New Delhi, Aug 6: A progressive writer, visionary, a social thinker, a philosopher, an educationist - Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath. And it is this vastness that fascinated author Radha Chakravarty to take translate Tagore's writings from Bengali to English.

As of today, Chakravarty is credited with translating eight works of the Nobel Laureate including "Essential Tagore" (with two others), "Gora", "Boyhood Days", "Chokher Bali", "Farewell Song: Shesher Kabita", "The Land of Cards: Stories, Poems and Plays for Children" and others.

Chakravarty had no formal training in Bengali. Her father had a transferable job which took her to different parts of India apart from West Bengal.

"But Tagore always remained as an influence at our home, no matter where we were. It was my grandfather who used to read out stories of his, that is how I started knowing about him," Chakravarty, a Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies in Delhi's Ambedkar University, told IANS.

Chakravarty, the wife of former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, recollected her first encounter with Tagore's writing was "Sahaj Path". However, it was "Kabuliwalah" that drew her closer to the writer.

"I couldn't realise how and when Tagore became a part of my life. I started reading more and more of his writings. What captivated me more was his choice of simple language and clarity in thought and approach," she said.

But what really made Tagore a part of her life was the emancipation of women in the 19th century that reflected in his writing, which was not so prominent in the works of other writers, Chakravarty explained.

"His characters - be it Binodini of "Chokher Baali" or Labanya of "Sesher Kobita", all had a distinct identity who tried to break societal norms and stood up for their freedom of expression, they had a question in their mind, they were rebels in their own way," she noted

However, it was not Tagore that Chakravarty translated first.

"While teaching English literature in Delhi University I was simultaneously doing research work on many other Indian literary figures. I was approached by an upcoming publishing house to do a translation. And the first book happened which was a compilation of the works of 20 contemporary authors," she said.

"Chokher Bali" was her first translation of a Tagore work and what appealed her to take it up was the enigmatic personality of female protagonist, Binodini.

"The character has multiple layers in her. The book was far ahead of time. The characters challenged the convention and family bounds. This further inspired me to take up his works and translate," she stated.

Talking about translation, Chakravarty said that it acts as a major medium in strengthening cross-cultural bonds, adding that the scenario in the literary space has changed quite a lot compared to what it was few years ago.

"Now the publishers are welcoming it, which earlier was not there. The publishing houses would never show much eagerness in printing a translated work; it would take quite some effort to convince them, but now it is changing," she added.

While translations on the one hand take regional literature to the world, Chakravarty highlighted on the several factors that need to be considered before taking up a literary work, particularly maintaining the ethos and values of the original writing.

"The time period of a book matters lot. The book talks about a scenario which existed in 19th or 20th century but the translated work will be read by 21st century readers. Therefore, the language has to be simple which can connect to the contemporary readers," she explained.

Chakravarty pointed out that a linguistic barrier will always exist when it comes to translating from one language to English or from any other vernacular language, adding that translation is interpretation rather than mechanical transformation.

"Translating certain terms are often difficult like some expressions or words associated with culture or traditions which don't have any alternative. There is a dilemma on how to put that in English. This is often pretty time-consuming," she commented.

Although the non-translated words are always defined in summary, Chakravarty added that the certain original words bring in a different flavour to the translation.

"If something is left unexplained it adds mystery and generates curiosity among the readers to know what that particular word would mean. It pushes your imagination and in the process one gets a chance to learn a new word as well," she said.



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Washington (PTI): Hindenburg Research, a US investment research firm known for short-selling, and whose reports resulted in wiping out billions of dollars of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, has been shut down, its founder Nate Anderson announced Wednesday.

“As I’ve shared with family, friends and our team since late last year, I have made the decision to disband Hindenburg Research. The plan has been to wind up after we finished the pipeline of ideas we were working on. And as of the last Ponzi cases we just completed and are sharing with regulators, that day is today,” Anderson announced.

In the last few years, Hindenburg Research had launched a campaign against the Adani group. Its reports published since 2023 had resulted in billions of dollars of loss for the Indian billionaire. All the charges were denied by Adani and his companies.

The sudden and surprising announcement by Anderson comes within days of a Republican Congressman, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, asking the Department of Justice to preserve all the documents and communications related to the investigations of Adani and his companies.

Anderson did not give a specific reason for disbanding his organization, which is less than a week before the end of the four-year term of the Biden Administration and the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.

“So, why disband now? There is not one specific thing—no particular threat, no health issue, and no big personal issue. Someone once told me that at a certain point a successful career becomes a selfish act. Early on, I felt I needed to prove some things to myself. I have now finally found some comfort with myself, probably for the first time in my life,” he said.

“I probably could have had it all along had I let myself, but I needed to put myself through a bit of hell first. The intensity and focus has come at the cost of missing a lot of the rest of the world and the people I care about. I now view Hindenburg as a chapter in my life, not a central thing that defines me,” he said.

In an interview to The Wall Street Journal, Anderson said he looks forward to taking up hobbies, travelling and spending time with his fiancée and their child, adding that he has earned enough money to provide for them in the future. He said he plans to invest his money in index funds and other low-stress investments.

Anderson said for now, he will be focused on making sure everyone on his team lands where they want to be next.

“Some are going to start their own research firm, which I will strongly and publicly encourage, even as I will have no personal involvement. There are others on our team who are now free agents—so feel free to reach out to me if you have a need for anyone who is brilliant, focused, and easy to work with, as they all are,” he said.