Translations – Building Bridges

Ratna Books began as an initiative by Dr Dhanesh Jain in 2015 to bring quality literature from Indian languages translated into English to a wider readership. It was a bold and slightly visionary step for his experience in publishing was educational books, in particular, school textbooks and supplementary readers for the school market. Ratna Sagar, the publishing house he founded in 1982, was respected as a quality publisher among its school clientele and perhaps he felt confident enough to initiate a new imprint catering to a more general readership. Above all, Dhanesh Jain himself was an avid reader and appreciated fine literature. His office and home were equipped with shelves filled with books that reflected his wide and eclectic reading taste.

The challenges…

The move out of a comfort zone brought with it, its own challenges. Selecting books in varied source languages for translation, commissioning translators and above all, the promotion and marketing of the books. The biggest challenge was that Ratna Books was a stand-alone imprint exclusively for translations. It had no support from a trade list, and no brand image among authors or in the trade.

Early on, it was emphasized that the production qualities and the physical get-up of the books, must have an elegance and style that would be the differentiator, for the individual reader as well as the market. The first clutch of three books published in 2017, in hardback, showed this. In fact, all titles of Ratna Books are published in hardback. A paperback edition is only issued when there is a specific requirement.

When one looks at the publishing landscape with regard to translations, for most trade publishers and even those with an academic and general list, translations were an ‘adjunct’ to the main list, and more often than not, the editor concerned dealt with translations along with the other books. Moreover, in every case, the book was already successfully published in the original language to a loyal readership. The translated book in English would now have to appeal to a different and decidedly smaller readership competing with original works in fiction and non-fiction. Some of the original works were classics and no translation, however great, could do it justice. Given all this, could a fledgling and exclusive imprint for translations like Ratna Books ever be successful?

The winning strategies…

A few strategies were adopted by Ratna Books early on. The editors could not be expected to read books in all the languages. So, in many cases, it was the translators themselves who suggested works for translation. Advisers were consulted on original works and reviews were looked at along with the copyright position. The criteria for choosing translators was by their track record and their easy facility in both languages. The original author too needed to be comfortable with the translator. No multiple translations of the same book were commissioned but sample chapters were looked at and also sent to the original author. It was the passion and commitment of the translator that got the project moving.

The primary aim was to give a ‘seamless reading experience’. It was not a ‘mere’ translation that was being read but a whole new book. To that end, translators did not indulge in a word-by-word literal translation but were encouraged to capture the ethos, the spirit and the culture of the original. A Translators Note and a glossary of terms were kept to a minimum and only included when absolutely necessary.

Above all, the translator was considered as an author too and not only were the royalties from sales proceeds equally shared with the author or copyright holder of the original work but the translator’s name too was prominently displayed on the cover. This is important for the noted translator Jayasree Kalathil has recently queried the place of the translator in the literary ecosystem,“We need to recognize that translators can be writers in their own right and are not merely ploughing someone else’s field.”

Some acclaimed titles…

In the last eight years, Ratna Books has published around forty-one titles to critical acclaim both among readers in the media. R. Chudamani’s ‘Echoes of the Veena’ (from Tamil) and Avadhoot Dongare’s ‘The Story of Being Useless’ (from Marathi) won the Valley of Words Award for Translation, M. Mukundan’s ‘The Bells are Ringing in Haridwar’ (from Malayalam), Kalki’s ‘Parthiban’s Dream’ (from Tamil) along with Dadi Edulji Taraporewalla ‘s ‘Dukhi Dadiba’ (from Gujarati) have been shortlisted for the same award, along with three others in the longlist including more recently, Avadhoot Dongare’s ‘Leaf, Water and Flow’ (from Marathi) in the longlist for the JCB Prize for Literature.

An excerpt from a short story in ‘Password and Other Stories’ by Appadurai Muttulinagm (from Tamil) published by Ratna Books was translated into Spanish and was inscribed on a wall in the city of Guadalajara in Mexico when it was the UNESCO World Book Capital City in 2024.

On awards and fairs…

Literary prizes and awards are important to recognize translations as literary works but they are not the only reason why translations have suddenly become ‘front of house’ and a part of mainstream publishing even among prominent trade publishers. Publishers will not publish for an uncertain market and in recent years, state governments have made publishing translations viable. The Tamil Nadu Government has initiated the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation to support both original publishing and translations from Tamil. Their mission statement ‘Bringing the World to Tamil and Taking Tamil to the World’ has resulted in a record number of international publishers attending the annual Chennai International Book Fair.

Bridging cultures…

Translations have not only helped readers understand diverse cultures but have helped in a symbiotic relationship with the original work. They have also helped in Indian languages ‘talking’ to each other as other languages have picked up the English text for translation as have foreign publishers in international book fairs.

Panel discussions on translations in lit fests and book fairs have helped to create awareness and demand but much more needs to be done in terms of promotion, marketing and retail visibility. Translations have great potential as reading material in university courses on translation studies and modern India literature.

For Ratna Books, an indicator that the fledgling list had arrived was provided recently. At the Chennai International Book Fair, an acclaimed language author remarked while perusing the catalogue ‘But you haven’t published me!’ The imprint is waiting.