Utthana Bharighat is an artist who likes to create narratives and has a deep interest in theatre, cinema and writing. He has translated books to Kannada for Pratham Books, adding translator to his accomplishments. 

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

Most importantly, the person should love children. A good translator is someone who is ready to interact with children unconditionally, and thus he or she understands their lingo and temperament well.

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

Do it only if you find it fun! Otherwise translation could be boring and mechanical which shows up in your work too.

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

There is a Kannada language translation of the Japanese novel Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata, by the name Savira Pakshigalu. I would recommend people to read both these texts to see how beautiful a translation can be. The Kannada translation is as elegant as the original.

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

Translation at one level is like solving puzzles. But to solve this, one has to take help from wide range of knowledge systems, including literature, culture, sociology, human nature and more. Thus, translation becomes an extension of exploring my interest.

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 whole story, first. Then I think about the style in which this would sound good in Kannada. After that, I read every sentence and try to find words which suit the style. After finishing the whole story, I will read it again and make further changes. To do all this it would take 3 to 4 hours for me.



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

A: Some stories ignite children’s imagination. Some stories give them an access to a different world that they have never seen before. Along with learning new things children will learn new words and thus improve their language skills.

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

A: I liked The Red Fairy and Stage Fright.

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

A:Whenever I encounter tricky phrases or sentences, I imagine myself explaining this to a child in Kannada. As I do it a few times, I will arrive at a solution. Sometime asking people around for suggestion also helps.  

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

A: Of course, it is the most beautiful feeling. And I always hope that the child likes what he/she reads.

Q: As a Student of Performance arts, what do you think is the best approach to translate children's stories? And, do you think you have found a way in this regard?

A: I can’t say I have mastered it. But I am gaining skills as I do it more and more. I would say. Performance arts have taught me how to communicate in a simple and clear manner. I think these two qualities are important for translation too.

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

A: I would like to see more of local stories. Though there is universality in the themes and interests, I feel that the children gain more if they are given the stories which have taken form in their own cultural space. I think there is more to gain if some decentralization happens in the creation of stories and illustrations, which are being featured here. Regardless of the competent translators, a Kannada story teller would reach a Kannada kid in a more effective way. It is as organic as it could get.

 

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