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Our languages are full of literary gems, tucked away from the hustle of the extended readership, in the calm comfort of their respective languages. Voices that should transcend linguistic barriers are still waiting to be recognized. While it not only reduces the readership for a serious literary work, it also leaves the readers impoverished, depriving them of the opportunity to delve into the heterogeneity of literature. Even in a heavily translated language like Bangla, there are several authors who have not been represented in other languages. In India, English has a pan-Indian readership. English is also often used as the link language to translate from one Indian language into another. So, getting translated into English can be understood as an initial movement towards reaching a pan-Indian as well as a global readership. While it is significant that translation happens across other Indian languages as well, unmediated by English, a translation into English can also act as a spur to promote such translations between these languages.
Short stories can uphold the versatility of an author’s style. Hence, they can be used as a platform to introduce the author to the readers.
Translation is a vast field and becomes a complex issue in a multilingual social structure. In India in particular, language is not just a medium of communication, it is one of the prime identity markers too. As Indians, we survive through translations and it has become so much a part of our existence that we often do not even consciously recognize it. Most of the Indians being at least bilinguals, makes translations a part of the everyday activity. And if we look at the literary translation scenario in India, it is a highly complex matrix of interactions between various languages. While its vastness is a resource, it also adds to the difficulty of a well-balanced representation of Indian literature to the wider world. It requires concerted and continuous effort from the readers, translators, publishers and authors too to promote translation of literature in order to create a more empathetic, heterogeneous human society. Six Stories Series does not claim to fully represent any author but just to create a little gateway through which literature can travel wider. The authors included in this series are eminent figures in the literary map of Bengal and Bangladesh. Through this series we attempt to bring the maximum number of authors writing in Bengali to a readership beyond the source language.
Antonym has been consistently working towards publication of translated literature. It holds an enviable collection of translated literature from various languages including some award winning titles. Six Stories is a unique effort undertaken to provide a peek into the literary universe of the concerned author. We hope Six Stories can reach the desired readers and further the cause of literary translation in India.
Translation is a vast field and becomes a complex issue in a multilingual social structure.
Six Stories, a series conceptualized by Antonym, is an effort towards that. The series plans to publish English translations of six stories by an author and present it to the English language readers. The focus is to acquaint the Target Language readers with a particular author through short stories. Short stories can uphold the versatility of an author’s style. Hence, they can be used as a platform to introduce the author to the readers. Each of the books in the Six Stories Series also carries an author’s interview. For the readers unfamiliar with the original author and the source language culture, the interview will provide a glimpse into the author’s worldview, in addition to the stories. A translator’s note and a brief introduction to the author is also included here. The translator is an intimate reader, the person who first interprets a text and then represents it in the target language. A note from the translator therefore also adds to the understanding of the text for the target language readers. These meta-texts are significant for the serious readers of translations, helping them to get a wider perspective to both source language and culture.
