋರೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು, ಕಣ್ಣೀರು ಸುರಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಅಪ್ಪ-ಅಮ್ಮ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಹೊಡೆಯದಿದ್ದರೆ ಸಾಕು ಎಂದು ಗದರುವು ಮುನ್ನವೇ ಗೋಳೋ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೆ, ಪ್ರತಿ ತಂದೆ-ತಾಯಿ ಜೀವಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆಯಾದರೂ ಇಂತಹ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಬೈದಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ ಸಾಕು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸು ನಿನ್ನ ಈ ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣೀರನ್ನು ಎಂದು. ಅಂದರೆ  ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣೀರು ಸುರಿಸುವುದು ನೋವಿನಿಂದ, ಬೇಜಾರಿನಿಂದ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಮೊಸಳೆಯ ಭಾವನೆಗಳಿಗೂ ಕಣ್ಣೀರಿಗೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೂ ‘ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣೀರು’ ನುಡಿಗಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ಬಹುಕಾಲ ನೀರಿನಿಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಕಣ್ಣೀರು ಹಾಕುತ್ತವೆ. ಕಣ್ಣ ಪಾಪೆಗಳು ಒಣಗದಂತೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಗ್ರಂಥಿಗಳು ನೀರನ್ನು ಸುರಿಸುತ್ತವೆ ಮತ್ತು ನೀರಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಆಹಾರ ತಿನ್ನುವಾಗಲೂ ಮೊಸಳೆ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಿಂದ ನೀರು ಸುರಿಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿನ ರಕ್ಷಣೆ, ಆಹಾರ ಸೇವಿಸುವಾಗ ಉಂಟಾಗುವ ಒತ್ತಡ ಮೊದಲಾದವು ಕಾರಣಗಳಾಗಿರಬಹುದು ಎಂದು ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಪಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ಒಂದು ರೀತಿ ಅಡಾವುಡಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಸುಳ್ಳೇ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಕಣ್ಣೀರು ಸುರಿಸುವ ಮಕ್ಕಳಂತಾದರೆ, ತಮ್ಮ-ತಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ಪ-ಅಮ್ಮ ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ ತುಂಬಾ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯವು. ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ನೋಡಲು ಭಯಾನಕವಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ತಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಜತೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಶಾಂತ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ವರ್ತಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿಸುವಾಗ ವಿಪರೀತ ಹಠ ಮಾಡುತ್ತವೆ ಎಂದು ಬೈಯ್ದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅಮ್ಮಂದಿರು ತಾಯಿ ಮೊಸಳೆಯಿಂದ ನೋಡಿ ಕಲಿಯಬೇಕಾದದ್ದು ತುಂಬಾ ಇದೆ ಎನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಮರಿ ಮೊಸಳೆಗಳು ಮರಳಿನಲ್ಲಿ, ಜೌಗಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಟವಾಡಿ ಮೈಯ್ಯೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಸರು ಆಡಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ತಾಯಿ ಮೊಸಳೆ ಚೂರೂ ಬೈಯ್ಯದೇ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಬಾಯಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು (ಒಂದು ಸಲಕ್ಕೆ ಕನಿಷ್ಟ ೧೮ ರಿಂದ ೨೦ ಮರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಒಟ್ಟಿಗೆ) ನದಿಗೆ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿಸಲು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಹರಿವ ನೀರಿನ ಸಮೀಪ ನಿಂತು ಬಾಯಿ ತೆರೆದು ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಮರಿಗಳ ತಲೆ ಮೊದಲು ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೀಳುವಂತೆ ಬಿಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಮರಿಗಳ ಉರುಟು ಮೈಮೇಲಿನ ಮರಳು ಹೋಗುವವರೆಗೆ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಗಂಡು ಮೊಸಳೆಯೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ, ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾಗಿ ವರ್ತಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊಟ್ಟೆಗಳು ಒಡೆದು ಮರಿ ಹೊರ ಬರುವಾಗ ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ ಒಡೆಯಲು ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಿ ಮರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಗಾಯವಾಗದಂತೆ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಮರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ನೋವಾಗದಂತೆ ತಂದೆ ಮೊಸಳೆ ವಹಿಸುವ ಕಾಳಜಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಎಂಥವರೂ ತಲೆದೂಗುತ್ತಾರೆ," ಎಂದು. ಹೀಗೆ ಅನುವಾದ ಭಾನುವಾದ ಕ್ಷಣ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ ಎನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

 

 

 

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