Translation Scenario in Odisha

A considerable amount of translation of iconic Odia novels has been done in the recent years. In fact, there is a rich of translation of Odisha. The major writers whose works have been translated into English are Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gopinath Mohanty, Surendra Mohanty, Pratibha Ray, Manoj Das, etc. Six Acres and a Third, the English rendering of Chha Mana Atha Guntha by Rabi Sankar Mishra, Satya P. Mohanty, Jatindra K. Nayak and Paul St-Pierre in 2005, is a frontline example of translation practices in Odisha. Nayak’sA Time Elsewhere, the English rendering of Desha, Kala, Patraof J.P. Das also speaks a lot about the richness of translation activities in Odisha. Five of GopinathMohanty’s novels, Paraja, Danapani, LayaBilaya, Amrutara Santana and DadiBudha, have also been translated into English. The first three have been translated by Bikram K. Das, the fourth by BidhuBhusan Das, PrabhatNalini Das and OopaliOperajita; and the last by Arun Kumar Mohanty.

Himansu S. Mohapatra, in collaboration with Paul St-Pierre, has translated ‘Basanti: Writing the New Woman’ (2019) which was an Odia collaborative novel by Annada Shankar Ray and eight other authors of Odisha. The major novels and stories of Pratibha Ray have also been translated into English, Yajnaseni being the major example which was translated by Pradeep Bhatacharya in 1995. Jatindra K. Nayak has also given yeomen service to the tradition of translation by the English rendering of Yantrarudha by Chandrasekhar Ratha in 2003 under the English title Astride the Wheel. Besides many, these are only a few examples to illustrate the reach tradition of translation in Odisha as a serious literary endeavour.