LIFE SCIENCES
Flavours (translation Of Gujarati Stories)
by Harish Mahuvakar
ISBN Number : 978 - 93 - 88672 - 07 - 8
Authors Details
Author Name | Image | About Author |
---|---|---|
Harish Mahuvakar | He is an Associate Professor in English and Head, Department of English, Sir P P Institute of
Science, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar. He has been teaching
English since 1993. He is well known writer in Gujarati Literature. He writes and translates in both
the languages. His writing has been published into reputed English and Gujarati magazines. He has
won some prizes for short stories, poems, and essays. Presently his column 'Laghukatha' appears on
every Sunday Supplement of Gujarat Mitra daily, Surat. He is the editor of storiettes in the reputed
quarterly 'Samnu' while 'Bindusagar' was his monthly column, and 'Gujarati Knock: English Door'
is his bimonthly column. Some of his works are also available on internet. To his credit he has
plenty of writing that includes poems, essays, short stories, critical articles, and research articles.
His published books are: 1. Prati 2. Impression I (Ed.) 3. Varta Aam Chhe...(Ed) 4. Selected Poems
(Ed.) 5. Ame 6. Fareethee (2016) 7. Marag Vartano (2016), 8. One English (2016), 9. Do English
(2017) 10. Try English, and 11. Le Tu Pan Jone...! (2018). |
Book Description
For me translation is another way of creation. I have enjoyed the process rather it has given me deeper sense of understanding a work. My reading introduced me the world literature which might have been incomplete without English language as I don't know other languages and cannot learn even a few. Hence Russian, French, German, Spanish or even Indian languages like Tamil, Kannad, Punjabi or Maithili came only through the translation, translation in English. Since my graduation years, way back in late eighties I always noticed lack of Gujarati stories into English. No doubt I came across a lot of English works translated into Gujarati, but the situation really shocked me. At the back of my zeal to translate into English perhaps is this sense. As I grew up I clearly realised this need and without waiting began the work. Initially it was professional and didn't pay much attention to the creative one as it was also my need. But then I started for my own happiness. I have made a mission of my life to put Gujarati literature at the international level. This is the first step. On demand I had translated Jayant Khatri, Kishore Jadav, Nazir Mansuri, Mona Patrawala and others. It was a My dear Jayu story 'Rajkapoorno Tapu' that was published into an anthology edited by late Kishore Jadav. Nazir's story nominated me for the Katha Prize, Delhi, disputes robbed it but I must confess that it was Nazir who stuck faithful to my translation and didn't accept his Katha Prize for my sake. Now I get challenging translation works mostly refused by others for being untranslatable by them. The greatest encouragement came from Dr. Naresh Shukla, from Vir Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat who provided a platform for translation, hence starting a column 'Gujarati Knock: English Door' on their e magazine www.sahityasetu.co.in. 'Flavours' is a collection of the writers living in Bhavnagar City, only two writers out of the city in this anthology but they live in the same district. There can be few cities in the world where so many writers are practicing short stories at a time. Except Kishore Raval, as he is no more, all are still trying the form with their ways and methods different to each other. That offers us a variety of flavours in their understanding of the life and the form. I know me very well and hence I consider this a very small act of my learning but on the contrary anyhow writers of my city, my friends and ultimately writers of my language will reach to the readers around the world. That's not a small happiness.